le papillon - butterfly
le cocon - coccoon
les oeufs - eggs
la chenille - caterpillar
l'abdomen - abdomen
les ailes - wings
la Belle Dame - Painted Lady (a kind of butterfly)
les feuilles - leaves
la chrysalide - chrysalid
les antennes - antennas
la transformation - change
At supper, being more interested in etymology than entomology, I introduced the word lepidopterist. It was a beautiful sunny summer day yesterday, and the kids were catching butterflies in their nets that had been purchased at the dollar store. Once you catch a butterfly, though, you need to know what to do with it. A search on the Internet brought forth detailed instructions on the procedure. First, a killing jar (I don't like this part, but apparently, this is what scientists do). Then the butterflies are carefully pinned on a board. This was easily made with short lengths of molding from the building-supply store. After a day or two, the small strips of paper can be removed and the specimens repinned, studied, and displayed.
We needed just a few rules. No catching two of the same kind. Handle each one with care. The kids were very interested in all aspects of the procedure, although they definitely needed help with the jar and the pinning. We've ordered some proper pins so we don't have to continue using quilting pins, and we're perfecting the making of our pinning boards.
It's hard to tell what interest from a person's youth will last throughout his or her life. Robert Bateman, the great Canadian wildlife artist, was producing promising artwork by the time he was seven years old. Closer to home, I have been interested in the night sky since I was in Grade 4, and now spend time with my telescope observing the night sky.
Who knows? This current interest in butterflies may foster a lifetime of wonder for God's great creation.
1 comment:
I agree--we never know what little spark in our youth will ignite a lasting flame in our lives.
I remember a family outing to the Granby Zoo in Quebec. It wasn't like the super zoos of today but more like the travelling petting zoos, with very primitive cages.
I guess I just wasn't satisfied with viewing the animals in their cages from behind the safety fencing. I scrambled under the fence and by the time Mom was aware of my escape, I grabbed the lions tail (it was resting outside of the cage on the ground) and held onto it.
I was sold on studying all of God's creatures from that day on.
I don't like the catching, killing and pining aspect of the butterfly learning curve-I figure there's probably enough on the internet and stores like MasterMind now so kids can learn all about the butterfly without the actual hands-on experience.
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