How sweet is that!!! Out of the mouths of babes :-)

Two weeks ago I we had a little girl knock at the door. She wanted to speak to me but DH told her I was still asleep and to come back in an hour. She came back and asked me if she could release her butterflies in my garden. I went out and saw she was carrying a large netted cage with 5 painted ladies and a moth, on the bottom was slices of fruit. She told me she found a moth cocoon and raised it with the butterflies. She said the butterflies would be happier in my garden and could she release them on my flowers. Well of course! - I was so touched that she had thought of my garden.

She carefully released the butterflies and watched them flit around the yard. The moth took off like a rocket towards the eves of the house. I'm sure the moth was thinking; get me the hell out of here!

As she was leaving I gave her one of my sphinx moth cocoons.

The next day she brought me a gift. A little box with a tiny ceramic dove. She said the wings were broken but it would look nice in my garden and it would watch over the butterflies.

Edna

Whoo hoo and Awww!!, respectively. :)

Met a budding bugologist today while trying to sell my jewelry at a craft fair. She was just sooo thrilled that she found a BUG over on the dusty miller! :) Six years old and whipsmart, curious and HUNGRY to learn. So very unusual....

Sooo...I looked at her bug, which was some kind of beetle like a rose chafer or..?? and steered her mom to WhatsThatBug. Mom is totally puzzled by this bug fixation but is tickled that her daughter Akyra is so...fascinated...with life, even if it IS bugs...

I made her a freebie pin to help them remember that they need to keep working her brain. :)

CalSherry, this one's for YOU! Bet she'd love your class, pity we are so far away.

I love these stories of children being so excited and knowledgable about the world of butterflies! Thanks for sharing them!

The neighbor on one side of me moved in about 5 years ago. I immediately asked her not to cut down the vines on HER fence or my Cassia tree that grows on HER side because they were butterfly host plants and I showed her the caterpillars and pointed out the butterfies. She agreed and has proceeded to not do much yard work at all.

Fast forward to about 2 years ago. She is also a teacher, 4th grade at that time and we were talking about her unit on Florida history. I mentioned I was raising Zebra Longwings at the time and that is the state butterfly. I ended up going to her school and doing several presentations for the 3rd and 4th graders. The kids were great and she seemed very pleased. But other than that no continued interest in what goes on in my yardd, or hers, as she gets many of MY butterflies and cats on HER side of the fence.

Then, another one of her friends, who teaches kindergarten had mentioned that she couldn't find any Monarch cats or eggs to raise with her class this year. My neighbor told her maybe they could ask me, which they did. I gave her friend several eggs and my neighbor wanted to "TRY IT TOO" with her class of 3rd graders. For the next couple of weeks, I would get phone calls from her asking all types of questions. They have a butterfly garden at their school and I told them I had seen Gulf Frits on their vines the year I spoke to the classes, so they went out and gathered some cats to raise. Then one evening we found Polydamas eggs on my Pipevine so she took them in as well to hatch and raise. She has gotten so involved with raising these three kinds, she says she has walked around with a magnifying glass in her hand for the last month, and her kids even skipped PE one day to watch a Monarch emerge. They also got to see the GF making its chrysalis and she has had them writing about the whole process. I gave them some milkweed pods and they planted the seeds to take home and to put some in their school garden. She even fussed at the school janitor who trimmed the Passionvine. She processed to show her the eggs and cats on the plants. How funny! They have released 3 Monarchs, 2 GFs, and still have the Polys to release.

So this person who couldn't care less about what goes on in her own yard is now hooked! Took 5 years so it shows that you never give up trying to influence people.

Perseverance is the name of the game. :) AND, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. tee-hee!

Edna, love the story! How sweet is that?

Pamela, how fab that you made a bug pin for Akyra.

Now me? Third time is the charm right? Guess who must've rubbed her eyeball AGAIN with a dabaMWlatexandisnowinmassivepain...yep, you got it. Me. I'm actually taking tomorrow off from work so I can get to my doctor's. I ALMOST went to the ER this morning because my vision was so blurred (I was using the stuff I got last time and one of the drops kept burning but I continued using it anyway and I am certain that's what made my vision so blurry as now that I stopped and only am using the one drops I can see, well sort of, again).

Sheesh. At least our KID stories are wonderful even if this doofus adult is just that...a doofus! (I thought I had a bit of soap in my eye...NOT! That blurred vision cinched it for me.)

I think it's wonderful that y'all have brought new people into the 'caterpillar fold'!
It sounds like that little boy was thrilled with the cats on the nasturtium, CalSherry - I would have loved to see his face!
Sherry

My GD just loves to "discover" eggs and caterpillars in the garden. She pretty much knows which is which by now, too.

They're never too young to start learning about preserving and conserving!

Susan