Butterflies and Moths, Thematic Unit Study
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The butterfly that settles on a branch is afraid that he will break it.... Proverb
Some of the best ways for our children to learn is by play and interaction. Teaching them about insects - butterflies and moths - is a fun and exciting way for you to encompass a variety of subjects into your theme. Grammar and vocabulary exercises are relatively simple to coordinate; Butterfly crafts can be used as an extension lesson or to make gifts for that special person, or to create a fantastically whimsical outfit;
Social studies can include why people or situations are likened to butterflies, caterpillars or moths;
Drama and the arts can be anything relating to watching animated (or documentary) movies, drawing, photography as well as dressing up;
Life skills can include planning and hands-on interaction for a butterfly-themed party;
Literature Arts will include reading and writing poetry or books or a complete literature unit study.
We don't forget of course the fact that nature and science will form the basis for your very first butterfly study. Extensions can include geography i.e. where do those butterflies come from? Historically one could venture into which cultures or societies and in which era were butterflies used as symbols, and what did they symbolize.
Critical thinking skills and revision for older or younger students can include cryptic puzzles, wordsearches, crossword puzzles and a variety of questions and answers, true or false. Younger children would love coloring pages, mazes and drawing.
Childen love going on an Easter Egg Hunt. Here's an activity that's sure to capture your child's attention! Take a net and some play butterflies. If you don't have plastic butterflies you can make them out of construction paper. Hide the butterflies in your backyard or around the house. Whoever "catches" the most butterflies wins!
There are many ways to include butterflies into your child's classroom. On this page I share with you a few of the ideas we have tried or would like to try. I do hope you enjoy them, and find some useful resources!
Social studies can include why people or situations are likened to butterflies, caterpillars or moths;
Drama and the arts can be anything relating to watching animated (or documentary) movies, drawing, photography as well as dressing up;
Life skills can include planning and hands-on interaction for a butterfly-themed party;
Literature Arts will include reading and writing poetry or books or a complete literature unit study.
We don't forget of course the fact that nature and science will form the basis for your very first butterfly study. Extensions can include geography i.e. where do those butterflies come from? Historically one could venture into which cultures or societies and in which era were butterflies used as symbols, and what did they symbolize.
Critical thinking skills and revision for older or younger students can include cryptic puzzles, wordsearches, crossword puzzles and a variety of questions and answers, true or false. Younger children would love coloring pages, mazes and drawing.
Childen love going on an Easter Egg Hunt. Here's an activity that's sure to capture your child's attention! Take a net and some play butterflies. If you don't have plastic butterflies you can make them out of construction paper. Hide the butterflies in your backyard or around the house. Whoever "catches" the most butterflies wins!
There are many ways to include butterflies into your child's classroom. On this page I share with you a few of the ideas we have tried or would like to try. I do hope you enjoy them, and find some useful resources!
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Caterpillars, Butterflies and Moths Themes
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“Love is like a butterfly, hold it too tight it will crush, hold it too loose and it will fly.”
Little people learn about Butterflies, Caterpillars and Moths...
Here's how you can tell moths and butterflies apart.
All moths and butterflies have four velvety flying wings. Though they fly slowly, and zigzag back and forth, they can fly for long distances without getting tired. Some butterflies often fly hundreds of miles south, to escape the winter.Moths fly at night and usually have feelers that are feathery. Butterflies fly in the daytime and have feelers that have knobs on them.
Each family of moths and each family of butterflies is dressed in its own colours and patterns, and lays hundreds of eggs of its own special shape on its own special kind of leaf or twig. The eggs hatch in about a week and a different kind of caterpillar comes out of each kind of egg.
Some caterpillars are as woolly as bears. Some have horns. Some have bristles which sting. Some can wave their heads in the air. One caterpillar has a false-face. It can blow up the front of its body to look like a green snake with yellow eyes.
All caterpillars can spin a silk thread with the spinneret beneath their mouths. Tent caterpillars and pine caterpillars both live in groups, in silk tents they weave for themselves.
