Two of the five caterpillars Hailey has been watching, turned into butterflies this morning! The others are not far behind. Apparently the painted lady butterfly is one of the most common butterflies in the world. It is also known as the cosmopolitan because of its wide range. So far she has witnessed 3 of the four stages of the life cycle. The larva (caterpillar), chrysalis, and adult. Our sheet says that from 5-7 days after emergence, female butterflies should begin to deposit eggs on the host plants which will begin to hatch in 3 to 5 days after that. Amazing how fast this process was to watch. Maybe we will get to see the eggs! This butterfly only lives for approximately 2 weeks so I am sure we will let them be free in the wild after a few days.

* Hope to get some better pictures of them when Brady gets home. I had a hard time getting a good shot of them through the mesh cage.