Tag: insect lore

Nature, Outside, Science/Math

Ladybug, ladybug fly away home

Kirsten W. Larson

Our lovely ladybugs are free at last. With morning temperatures above 55 degrees F, we released them near our aphid-infested rose bushes where they can find many critters to munch. We hope they’ll stay awhile so we can visit our “pets” from time to time. Cooper named one “Tickle” after it tickled his arms as it crawled towards his shoulder. My critique partner Julie provided this fabulous illustration of “Tickle.”

Tickle by Julie Rowan-Zoch

Today we’ll read Eric Carle’s “The Very Grouchy Ladybug” in honor of our ladybug friends. While perusing Eric Carle’s site, I found a wealth of activities related to the book, including phonemic awareness activities, time-telling projects, discussions about feelings and much more. Also, check out this pre-k class’s egg-carton ladybugs. If we really start to miss our friends, we might try this.

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Nature, Science/Math, Writing

Loving Ladybug Larvae

Kirsten W. Larson

We need a dog. Without a pet, our house has become home to a rotating assortment of bugs. First, we raised butterflies. Now, we live with ladybug larvae. I think our family is single-handedly keeping Insect Lore — the store for all things buggy — in business.

Because April is National Poetry Month, I drafted “found poem” about ladybug larvae straight from the Insect Lore directions that accompanied the kit. (For a found poem, take a text, any text. You can subtract words, but not add any. Never rearrange the order. Changing tense, plurals, capitalization and punctuation is ok….see this “how to”  post at 6 Teaching Authors.)

The Life of Ladybug Larvae

Eggs hatch.

Larvae search for food.

Shedding skin — molting,

Must store energy for change.

Don’t worry, in Ladybug Land, they have plenty of food.

So that’s it the life of larvae. Like the caterpillars before them, the larvae will eat and molt for a couple of weeks until they become pupae. And from those pupae shall emerge our caterpillars, we hope.

Homeschool, Nature, Outside, Science/Math

Eagerly awaiting very hungry caterpillars

Kirsten W. Larson

Yesterday was the first day of spring. This year, I’m working hard to make sure we have lots of spring fun. Aside from our seed-related activities, I’ve ordered painted lady caterpillars from Insect Lore. Choosing among ladybugs, butterflies and ants was tough, but butterflies definitely offer the most drama.

So, here’s the deal. Insect Lore is shipping us caterpillars in a cup with special food. The caterpillars should feed, molt and grow for about a week. (Did you know, caterpillars molt? As they grown they burst out of their skin, revealing the new skin underneath. Eric Carle never mentioned that one.) Then they should build a chrysalis and transform into butterflies within about a week.

Our kit includes a special butterfly-net habitat so we can feed and watch the butterflies for a couple of days before we release them into our backyard. I’ve already double-checked to make sure painted ladies will survive in our area. I know from research I’m doing for a book that some butterflies are very picky eaters. Monarchs stick to milkweed. Karner Blues love only lupine.

The boys are excited. One of their Nature’s Miracles books is called Once There Was a Caterpillar. We’ve read it over and over to learn about the caterpillar life cycle: eggs, caterpillar, pupa (in a chrysalis), butterfly. As I’ve noted before, I love this series because each book contains ideas for talking with your children about the subject. as well as activity suggestions, books to read and useful Web sites.

Do you have any spring activities on your agenda? How do you celebrate the arrival of sunshine, warmth and new life?