When bugs are born....
Bugs are born knowing how to do many clever things, but when tricks are played on them they don't know how to figure things out for themselves as people do.
A caterpillar spends all its days just eating. Like the beetle larva, it may grow out of five bigger and bigger skins. The last time it changes its skin, it puts on its new and different pupa skin and goes to sleep.
Most kinds of moth caterpillars change into their pupa skins in a warm little dressing room they make, called a cocoon. Cocoons may be of silk thread, or of leaves sewn together with silk thread or of earth.
People unwind the thread from the cocoon of the silk moth to make silk dresses.
When a butterfly caterpillar becomes a pupa, it doesn't make a cocoon. Instead, it spins a silk net on a twig to give it something to hold on to, and a silk rope to tie itself about the middle. Then it wiggles out of its old caterpillar skin, which has split down the back.
The pupa skin underneath is wet and sticky, but when it dries, it is hard and as waterproof as a raincoat. Each kind of butterfly has its own kind of pupa skin.
When the pupa skin splits, the moth or butterfly climbs out. First it dries its wet and wrinkled wings, and then pumps them full of the greenish fluid which is a bug's blood. Then it drinks some flower nectar with its long sucking tongue which works like a nose dropper and can be curled up when it is not being used. After coming out of its pupa skin, it lives only a few more weeks.
During that short time, moths and butterflies do not grow any more. They spend their time fluttering from flower to flower, sipping the sweet juices and living a carefree life. After the females have mated, they lay their eggs wherever the caterpillars that will hatch from the eggs can find the food they like best to eat.
Grown-up moths and butterflies are quite harmless. It is while they are in their caterpillar stages that they do damage.
The moth caterpillars are the worst pests. They are the ones that tunnel through fruit, and stalks of grain, and eat holes in our best woollen sweaters.
Moths and butterflies have many enemies. Birds think them a juicy mouthful and find their colours easy to follow in a chase. But they each have a way to fool their enemies at such times. A butterfly's brightest colours are on the top of its wings.
When a butterfly alights, it folds its wings above its back and, presto, the bright colours are hidden. Only the dull undersides of the wings show, and they match the surroundings. When a moth rests, it folds its front wings over the more brightly coloured rear ones. In that way, it too becomes part of the background, and can escape the sharpest eyes.
Throw a Kids Butterfly Themed Birthday Party
Introduce a butterfly theme is to make your child's next birthday memorable. If you go with this theme, there are many fun ideas you can use to make it work.
Here are some suggestions for invitations, activities and food for your child's butterfly birthday party.
Send Invitations
Purchase bug party-themed invite cards at a party store or department store.
Make your own invitations instead by drawing a butterfly or tracing a butterfly from an online template onto a folded sheet of card stock. Cut out the butterfly and have your birthday girl help you decorate it with markers and glitter.
Fill out all the party information inside the card. Insert a map if you need to and mark the designated party area by drawing a butterfly on the map or using a butterfly sticker.
Play Party Games and Make Crafts
Play Pin the Antennae on the Butterfly by drawing a butterfly on poster board and having children put black pipe cleaners folded as antennae on the butterfly. Cover their eyes, turn them 3 times and have them pin the item as close to a designated spot as possible.
Play Butterfly Relay by dividing the party guests into 2 teams, lining them up behind a starting line and arming each team with a small butterfly net. Place toy butterflies 20 to 25 feet away. Have each team run to the butterflies, get as many as they can in their net and then run back to pass the nets to their teammates. The teammates then take their turns. The team with the most butterflies at the end of the game wins.
Purchase or make a butterfly piñata for the party. Add toys with butterflies on them such as butterfly jewelry, tatoos and erasers to the candy inside the piñata.
Make a cake into a butterfly shape by cutting a round cake in half and turning the pieces so that the round ends face each other evenly to form the wings. Cut out notches on the straight sides and put the cut pieces in the center to form the body. Decorate the cake as a colorful butterfly with frosting, candy pieces and sprinkles.
