Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Our Caterpillar has Cocooned!
Last week, AS we were hurriedly getting in the truck to go *somewhere*? (on a time schedule), Tabitha somehow spotted this bright yellow little guy on the ground, and just HAD TO go and pick him up, which inevitably became "Momma, can I keep him? I have to keep him..."
And so, I patiently unlocked the door for her to go and put him into her ever-ready terrarium (in her room), as we wondered just what/who he was? Well, a couple of days later, and this little guy has assumed an interesting curled up position, supported by silken threads, and we got to watch his entire cocooning process, up close- in her tank! :-) Needless to say, she was thrilled, and I am so thankful for this beautiful learning experience that I didn't plan - I'm now also so glad we kept him!
Admittedly, I was initially a bit peeved to have to be *interrupted* as I was trying to rush us out the door... But, it's now become her project/"experiment", which she's taken quite an interest in, and is so proud of.
We've discovered that our little guy will emerge as a Spicebush Swallowtail, which has thrilled Nathan, who spent last Spring collecting, "studying" and releasing various Swallowtails, his fave of which were the Zebra Swallowtails.
We took a pic. of the chrysallis, but as you can see, my lame-O camera just blurs the pic if it's too close up (YES, a new digital camera has been at the top of my wishlist for a *very* long time). But the chrysallis looks very different now. It has horns! And it's really weird/interesting looking! I'll take another pic. soon, and hopefully it will not be so blurry! Maybe if I take it through the glass... In the above shot, I stuck the camera down into the tank, trying to get close-up.
And so, I patiently unlocked the door for her to go and put him into her ever-ready terrarium (in her room), as we wondered just what/who he was? Well, a couple of days later, and this little guy has assumed an interesting curled up position, supported by silken threads, and we got to watch his entire cocooning process, up close- in her tank! :-) Needless to say, she was thrilled, and I am so thankful for this beautiful learning experience that I didn't plan - I'm now also so glad we kept him!
Admittedly, I was initially a bit peeved to have to be *interrupted* as I was trying to rush us out the door... But, it's now become her project/"experiment", which she's taken quite an interest in, and is so proud of.We've discovered that our little guy will emerge as a Spicebush Swallowtail, which has thrilled Nathan, who spent last Spring collecting, "studying" and releasing various Swallowtails, his fave of which were the Zebra Swallowtails.
We took a pic. of the chrysallis, but as you can see, my lame-O camera just blurs the pic if it's too close up (YES, a new digital camera has been at the top of my wishlist for a *very* long time). But the chrysallis looks very different now. It has horns! And it's really weird/interesting looking! I'll take another pic. soon, and hopefully it will not be so blurry! Maybe if I take it through the glass... In the above shot, I stuck the camera down into the tank, trying to get close-up.
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