The Monarch Project

How divine is this dress?! Isn't it just gorgeous!? I found the picture on another blog dedicated to animals, and couldn't resist saving it!I love monarch butterflies, they were my favourite butterflies as a child. We used to collect wild cotton aka milkweed plant and the caterpillars, wait for them to turn into a chrysalis, then butterflies. It was so much fun!
If you have kids, it would be great to show them this transformation as a school project or a holiday activity!

1. Nail strips of wood into a rectangular prism, and attach fly-wire to all sides but the bottom.
   
2. Plant wild cotton into a couple of pots, making sure there's extra for when the caterpillars eat it all.
   
3. Go find some caterpillars or eggs, put them on the cotton plants and place fly-wire cube over the top.
   
4. Done! Just make sure the ants don't get to them, and that there's plenty of food to eat.
   

When they turn into a chrysalis, make sure they don't get afternoon sun and are out of heavy breezes.Don't forget, when the butterflies are struggling to get out of their chrysalises, it's good for them. It gets the blood flowing in their veins. Do not touch or disturb them during this time, only look.Once they start to fly around the fly-wire prism, they're ready to be released!Doing this throughout my childhood taught me respect for even the smallest of insects.