Serve juice boxes or mix drinks with sherbet and ginger ale. Mix 3 cups of ginger ale to 2 cups of sherbet in a punch bowl. Add 2 cups of cranberry juice cocktail if you want to offset the sweetness.
Create butterfly fans by having the party guests draw and color pictures of butterflies on colored paper. Then fold the paper accordion style and gather the folds on one end to make a handle. Tape it together.
Paint a butterfly on each guest's cheek with face paint or put temporary tattoos on their cheeks or arms.
Decorations and Food
Purchase butterfly-themed plates, cups, napkins and a tablecloth for your party. You can put plain white table cloths on the tables and have party guests decorate it by drawing their own butterflies on the table.
Party hats can be made with a headband, 2 pipe cleaners rounded into a loose, slinky shape and 2 small Styrofoam balls. Make these into antennae hats by wrapping the pipe cleaners to the headband and gluing the balls to the top of each pipe cleaner.
Give a goodie bag to each guest. They can decorate their own goodie bags with butterfly stickers or you can purchase butterfly-themed bags at a party store. You can also use a butterfly net as the goodie bag. The kids can fill their own bags if you have a piñata or you can put candy and butterfly-themed toys into the bags.
Make a cake into a butterfly shape by cutting a round cake in half and turning the pieces so that the round ends face each other evenly to form the wings. Cut out notches on the straight sides and put the cut pieces in the center to form the body. Decorate the cake as a colorful butterfly with frosting, candy pieces and sprinkles.
Serve juice boxes or mix drinks with sherbet and ginger ale. Mix 3 cups of ginger ale to 2 cups of sherbet in a punch bowl. Add 2 cups of cranberry juice cocktail if you want to offset the sweetness.
Put out healthy snacks such as baby carrots and celery with ranch dressing on the side. Chex Mix also makes for a healthier snack If you're serving lunch, make finger sandwiches with various meats.
IDEA
You can also purchase a butterfly cake pan at crafts stores or online to make your birthday cake. You also can stick butterfly novelty pieces into a regular cake or purchase a custom-decorated cake.
References: Source:WikiHow
Send Invitations
Purchase bug party-themed invite cards at a party store or department store.
Make your own invitations instead by drawing a butterfly or tracing a butterfly from an online template onto a folded sheet of card stock. Cut out the butterfly and have your birthday girl help you decorate it with markers and glitter.
Fill out all the party information inside the card. Insert a map if you need to and mark the designated party area by drawing a butterfly on the map or using a butterfly sticker.
Play Party Games and Make Crafts
Play Pin the Antennae on the Butterfly by drawing a butterfly on poster board and having children put black pipe cleaners folded as antennae on the butterfly. Cover their eyes, turn them 3 times and have them pin the item as close to a designated spot as possible.
Play Butterfly Relay by dividing the party guests into 2 teams, lining them up behind a starting line and arming each team with a small butterfly net. Place toy butterflies 20 to 25 feet away. Have each team run to the butterflies, get as many as they can in their net and then run back to pass the nets to their teammates. The teammates then take their turns. The team with the most butterflies at the end of the game wins.
Purchase or make a butterfly piñata for the party. Add toys with butterflies on them such as butterfly jewelry, tatoos and erasers to the candy inside the piñata.
Make a cake into a butterfly shape by cutting a round cake in half and turning the pieces so that the round ends face each other evenly to form the wings. Cut out notches on the straight sides and put the cut pieces in the center to form the body. Decorate the cake as a colorful butterfly with frosting, candy pieces and sprinkles.
Serve juice boxes or mix drinks with sherbet and ginger ale. Mix 3 cups of ginger ale to 2 cups of sherbet in a punch bowl. Add 2 cups of cranberry juice cocktail if you want to offset the sweetness.
Create butterfly fans by having the party guests draw and color pictures of butterflies on colored paper. Then fold the paper accordion style and gather the folds on one end to make a handle. Tape it together.
