Year 5 Caterpillars!
Day 25
Our butterflies have finally flown the nest. We had 7 butterflies to release into their natural habitat. We waited until the rain stopped and popped out to the Book Den to send our visitors on their way. One or two just didn't want us to leave!
Day 24
We have butterflies! Max and Keaton were excited to discover our butterflies had emerged from their chrysalis during their after-school club on Wednesday. We made sure that there was a sugar-solution soaked piece of cotton wool and a piece of fruit to pack their diet full of sugar. They will stay in the butterfly garden for a couple of days until their wings are strong enough to survive.
Day 16
We were very pleased to see Mrs Pledger had managed to transport the caterpillars back to school!
As you will see, one pot had all successfully pupated in chrysalis, and so we needed to put them into the butterfly garden, ready to watch them emerge as butterflies. The second pot of caterpillars is a little lazy, and we are still waiting for one to turn into a chrysalis. Once this is done, we will be able to move them into the butterfly garden too.
We have discovered that even though three chrysalis had fallen on the bottom of the pot, they may still pupate, so will will make sure they are put into the garden too.
Day 14
We have our first chrysalis! Can you spot it hanging? This means that the other caterpillars will start to follow soon, and the pot cannot be moved for 48 hours until the chrysalis harden. Once that happens, we will be able to move them, ready to watch them emerge in around 7 more days.
It’s happening! Spot the caterpillars clinging to the top of the pot. It looks like they are ready to start turning into chrysalis.
Day 13
This time lapse was taken very early on Saturday morning, when the caterpillars were very active.
DAY 9 Update from Lauren and Keira
Our caterpillars have grown so much over the weekend! They have grown bigger, fatter and hairier. None of them have died yet, so far so good! They keep clinging to the top of the lid, which is where they will form the chrysalis.
As you can see, the bottom of the pot has some food, which is a sugary solution, for the caterpillars to feed on. The caterpillars are starting to produce silk, and there are also lots of blobs of caterpillar droppings too.
Day 8
Day 6
The caterpillars have changed so much, getting longer and a little fatter too! They are spending much more time at the top of the container, and this is where they will cling to make a chrysalis when they are ready for the next stage of their life cycle.
Can you spot the two hungry caterpillars at the bottom of each pot, munching their way through the food, which gives them the nutrients they need to grow?
Day 4 - Our caterpillars have settled into their new home in 5LP and we are all trying very hard not to be too loud during lessons!
Year 5 visitors.
As part of our Science curriculum, this term we will be studying life cycles of plants, mammals and insects.
In order to help the understanding of these life cycles, we are very excited to have the opportunity to watch this happen close-up, with a set of caterpillars to watch and observe.
We are looking forward to watching the caterpillars grow bigger, before the form a chrysalis. When they emerge as butterflies, we will release them out into the wild.