It has been a BUSY Summer as I'm sure it has been for everyone! I did take more catapillar metamorpohois pics but didn't unpload them till NOW! So, without further hesitation..

The Chrysalis

The Butterflies!!

The day the butterflies emerged, Sophie became very concerned that they were stuck in small mesh houses when they were meant to fly free! They weren't eating much she observed and was afraid they wouldn't be alive in there by morning. So we headed out back to let them go....poor Sophie's forced smile in the picture below was through tears of concern. Once we had them outside they wouldn't leave! They kept flying around us on the lit porch but wouldn't venture out into the dark. This gave us a unique opportunity to "play" with them for awhile. We figured the were afraid to fly away in the dark since there may be preditors out there that might want dinner! So, we brought them back in until morning. Sophie was extremely relieved to see them alive when she got up. We then took them outside and one at a time released them into the yard. They all flew in the yard for a minute or two before taking off into the sky!

This was a great experience that we will be repeating this spring with a larger habitat and some butterfly plants in out backyard to invite them to come back and visit!