Paint a butterfly on each guest's cheek with face paint or put temporary tattoos on their cheeks or arms.
Decorations and Food
Purchase butterfly-themed plates, cups, napkins and a tablecloth for your party. You can put plain white table cloths on the tables and have party guests decorate it by drawing their own butterflies on the table.
Party hats can be made with a headband, 2 pipe cleaners rounded into a loose, slinky shape and 2 small Styrofoam balls. Make these into antennae hats by wrapping the pipe cleaners to the headband and gluing the balls to the top of each pipe cleaner.
Give a goodie bag to each guest. They can decorate their own goodie bags with butterfly stickers or you can purchase butterfly-themed bags at a party store. You can also use a butterfly net as the goodie bag. The kids can fill their own bags if you have a piñata or you can put candy and butterfly-themed toys into the bags.
Make a cake into a butterfly shape by cutting a round cake in half and turning the pieces so that the round ends face each other evenly to form the wings. Cut out notches on the straight sides and put the cut pieces in the center to form the body. Decorate the cake as a colorful butterfly with frosting, candy pieces and sprinkles.
Serve juice boxes or mix drinks with sherbet and ginger ale. Mix 3 cups of ginger ale to 2 cups of sherbet in a punch bowl. Add 2 cups of cranberry juice cocktail if you want to offset the sweetness.
Put out healthy snacks such as baby carrots and celery with ranch dressing on the side. Chex Mix also makes for a healthier snack If you're serving lunch, make finger sandwiches with various meats.
IDEA
You can also purchase a butterfly cake pan at crafts stores or online to make your birthday cake. You also can stick butterfly novelty pieces into a regular cake or purchase a custom-decorated cake.
References: Source:WikiHow
Let's Pretend Child's Springtime Fairy Costume with Wings, Toddler
Amazon Price: $17.01 (as of 05/30/2012)
Test your butterfly knowledge...
If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies!
Caterpillar Fingerplay
CaterpillarThere was a little caterpillar crawling all about.
He worked and he worked without a doubt.
(Index finger wiggling)
Wrapping himself in a snug cocoon.
Waiting and waiting, will it be soon?
(Cover index finger with other hand.)
Look, he's coming out, my oh my!
For now he's become a beautiful butterfly.
(Cross thumbs and let fingers be fingers be butterfly wings.)
<Ref: Maw Maw Lynn
Butterfly & Caterpillar Activities
Please exercise adequate supervision when working with small or sharp objects and/or heat.
Coming Out of The Pupa (Chrysalis)
A monarch butterfly pupa is green but you can make your "pupa" any color.
Make a butterfly * or copy the pattern found at Thinking Foundation.. You can make the butterfly wings by folding a small piece of paper in half, and draw half a butterfly along the fold line. You can add the antennas when you cut it out.
Cut it out on poster board or heavy paper. Hole punch a hole in the top middle part of the butterfly. Place a 6 inch piece of pipe cleaner in the hole (if using a pattern without an antenna) and turn the edges to form a circle. Have each child decorate the butterfly how they want (make sure each side looks like the other side). Take a toilet paper tube to form a pupa (chrysalis). Decorate it. Tape the butterfly onto a craft stick. Curl the wings of the butterfly inside of the pupa (chrysalis) and take it out of the pupa (chrysalis) and let the butterfly fly. Play some soft instrumental music and let the child fly the butterfly while the music plays.
In an instruction page. of their web site, this is a balancing butterfly (using a penny taped on the back of each butterfly wing).
CATERPILLAR ACTIVITY
Sew green pom-poms together using thread to make a caterpillar. You can make a face using a fine tipped felt pen or leave the face off.
Have the child place the caterpillar into the cocoon (a brown sock or other color if you don't have a brown sock or just a small lunch bag).
Have the child take a butterfly out of the sock (or bag).
