Monarch Butterflies

Last week Mrs Patel brought a swan plant into Rm 1 with two Monarch Caterpillars and some eggs on it. We watched the caterpillars get bigger and bigger, as they munched on the leaves. Baby caterpillars hatched out of the tiny eggs that were hiding under the leaves. The caterpillars gobbled up all the leaves on the first plant, so we had to get a second swan plant for them to eat. After a week the biggest caterpillar found itself a good position and started curling up.  Within 2 days it had turned into a beautiful green chrysalis with gold dots. For 10 days we waited patiently, until eventually the chrysalis got darker. On Monday, we came to school and were excited to see a Monarch Butterfly sitting on our swan plant, pumping its wings. It was orange and black with white dots all around the edges of its wings. We knew that it was a female because it didn't have two black dots on its hind wings. When it was strong enough we took our Monarch Butterfly outside into the garden and set it free.