I helped Mary deliver her classroom’s cage holding the Painted Ladies for the Butterfly Festival to the EmilyAnn Theatre on Friday. There were many cages there so it looked like the Festival was going to be a big success.

Of the 15 caterpillars in Mary’s cage, 13 had completed the metamorphosis. One chrysalis didn’t make it. It was dry and dead-looking. The remaining chrysalis was the the late-starter, so there’s a chance it might still produce a butterfly.

Here’s a photo of the butterflies in the cage sitting on a picnic table at home. The late-starter chrysalis is in the bottom-left and you can see the cotton balls soaked in Gatorade in the dish to feed the butterflies. The Painted Ladies have a blue and gray/green wing bottom. The wing top is hard to see because when resting they hold their wings straight up and together. The wing top is orange and black.

Here are two at the feeding dish. They’re small – about 1.5 inches long and they don’t sit still for long.

I spoke to Melinda Seib who is a fellow Hays County Master Naturalist and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Theatre. She is in charge of the Caterpillar Camp and Cages for Classrooms projects.

She said the Cages for Classrooms had delivered 135 cages to the community. 104 cages were placed in classrooms and Master Naturalists made 53 care-giving instructions and butterfly life cycle education presentations to the students. A total of 1060 students heard presentations!

In addition, 24 teachers in the schools were given the care instructions and life cycle presentations and an educational packet prepared by Master Naturalists. 58 other individuals, educators and businesses received a similar presentation. A grand total of 1140 children and individuals received the Master Naturalist presentations in our community.

That’s a great outcome. It’s why we support and volunteer for this project. It’s a great opportunity to reach and educate children and also adults about the butterfly life cycle which can lead to more interest and science and conservation.