EGG CARTON CATERPILLAR
Have a row of 6 cardboard egg carton cups cut out already. Have them cut the sides out to form legs (cut them out for younger children). Have the child paint the egg carton using green tempera paint or other type of paint. Make a face out of paper or paint it if you like, like the caterpillar in the book, "Very Hungry Caterpillar" or how ever the child wants the caterpillar to look like. Glue it on the dried caterpillar.
THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SNACKS
Make or eat some of the foods in the book.
I would suggest the healthy, inexpensive food items. You can cut some of these foods into small pieces for each child to sample: apples, pears, plums, strawberries, orange, watermelon, or cheese. If you also want an entire snack, make one of the following: chocolate cake, cherry pie, or cupcakes
“The butterfly often forgets it once was a caterpillar”
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Decorate your butterfly world...
A themed butterfly party is sure to delight adults and children!
Butterfly and Caterpillar Songs and Poems
Glitterlive.com
Butterfly, butterfly,
Whence do you come?
I know not, I ask not,
Nor ever had a home.
Butterfly, butterfly,
Where do you go?
Where the sun shines,
And where the buds grow.
Butterfly
Where are you going as you flutter-bye,
With your wonderfull colours, oh butterfly.
What can you taste, what can you see,
With your rugby shirt on, you big bumblebee,
Are you really happy, can you tell us a tale,
Slug with home, slow slippery snail.
Your always around, do you ever get lost,
Your annoying and scary you stinging bad wasp.
Why do you buzz, and fly at full throttle,
Your only a fly, you giant blue bottle.
Do you really eat soil, will you ever learn,
Slithery, slithery garden worm.
Why can you carry things heavy and giant,
Your only minute, you small little ant.
There all in our world, around us each day,
Crawling and flying, in there own special way,
We share this big place with every insect,
Living there lives, so show them respect.
Joff
Butterfly Wishes
Yesterday a butterfly
Came floating gently through the sky.
He soared up through the atmosphere
Then drifted close enough to hear.
I said, "I'd love to fly with you
And sail around the way you do.
It looks like it would be such fun
To fly up toward the summer sun.
But I have not your graceful charm.
I haven't wings, just these two arms.
I've been designed to walk around.
My human feet must touch the ground.
Then magically he spoke to me
and told me what his wish would be.
He said, "What I'd love most to do
Is walk upon God's Earth with you,
To squish it's mud between my toes
Or touch my finger to my nose.
I'd love just once to walk around
With human feet to touch the ground,
But I have not two legs that swing,
I haven't arms, just these two wings."
And so we went our separate ways
In wonder and surprise.
For we'd both seen God's precious gifts
Through someone else's eyes.
Author Unknown
To A Butterfly
I've watched you now a full half-hour,
Self-poised upon that yellow flower;
And, little Butterfly! indeed
I know not if you sleep or feed.
How motionless! - not frozen seas
More motionless! and then
What joy awaits you, when the breeze
Hath found you out among the trees,
And calls you forth again!
This plot of orchard-ground is ours;
My trees they are, my Sister's flowers;
Here rest your wing when they are weary;
Here lodge as in a sanctuary!
Come often to us, fear no wrong;
Sit near us on the bough!
We'll talk of sunshine and of song,
And summer days, when we were young;
Sweet childish days, that were as long
As twenty days are now.
Stay near me--do not take thy flight!
A little longer stay in sight!
Much converse do I find in thee,
Historian of my infancy!
Float near me; do not yet depart!
Dead times revive in thee:
Thou bring'st, gay creature as thou art!
A solemn image to my heart,
My father's family!
Oh! pleasant, pleasant were the days,
The time, when, in our childish plays,
My sister Emmeline and I
Together chased the butterfly!
A very hunter did I rush
Upon the prey:--with leaps and springs
I followed on from brake to bush;
But she, God love her, feared to brush
The dust from off its wings.
William Wordsworth
The Butterfly
The last, the very last,
So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.
Perhaps if the sun's tears would sing against a white stone...
Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly way up high
It went away I' m sure because it wished to
kiss the world goodbye.
For seven weeks I've lived in here,
Penned up inside this ghetto
but I have found my people here
The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut candles in the court.
