Summer retrospective - #2: bugs (and other small creatures) (2007-09-17)

(Originally posted on 17 September 2007.)

This summer Laolao made a major investment in grandchild entertainment. She bought a butterfly net for $1.00. (Then, since it wouldn’t fit in any of our suitcases, she bought another one here in Ottawa!)

The butterfly net has produced endless hours of fun. And, frankly, not just fun, but learning about the natural world and the creatures that inhabit it. The monarch butterfly was a major target, with many trips to the woods to chase them, not all successful. For lack of monarchs, other butterflies that were in netting range have all fallen prey (temporarily) to the net.

One interesting thing about taking up this type of activity is that one starts to notice things one never noticed before. For example, different types of butterflies have different flight patterns. The monarch tends to fly high and swooping, making it quite challenging to catch. The small white cabbage butterfly flits here and there, low to the bushes but in what one thinks of as typical butterfly behaviour, changing direction repeatedly and quickly. Other butterflies are slower and not as prone to being startled, making them very easy to catch, even with one’s hands.

Another thing one begins to notice is the variety of butterflies that inhabit a given area. In one afternoon in the mountains, Giggles caught four different kinds of butterflies. I’ve lerned to identify the Clouded Sulphur, the White Admiral, the Cabbage White, and a couple of others.

Giggles is not content, however, catching just butterflies. Almost anything that moves is subject to catching, examination, and retention (until Mommy convinces her that the creature would really like to go free). So far this past summer, the following creatures have briefly taken up residence in an empty pickle jar or cookie jar:

• a large frog
• a Forest Tent caterpillar that turned into a brown moth
• a praying mantis (Discovery: of the 2000 or so varieties of praying mantises, only four are native to North America.)
• several Monarch butterflies
• a fuzzy green caterpillar that is currently in chrysalis form, found on a rhubarb leaf
• a Twelve-Spotted Skimmer dragonfly

Now, if she would only get over her aversion to spiders…