My son's 2nd grade class received their caterpillars this week to study the life cycle so I went in to see what kind they were, but the teacher doesn't know. Okkkkk.... This is just so wrong in so many ways!!
The first problem is that they are in a hanging "cage" made from netting and embroidery hoops. I know from experience that you can't keep butterflies in these, much less cats. They probably came from Insectlore as "refills" so they didn't come with a pop-up cage. They've already started escaping the net and since his teacher is not a "bug person" she had my son put it back in the cage. :) I offered my aquarium but his teacher is newer than the other teachers and needs to "ask".
They are in a cup with some odd looking gunk in it that seems to be some type of "food" but they also have leaves in the cage. She said they were Mulberry leaves which means they got them from the trees outside the school. Since she didn't know what they were but they had Mulberry leaves I thought maybe they were some sort of moth, although I thought the school usually got Painted Ladies. I said I'd bring my camera and try to get the ID'd.
Well, after school I asked a few more questions and his teacher asked some other teachers. One said they were Painted Lady cats. I asked if it said to feed them Mulberry leaves, one said "no" and I replied that's why they were trying to get out of the cage...to find food!! I said that as far as I knew that PL did not eat those leaves and another teacher said "maybe that's why they die!" lol! Funny, but not.
So it's my "duty" to find out what these are and get them food!! I think some might actually be eating some of the weird stuff in the cups but they don't apparently do well on it, or like it. So, do PL eat just plain 'ole Thistles?? I can dig those up out of any yard.
I think I need to have a talk with someone at the school and have them teach this life cycle in the fall when I can bring in lots of caterpillars, not in the spring when mine aren't here yet.
Help!
Need info re: cats ordered for schools
They will eat over 100 types of plants...but not Mulberry leaves.
Hollyhocks (wonder if they'd eat French ones?)
sunflowers (just pulled up about 100...too late)
yarrow?? I've got a huge plant that I am willing to cut down if they'll eat it.
That is soooo sad, especially for a teacher. Didn't they come with some paperwork?
Are you sure they're PLs?
Paige, I can send you some Monarch eggs heehee
I have a lot!
Paige - Can you get a photo of the cats to ID them for sure? It probably is PL cats, but would be good to make positively sure before you go looking for host food. Do you have sunflower leaves or mallow leaves or hollyhock leaves or thistle that you can get somewhere. Once you figure out what it is that they will eat, then it's a piece of cake to just purchase a potted plant and stick in a cage or do what I did once, wrapped the plant with caterpillars on it in tulle until the final instar and THEN put the cats in a cage with a couple of leaves and wait for them to form their chrysalis.
The teacher sounds a bit clueless and I am VERY surprised at how irresponsible the other teachers are who have done this science project before and their lack of concern in keeping the cats alive to make it to the butterfly stage. When you decide to order this stuff you do your research FIRST not after the fact.
And to be afraid to touch the cats ...... OH MY! Now THAT is funny! What was this teacher thinking when she decided to do this little class project!!! I'm sorry, but she doesn't impress me. :-(
Not only do the teachers, but many of the children at my school KNOW what certain cats eat and where to get the plants in our garden. They know enough information that they could raise their own at home. How sad for those poor little cats in your son's classroom. Thank goodness at least ONE parent knows something about cats and butterflies. YOU may be the PL's saving grace, Paige! How neat to raise PL cats. Never raised that species here. :-) Good luck!!!
This message was edited Apr 12, 2007 1:00 AM
If the cats are white, they could be silkworm moths... They eat only Mulberry leaves. The cats look like luck dragons (from Neverending Story), Cute little Lasso apso faces.. If they are PLs they definatly need another host plant. Get us a pic.
When my 24 yr old daughter was in 2nd grade her teacher ordered silk moth cats, and she brought some home.
Deb
They're not silkmoths. They had those in first grade. I'm sure that's why they assume these too will eat the Mulberry leaves.
I didn't take my camera this morning because the one teacher had said they were PL's. Getting back into the classroom during the day could be hard since I have to get past the Nazi at the front desk. (yeah, I know it's her job but give some people a little power!) I'll email the teacher and tell her I'm coming back with my camera and a variety of leaves. I had planned on taking some yarrow but got caught up in actual school work and forgot.
My son's teacher is very nice and I've been really happy with her, especially since she's the one that immediately agreed to having him tested for dyslexia, which he does have. But I was a little disappointed that as a teacher (her 2nd year) that she herself doesn't even know the life cycle of the butterflies. She kept saying something about making their cocoon's last year so I was just going along with the moth theory. When I got home yesterday I realized that now that I know they are PL's that she doesn't even know that they make a chrysalis! I said this morning that it was very sad for me to see those poor cats trying to survive eating whatever that man-made gunk was! Some LIFE cycle!!
I'm not exactly sure what they are teaching in this project and who is teaching it! The kids were wondering yesterday which one of the cats was the mom so I explained to them that the mom was a butterfly and a little about the eggs. They were very curious and listened to everything I said. I really am going to have to talk to the school about this but I doubt it will be pleasant. "Experienced" teachers don't always take to change and our principal is not easy to deal with. gggrrr
How big are the cats Paige? If they are more than an inch they probably will not starve to death. Usually when a cat runs out of food they will just make their chrysalis sooner.. The butterflies are just smaller than they would have been, but all the info (dna), is inside them to make a whole butterfly.
Gheese~ Can't believe the teacher doesn't know basic stuff like you mentioned...
she doesn't even know that they make a chrysalis!
She should have done her homework, lol. I'm glad shes good to your DS tho, and caught his dyslexia in time. That's worth a lot.. She can eventually learn about butterflies, but him being able to read better makes up for it.