Only I never saw another butterfly.
That butterfly was the last one,
Butterflies don't live in here,
In the ghetto.
Pavel Friedmann
Fun Learning Strategies and Free Printables
Can't Catch a Butterfly
Click here to download free learning activities for Can't Catch a Butterfly. Lessons include inter alia concepts, color and size identification, and quantities.
Click here to download free coloring sheets for Can't Catch a Butterfly.
Rainbow Star Books .
Click here to download free coloring sheets for Can't Catch a Butterfly.
Rainbow Star Books .
Can't Catch a Butterfly (Mom's Choice Awards Recipient)
Amazon Price: $16.95 (as of 05/30/2012)
Exciting Butterfly Activity Books
How to Make a Fuzzy Ball Pipe Cleaner Butterfly
This is a fun family craft using fuzzy wire. It's very easy to do and turns out to be really nice. Kids will love making these butterflies!Things You'll Need
- 6 fuzzy wires
- 17 fuzzy balls
Steps
- Lay down two fuzzy wires side by side and twist around the ends leaving an inch at the top.
- At the part where you left an inch, fold the strings up an inch. Bend the ends. Now you have your body.
- Take one string and make a half circle with one end an inch below the top and the other end in the middle. Twist the ends to make it stay.
- Do the same thing in step 4 with another wire but on the opposite side.
- With another wire, make a half circle with one end in the middle and the other end at the end of the body.
- Do the same thing in Step 6 with another wire but on the opposite side.
- Glue fuzzy balls all down the body of the butterfly. (The middle two strings)
- Glue two balls together. This is for the head, so they will idealy be the same colour.
- Finally, with the two balls you made in step 9, glue them an inch from the top. Now it's time to enjoy your butterfly.
Tips
- Just to let you know, there are some ways to alter this craft. You can use felt to actually add to the wings if you wanted too. Also, you could modify the size and change it.
Related wikiHows
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make a Fuzzy Ball Pipe Cleaner Butterfly. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
Pipe Cleaner Butterfly Craft
Three pipe cleaners will make a simple butterfly to entertain the kids or adults.
Things You'll Need- 3 pipe cleaners
Steps
- Shape 2 pipe cleaners alike for wings.
- Loop ends together at top and bottom.
- Loop a pipe cleaner tightly at bottom
- Twist the two upright ends over each other to top of butterfly. Loop the together over the top of the butterfly, and form the ends of the tendrils.
Sources and Citations
- Source: Estrin, M., editor. (1945). Fun for a Rainy Day. New York: WM. Penn Publishing Cord. - Copyright not renewed. Book in public domain.
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make a Fuzzy Ball Pipe Cleaner Butterfly. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
- Shape 2 pipe cleaners alike for wings.
Create-a-Butterfly-Garden
Steps
- Research first. Find out which butterflies are common in your area. Observation over a few days and the use of a butterfly field guide will help you in this pursuit.
- Choose "Host Plants" for your garden. Note from your research what the caterpillar (larvae) of the local butterflies eat. Two excellent examples are:
- Milkweed - this attracts the Monarch caterpillar.
- Parsley - this attracts the Black Swallowtail caterpillar.
- Milkweed - this attracts the Monarch caterpillar.
- Choose "Nectar Plants" for your garden. Nectar plants serve as the food source for the butterfly. There is a variety of possible plants and some of them are shown here. Excellent choices include:
- A Butterfly Bush - this is suitable for a Swallowtail. Large plant: 4 feet (1.2m) tall, 6 feet (1.8m) wide, make sure it is hardy in your area. Some varieties are considered invasive, so make sure, if you purchase one of these, that you keep it dead-headed to prevent seed production.
- Swamp Milkweed - suitable for the Snowberry Clearwing. This plant grows 3 feet (.9m) tall and 18 inches (.5m) wide. It also serves as the host plant for Monarch caterpillars.
- Joe Pye Weed - this is suitable for the Swallowtail. It grows to be a very large plant - 8 feet (2.4m) tall and 4 feet (1.2m) wide. It is a perennial.
