Caterpillars...

I mentioned in one of my last posts that our Hollyhocks were covered with caterpillars.  They were black at first and then got bigger and fatter and lighter colored.  I did some reading on Hollyhocks and found out that an infestation of caterpillars could kill them.

I was trying to identify them online to see if they were butterflies or moths.  Ha ha, have you ever tried to do this?  There are a million pics of caterpillars and a bunch of sites to identify them.  It was information overload and it went no where.  My sweet little boy suggested we read his butterfly book to find out what they were.  Right away we read that moths often make this webbing around them, the same webbing we'd been seeing all over our hollyhock.  Hurray for good old fashioned books!  There is no replacing them.

So, we starting plucking the caterpillars off the Hollyhock and putting them in a big pickle jar.  We must have pulled 30 of them off.  We added our half eaten leaves from the Hollyhock to their new home. 

 Our friends came over and Michael & Morgan had a blast divvying them up and watching them pig out on leaves.  

Morgan has since made a business of it.  He made a box with tin foil on top and a peep hole and has been sitting outside of his house charging $1.00 for a look.  Not to buy, just a look. (lol)  Last I heard, he's made $2.00.  Not bad for his first business! 

We've lost a few caterpillars but many have turned to chrysalis.  We can't wait to see what they look like when they finally break free.  This has been such a fun learning experience for the boys. They've been studying them all week.  There's no better learning then good old fashioned books and hands on experience. 

Until next time...