Hope it all works out, will be watching the progress...
:-D
The cats are all various sizes. I explained to the teachers yesterday that if they didn't have food they would just pupate early, but they do seem to be eating this gunk.
I went in and took some pics and took a few different plants. One ate some of the hollyhock and a sunflower but I think it went back to the gunk. I'm thinking that they might not switch food at this point.
I took the cups out of the hanging cage and emptied out all the frass and cleaned out the silky threads that were all in it and trapping a few cats. Geez, what a mess!! At least they will be clean now. I'm going to go back in before school is out and see if they ate any leaves.
I'm thinking that since they are eating that I might not bother too much with them but I sure hope to let them all know that this is a "science experiment gone wrong!"!! This is not the way to teach them and much less have them be interested! As far as they know the whole process of being a caterpillar is nasty and uninteresting and then some time they turn into a butterfly.
WHAT A LAME WAY TO TEACH SOMETHING SO BEAUTIFUL!
Here's one pic of the cup they live in and the biggest cat.
and another of their "happy home"...blech!
Painted Ladies?
I had better get some BST's before school is out so they can learn the right way!! Where are my butterflies?! :(
Paige - Sorry, but that is rather disgusting looking! Rather sad if you ask me! The little girl in my class who is nicknamed the "Caterpillar/Butterfly Mama" would be VERY upset if she saw these photos!
I heard a neat story about her father. She brings home cats every now and again in her cage and they go into chrysalises and into the final butterfly stage. (These are Monarchs.) Well, apparently the last 3 cats she had must of contracted the cat virus because when they emerged their wings were bent up. This was over the Spring Break. They didn't know to give them gatorade, so all but one died. Her dad saw that the last one was also having trouble with it's wings so he got it to hang upside down on his finger, used a toothpick to uncurl the wings and actually blew on it's wings to try to get them to dry. It was fine and later flew away. :-) :-)
We gave this little girl some Milkweed seeds and dad planted them all in a garden container. So I am going to give them more seeds of other butterfly host plants as the whole family and the daughters (there are 3 girls) are really enjoying raising them. Isn't that so cool?
Plus we have some big "tough" older boys at my school..... Yeah, right! .... who love to come in and have the cats climb all around on their fingers and hands. They also help weed our school garden.
Our little Butterfly Mama has the best eagle eyes! She found 3 butterflies that couldn't fly in our garden one afternoon during school. So we brought them in and I showed her how to care for them when they couldn't fly. We made a special trip to the cafeteria to buy a bottle of gatorade and I showed her how to add (in a small dish) a little gatorade to a crumpled up clean kleenex tissue so that they could walk on it and drink the nectar. She loved it!!!! And so did ALL the students! Unfortunately, 1 died, but 2 are still alive and seem to be doing well. So now ALL the kids who are in our class and those who come visit our class love to hold the butterflies!!!
Our little Butterfly Mama will be a butterfly expert when she is grows up! LOL!
Paige - That is how I envision teaching students about butterfly gardening and raising cats. With awe, respect, and a love for nature. And to protect and care for our environment and all the creatures that share it with us. I can't tell you how many times I have had to stop what I was doing to tell interested students from ALL grade levels about butterflies. I think most every student in the school now knows about our class and our butterflies. And when they have a question about butterflies, they come visit us. There is a genuine interest in butterfly gardening and raising-releasing caterpillars-butterflies among our student population. And ...... the students go home and tell their parents, because we have also had parents come ask us about our butterfly garden. The attraction to all of this is the "hands-on" approach! And taking ownership of a project to see it to a successful conclusion. It sparks an interest! Our students learn (AND remember years later) about the butterfly life cycle as well as host and nectar plants.
My class is the youngest class at the school! So can you just imagine what kind of teenagers and adults they may become because they have learned to care for even the smallest creatures on earth. My students are gentle, caring, and very responsible! It will be interesting to see what they do with their lives after they leave our class and our school. I am very hopeful that a seed has been planted deep within their souls. :-)
Paige - I don't believe that you have to work for the school district to teach students .... AND adults ...... about butterflies and gardening. Sounds like your son's school needs someone with some experience and patience to come in and be a leader and a role-model. You would be perfect in my humble opinion! :-)
Paige would definatly be excellent in a program like that, I agree! I would be bothered too about that mess they had there. Show em how it's done this time Paige, to help the experience come full circle. Sometimes it is good to see the errors in contrast with the proper methods. Still time to save the day, and my money is on you girl...I know you are doing a great job with the recovery of this would be disaster. Applaudes for you! Haha, I can see myself doing that too in the years ahead... There is certainly a demand for people who have experience with butterflies, and the like. (Becky sure found a place and she's a super lep too!)
Even some I have spoken to with offices of Lep related organizations, don't know scat... How'd that happen? Parks and planning committees seem to be all wrapped up in what will make the most money... People are going to forget to have "Ahh" moments in this rush rush chemically based world. The most wonderful things on this plantet seem to be falling into the shadows in favor of what money can buy.
:-D
This message was edited Apr 13, 2007 11:43 AM
Becky, it so neat that you are teaching your kids about the butterflies. Your little butterlfy mama sounds like one special young lady.
Paige, you would be an excellent teacher of butterfly world, you are very knowledgeable and truly love them. Kids would gravitate towards you and people that have a genuine love for butterflies of all stages, they would learn more and hopefully have respect and appreciation for them.
I hope that teacher will let you be a part of her cat rearing process, or at least I hope she has learned raising cats is to be taken seriously.