- Aster - Asters grow to 3 feet (.9m) tall and 2 feet (.6m) wide. It is a perennial. Butterflies especially love native varieties.
- Bee Balm - this plant grows 2 feet (.6m) tall and 18 inches (.5m) wide. It is a perennial.
- Zinnia - this plant is attractive to a range of butterflies and they especially like the tall varieties. The plant generally grows 4 feet (1.2m) high and 1 foot (.3m) wide. It is an annual and is easy to start from seed.
- Pentas - suitable for Swallowtails. This plant grows 2 feet (.6m) hight and 3 feet (.9m) wide. It is an annual in cold climates.
- Heliotrope - this plant attracts a range of butterflies. It grows to a height of 2 feet (.6m) and a width of 1 foot (.3m), although it is possible to contain it in a pot. It will remain a perennial in temperate zones but is only an annual in cold climates.
- A Butterfly Bush - this is suitable for a Swallowtail. Large plant: 4 feet (1.2m) tall, 6 feet (1.8m) wide, make sure it is hardy in your area. Some varieties are considered invasive, so make sure, if you purchase one of these, that you keep it dead-headed to prevent seed production.
- Plan garden on paper. Draw up a plan, or decide where to add these suggestions to a current garden. Keep in mind the full grown size of plants during this planning stage. Also consider their needs for light and water.
- Purchase plants or seeds from garden center. You can also get these plants and seeds online. Choose robust and healthy plants to give them a good start.
- Plant your butterfly garden. Make sure to keep new plants and seeds watered until plants are well-established or seeds germinate. Keep the weeds at bay, to give the plants a good chance.
- Observe and enjoy the butterfly activity in your garden. Watch for female butterflies laying eggs on host plants. Make notes in a record book of the butterflies that you observe and, if you can, take photographs to add to your record book. A digital record book can be a useful and simple way to do this and can be added to over the years. Observed changes in the types and numbers of butterflies coming into your garden can be information shared with biologists, ecologists and climate change specialists who use local variation information to ascertain species increase or decline, as well as temperature fluctuations and change.
Tips
- If there are Monarch butterflies in your area, they are very easy to attract. Swamp Milkweed (noted above) or Tropical Milkweed (annual in colder climates) are excellent host plants for them. The Tropical Milkweed can be started from seed in the winter.
- Monarchs are very fascinating butterflies. Their migration pattern is one of nature's great stories. Indeed, you can participate in the migration by helping to track the Monarchs that arrive in your part of the world. Report your own observations to this map.
- Butterflies are relatively weak fliers. Don't put your garden in a windy, exposed position. If your whole yard is windy, plant some shrubs or large, dense perennials on the windward side of your butterfly patch, so that the butterflies can feed in peace on the flowers in their lee.
Watch the Video here
Warnings
- Butterflies are insects! You cannot use insectides in a butterfly garden.
- Always avoid planting potentially invasive species of plants. These plants can spread miles beyond the garden walls and wreak havoc on native ecosystems. If they are planted they will spread.
- Butterfly Bush is considered a noxious weed in states like Washington.
Sources and Citations
- Glorious Butterfly - Butterfly Gardening and Raising Monarchs.
Related:
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Create a Butterfly Garden. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
“The butterfly that flies among the thorns will tear its wings”
Online Resources
butterfly Glitter Graphics - Glitterlive.com
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Butterflies and Moths Thematic Unit Study
106 pages $3.95
There are many ways to include butterflies into your child's classroom. In this book I share with you a few of the ideas we have tried or would like to try. I do hope you enjoy them, and find some useful resources!
The unit is written in US English and is A4 size. Please adjust your printer settings.
