The Butterfly Hunt

And they were off. Six little boys with butterfly nets flapping like starter flags behind them as they raced down the trail in search of Monarch butterflies. Even a grandpa, a retired structural engineer, who was visiting from Boston, commented on just how much fun this was and how much he was learning. "Am I too old to be homeschooled?"
We talked about migration, data, and about the tenderness and teamwork that was involved in catching and tagging butterflies.


Unfortunately we didn't actually catch any monarchs today. Two boys saw one. Where all the monarchs are this season appears to be a bit of a mystery. And from the Monarch watch website
www.monarchwatch.org they seem to be expecting later than usual arrival. Everyone is worried as last year was the lowest population count on record.

However it was still a very inspiring experience. We netted three other kinds of butterflies, a couple of dragon flies, and a katydid. We learned about monarchs' favorite food milkweed and we explored tall meadows and a dry creek bed. Some of the kids even saw an orb weaver spider catch and wrap a rather large grasshopper! Camouflage, culverts, and historical uses of cattails were also introduced. So, I guess that is a very successful day! Can your classroom offer so much in a two hour experience?

Sutton nature park is a jewel. I wish more developers could see the benefit in the proactive preservation of such areas. You can't undo development.

Note: We were later able to successfully tag Monarch butterflies a week later at our county Master Gardener demonstration area, which although very urban hosts a fantastic Monarch way station which offered tremendous butterfly diversity even at it's very small size of under 75sq ft.