We have brought nature into our classrooms over the last few weeks, watching our caterpillars transform into beautiful Painted Lady butterflies.

After the chrysalids softened and became transparent, the butterflies pushed through first with their legs. They then crawled the rest of the way out of the chrysalids and hung upside down from their own chrysalis. The butterflies then began the process of expanding and drying their wings to enable them to fly.

Meconium is pumped into the wings and back into the body of the butterfly.  The small amounts that stay in the veins of the wings dry and harden, making their wings strong for when they are ready to fly. 

It can take up to two hours for a butterfly’s wings to completely dry. After, the butterfly takes its first flight and then squirt out any extra meconium from its body.

We kept the butterflies in their net habitats for a few more days to enable them to build up their strength. They were fed with pieces of orange and strawberries, plus a sponge soaked with a sugar solution.

It was a truly wonderful experience for us all to be so up close to this life cycle and all the children enjoyed taking part in the release of our new friends on our back playground. We have spotted the butterflies many time since!

May we express our gratitude once again to the PTA for funding this project for us.