We've had two butterflies since yesterday! I've been holding off posting till I got a good picture , but it's actually harder to take a good picture of a butterfly than of a caterpillar, so I'm posting a photo I found on the internet. I promise this is what they look like.
Both the butterflies have orange and black wings that are beautiful when open. The thing is, they aren't open very much, as butterflies rest with the wings folded closed. The undersides of the wings, which we've seen a LOT, are much more muted in color, almost drab really. It makes sense though, when you think about how God created animals with camouflage for protection. At rest on a plant with the bright colors out of sight, these butterflies would be hard to see.
The most interesting thing has been how soft and limp the wings are at first. Apparently it takes several hours for the wings to stiffen as blood is pumped to them, and at first they looked like wet paper, very flimsy.
I hope the other three are just late bloomers. Peanut has this idea that it's a family and that the Momma and Daddy butterflies are now waiting on their children to come out. I gave up trying to tell her -- you just can't reason with 6 year old logic. There are five people in our family after all.
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