Look at this!  Isn't this great?  Can you see it's tongue....I mean proboscis.  Hm, better check my spelling on that.  I took this last Summer, and I can't WAIT for this Summer to get here.....or should I say, I can't wait for this Summer's FLOWERS to get here.  I think this was either a West Coast or a Painted Lady, which landed on an echinacea flower.  It is So cute!  I have lots of other photos of butterflies and other critters, I just need more space in order to post them.

Speaking of creepy crawlies and such, You have GOT to see the latest issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.  I got mine already, nanny nanny boo boo. 

My dear and crazy friend Dr. Heather Allen has a great article about entomology, and all about their pets, er, well, that's what they call them.  I got to meet the tarantula that lives in her kitchen.  She has a super duper family and we love them dearly.

And Jill Novak, she has a great article about drawing critters of the bugly kind.  I love Jill, she is a great artist and writer!  And lets see, there are a couple of other bug unit studies, one by Mary Beth Whalen, about bees.  I don't want to tell you about all of them.......I am leaving out some good ones here....you just have to get it for yourself and see!!!!

Get down to the dollar shop for some bug nets and stuff, or make your own.  A pole, an old wire hanger and some nylon net make a perfect butterfly net.  Pick up some rocks and see what is underneath!  Watch how fast the ants move their eggs down under when you take a rock off of their colony.  Wow, they work SO fast!

Get your kids out sketching some critters, and if you can't find anything, just get some photos for them to work from.  Really!  They will do just fine.  If you want to identify some of the butterflies that you are seeing, go to the USGS, and you will find it there.  Or the North American Butterfly Association also has some great resources.  Butterflies Through Binoculars by Jeffrey Glassberg is one of my favorite field guides.

Happy Hunting!

Nancy