Life and Death in our Class Garden

A praying mantis is eating one of our caterpillars. I don't think this is a native New Zealand praying mantis  because they have a purple and yellow spot  on their legs.






 

 



A butterfly has just hatched from its chrysalis. We never saw this chrysalis because it was hidden under some leaves. 
 

 How many caterpillars can you find? Look carefully....

  
 
 Can you see the chrysalis? The caterpillar  turned into the chrysalis during lunchtime yesterday, 13th March.
 

A hungry caterpillar.

The beginning of swan plant flowers. All our swan plants this year have been grown from seeds we saved from our last year's swan plants.

Can you see the yellow aphids?

I wonder where this caterpillar is going? It is on a dying poppy plant stalk.

I wonder if caterpillars like eating geraniums?

 

Follow this link to an interactive life cycle of the monarch butterfly - and just about everything you wanted to know about monarch butterflies in New Zealand. 

And here's an interesting link about monarch butterfly larvae (caterpillars) in outer space....  

Follow this link to see a video of a monarch butterfly laying its eggs.

Here's two videos to show you  parts of the caterpillar life cycle.