Painted Lady Caterpillars

The timing of the arrival of our painted lady caterpillars couldn't have been more perfect!  Just as we are finishing up our best inquiry about birds and nests, another opportunity to study a life cycle arrives!

The children were so excited to get the box in the mail. We carefully removed the nine cups and examined the spiky caterpillars. 

During playtime the caterpillars were placed at the science center and the children were invited to observe them. Some were very active and squiggled about, others were quiet, and some spun a web-like material around themselves. We wondered if they were getting ready to spin their cocoon. We also had two iPads available with time elapsed videos of painted ladies emerging from their cocoons. One video was created by a grade two class in the United States that documented their exploration with caterpillars. Our children were amazed that other children could create such a thing!

Here is the link to the YouTube video for those of you who'd like to watch it at home with your children:  http://youtu.be/63B1lnqPa8k