Painted Lady

We have Butterflies!

They have finally come out of their chrysalises and Emily couldn't be more excited to see them. I fed them sugar water for about a week and then the girls decided it was time to release them.

We learned a few more things about butterflies during this experience

• right after the butterflies emerge they expand there wings and red liquid drips from the wings.
• The adult butterfly has a natural life span of about three weeks.
• butterflies are cold-blooded and they need the warmth of the sun for their bodies to work properly.
• different types of butterflies have different types of markings on their wings.
• the markings help them to find a mate of the same species.
• the markings also work as camouflage to hide from enemies.
• Painted ladies wingspan is 4.5 cm
• the tops of the wings are white, orange, brown, and black.
• the undersides also have tan blue and purple. 
• the tips of the forewings are black with white spots and smooth edges.
• the Painted Lady's natural habitat is open woods, meadows and deserts all over the US, Mexico and Canada.