rearing cats

[monarchlady]

Well, hello from monarch waystation 237 - this year is the best since I started in 1998. Started collecting eggs (7-6-06) because I was out of town. I have over 40 cats (collected from eggs and hatched) and a dozen or more eggs - best year ever for "wild" collection of eggs - hatching them and watching cats grow. My dream is to "tag" one of my "babies" and have them recovered in Mexico. I bring in the eggs and take them through the whole growth process to chrysillis. Then, release the butterfly for their journey. Fill the world with butterflies! Seriously, they need our help - thanks for all you do!

[Lindabird]

monarchlady...That's my dream too! People don't understand why I go through such trouble for caterpillars. When I explain everything to them....all the stages.....how awesome it is to get to witness them going into the chrysalis stage.....watching the beautiful butterfly emerge.

Then I tell them about this website and being able to track a Monarch that you raised from a tiny egg.....and it makes it all the way to Mexico! That is my dream too! This is my first year. I just ordered my stickers. I can't wait! I know it will probably take years for one of mine to be found and recorded, but I'll wait.

Anyway, people are starting to get it. I also teach preschool and I raise butterflies there too. Once I saw the monarch chrysalis....I was hooked. It was so pretty....and that gold!

My granddaughter goes to a daycare down the street, and I've been taking my caterpillars/butterflies down there almost everyday showing the kids. They have loved it.

I took the butterflies down there and they all came outside and watched me set them free.

Everyday, they ask me how my butterflies are doing. The lady that owns the daycare just bought a butterfly pavilion, and a book about Monarchs. She wants to read the book to them, then I'm going to give her some eggs so they can keep some down there to watch.

Like the daycare lady said....."How can you witness something so awesome and beautiful like that and not believe there is a God?" That's exactly what I thought too!

[Farfalla]

I agree! This year has been incredible. It was amazing for me to share the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly with the children I teach. I have never seen the kids so engaged in anything before. ( And my enthusisam was just as high!)I signed up for a workshop with the "Monarch Teacher's Network" of NJ later this month. I hope to meet other teachers in my area to share resources with. My cooworker has ordered the tagging kit for our preschool..It would be just such a miracle to hear that one of our butterflies make the journey!

~Hope

[Lindabird]

Farfalla:

I guess I'll have to do it the whole preschool (105 students) and not just my 10. I have the younger children, and I know the older ones would probably get more out of it.

I love to see the kids get excited about it! I feel like I might be planting a little seed in them and maybe when they get older they might have a special place in their hearts for butterflies too.

Linda

[monarchlady]

When you're hooked on raising this critters, there is no turning back! Even when friends say "Get a life! You feed bugs! " I was lucky enough to go to El Rosario in 1997, that's how I got "hooked". I highly suggest reading a book "Four Wings and A Prayer-Caught in the Mystery of the Monarch Butterfly" by Sue Halpern, published in 2001 - their story of migration tracking through Mexico - it is both humorous and inspirational. She makes you feel that you are right their with them. Great read! For the children, "Monarch Butterfly of Aster Way" pub2002 by Elizabeth Ring with excellent illustrations to delight the preschoolers.

[Farfalla]

Lindabird,
That's what we have done at our school. My children are the "middle" kids (3&4) but each class participates at their own level. Even the children in the 2 year old class are enchanted by the life cycle! It's a great way to foster collaborative learning. Does your school participate in Journey North and the Symbolic Migration? http://www.learner.org/jnorth/sm/index.html It's a great project! It's supposed to be for K and up. But we participate (enthusiastically) at our own level!

Monarchlady,
I was given that book as an end of year gift.. And now you have given me the motivation to take it to the beach to read!
And I love all of the Smithsonion books for kids..especially Monarch Butterfly of Aster Way. The children love it so much that I scanned the illustrations in the book to make a board game for the math center.
It's my dream to go to the sanctuary region.How awesome that you were there!!! Do you have pictures you could post? (Although I know that photos would never capture the real experience!)

[ohiomonarchmama]

I just checked out the Journey North website and think it would be awesome to participate. I've been doing monarchs in our school library (K-8) for 6 years now, bringing in all stages to show the students, and last year tagged 49...and I was SO THRILLED that one of them was recovered in El Rosario!!! The kids couldn't believe it either! I am really excited for this year, and think we might start out the Journey North project with the Spanish class if I can get it approved.
Hope you all are having a good weekend. The temps were in the 90's last weekend in Cleveland, so I brought my babies inside, but they are back out on the screened porch again with the weather perfect today. I released about a dozen in the past few days. Had an unusual number of problems with cats going into chrysalids with one of my earlier groups (skin split about 1/3 and stopped, then eventually died), but the new group has been fine. I collect eggs from my milkweed. If I leave them, I can see the cats are getting eaten...I see the munch-marks and no cats, so I can't bear to leave the eggs, resulting in too much work for me with cleaning and feeding, but I just have to do it. Happy butterfly-ing! Julie

[Farfalla]

Hi Julie,
It's been wayyyyyy hot here in NJ,too.
How amazing that your butterfly was recovered in El Rosario!!!
Incredible!

You will love Journey North and the Symbolic Migration! The children will have an opportunity to create paper butterflies to send to the children in the sanctuary region of Mexico in the Fall ..and then "meet" other children from USA, Canada and Mexico when paper butterflies return in the Spring.
Stay Cool
~Hope

[ohiomonarchmama]

Hi, Hope!
I emailed my supervisor and referred her to the link and she thought it would be a good project for us to try this year. Thanks for the great info. You stay cool, too! It's much better here today, only 82 so far!