I have included:
Coloring
Basic writing exercises
Mazes
Dot-to-Dot
Lacing exercises
Number cards
Basic Counting Exercises
Word Wall cards
Calendar Pieces
Calendar Pieces
Days of the Week
Alphabet Flash Cards
Vocabulary Exercises
Printable Games
How to make a sticker reward chart
Butterfly cooking
Wordsearches and more%u2026
For moms, dads and the rest of the family, enjoy cooking, baking, crafts and singing along with action poems. Also included is a list of further resources for educators as well as a few family-oriented activities.
I do hope you will find this unit beneficial and look forward to interacting with you again soon.
DOWNLOAD HERE
More Unit Studies
Exceptional Butterfly Sites and Resources
- Butterfly Themes
- Butterfly, Moth, & Caterpillar Themes (including: The Very
Hungry Caterpillar) - Butterfly and Moth Lifecycles
- Butterfly and Moth Lifecycles
- Bible-Based Coloring Pages for Kids %u2022 KidExplorers%u2122 at ChristianAnswers.Net
- Bible-Based Butterfly Coloring Pages for Kids
- Butterfly and Caterpillar Coloring Pages
- Fun site for teachers, parents, and kids featuring free educational games, coloring pages, interactive e-books, holiday activities, musical postcards, crafts, worksheets, and more!
- The Butterfly Website
- The Butterfly Website is the world's oldest and largest website dedicated to butterflies and moths.
- O. Orkin Insect Zoo: Activity 1
- Butterflies--Lines of Symmetry
- Endangered Ecosystems
- Caterpillars or Other Insects - Another way to explore your environment is to focus on specific organisms.
About Me
If you'd like to revisit any sections on this page please click the links below :)
- Thank you Squidoo HQ for awarding this lens the Purple Star on August 31, 2011
- Blessed with a sprinkling of angel dust!
- Caterpillars, Butterflies and Moths Themes
- Little people learn about Butterflies, Caterpillars and Moths...
- When bugs are born....
- Throw a Kids Butterfly Themed Birthday Party
- Test your butterfly knowledge...
- Caterpillar Fingerplay
Bookmark This Page :)
Thank you for fluttering by....
Your feedback is valuable.
butterfly Glitter Graphics
Please feel free to leave a comment and a link to your own related lens.
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EdmondHoggeJr
Apr 16, 2012 @ 7:26 pm | delete
- Wow you are quite the Squidoo Gal arent you lol with over 1200 Lenses and beautiful writing to boot, I'm lucky to get a few paragraphs and I'm lost after that hahaha but I am on my 4th Lens and it's about my Butterfly Art and am going to put you on for a featured lens well done and congrats!
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iijuan12
Mar 17, 2012 @ 12:05 am | delete
- Another fabulous unit study! Blessed and liked.
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dorina777
Mar 14, 2012 @ 6:11 pm | delete
- Well done! I can tell there's a lot of work that went into this lens. It's only fitting it won Purple Star!
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StacyBirch Mar 14, 2012 @ 5:21 pm | delete
- Nice lens, lots of information.
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KimGiancaterino Mar 14, 2012 @ 2:42 pm | delete
- Happy Learn About Butterflies Day!
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blackspanielgallery
Feb 29, 2012 @ 8:47 pm | delete
- Nice lens
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Close2Art
Feb 18, 2012 @ 7:50 am | delete
- a plethora of butterfly beauty and info, Blessed!!!
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mismatch
Jan 24, 2012 @ 11:45 am | delete
- A most beautiful work of lens -- blessed the lens and blessed the author!
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LeCordonDude
Jan 15, 2012 @ 4:19 pm | delete
- hey if you do any zazzle-ing hit me up wooden_earth@yahoo.com I'll add your shops and products to my zazzle lenses :0) love butterflies and moths thematic study unit! :)
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kathysart
Jan 12, 2012 @ 1:12 pm | delete
- You REALLY worked on this lens.. it shows. Beautiful! Angel blessed!
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- Load More
P.S. What is The Homeschool Club?
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Proud Squidoo Rocketmom and Mammoth Squid :) I am first and foremost mom to 6 blessings, wife to Craig Fry,, mama to 6 dogs and 4 cats, and intermittent... more »
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