THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

Almost anyone knows that caterpillars turn into butterfly, many children are aware of this thanks to Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"...but how many of us has actually seen a caterpillar turning into a butterfly? I haven't!
Now, I had this idea in my mind since I saw a children's book that explained how to make a caterpillars' house and how to care for them to see them turning into butterflies. I thought it would be very interesting if we could do that.
It took a while before we found a caterpillar: we went hunting in parks and fields, but no sign of caterpillars. I read somewhere that caterpillars like parsley, and I thought to give it a go because I was becoming quite eager to find one. If all failed, I was thinking to buy them from Insectlore, which are expensive but come with their house and food plus a cilindrical shape net where to put them when they are crysalids and then keep the butterflies for a few days.
then one morning, by chance I found one on a leaf of a bush in front of the bulding door...then I lifted my eyes and there were other 2 hairy ones...another one was a very tiny green hearless one! I rushed inside, took a plastic box, called my daughter to come and see! We collected them and a good bunch of leaves and took them inside. Then I made a home for them.
A few days leater I found two eating my flowers! Now we have 6 caterpillars!

HOW TO MAKE THE HOUSE

- a big plastic box or a old fish tank
- a small conteiner to put the leaves and some water to keep them fresh
- the leaves from the plant you found the caterpillars on (it is most probably their food plant)
- some soil
- 2-3 sticks
- a muslin or a paper tissue pierced to make air passing through




Do not touch the caterpillars with your bare hands, some can give a rush! Always use the leaf they are on to move them, or touch them with a leaf on their back and they will move forward.
make sure that the container with the water for the leaves isn't too big, cover all the spaces with some cotton wool or tissue paper to avoid any caterpillar falling into the water.
Some caterpillars make a pupa on a branch (that will be your stick) others under ground (that is your soil)
put the soil in the box, then the container with the leaves + caterpillars and then the sticks. Cover it with a muslin or a paper tissue.
Make sure you do not expose the caterpillar to the hot sun. they like the shade.








You will see lots of droppings and some pieces of skins on the leaves or on the soil. that's because every time they grow they also outgrow their skins and need to replace it!
Replace the leaves when the caterpillars have eaten most of them, or they wither.

Have a good time observing them!