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Mariton: Camp and Butterflies

July 26, 2011

Today Virginia Derbyshire was our speaker as she introduced the children to butterflies.  You might ask what do butterflies have to do with plants (the camp theme)?  Well, many butterflies species lay their eggs on specific plants.  Those eggs hatch out caterpillars, which are adapted to feed on the leaves of those species.  So, the butterfly species you find in an area are often attracted by the plant species that grow there.

It lays the groundwork for the concept of connections in nature .  To see a field full of plants and to know that a monarch will lay its eggs just on the milkweeds.  That the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail will lay its eggs on the tuliptrees.  They can understand that each plant has a role besides just making oxygen, or having pretty flowers.

The weather was perfect and we saw lots of butterflies.   (All photos by Carole Mebus.)