Hi my name is Harley, and this month we are going to talk about Monarch butterflies. My friend Cole planted milkweed in his backyard. Milkweed is a special plant for Monarch butterflies. They lay their eggs on the leaves and eat it. Anyways, there are always chrysalises on his play set. Then practically the next day we see empty chrysalises on the toys and swings and tons of butterflies flying around. Once we saw a chrysalis on his inflatable pool.
Okay, life cycle: Mommy lays her eggs on the underside of the leaves of the milkweed. The eggs hatch and become caterpillars. The caterpillars eat the leaves. When they are fat enough, they wrap themselves up in a warm chrysalis. They stay there for a week while they transform into adult butterflies. They emerge from the chrysalis and lay eggs. If you want to help the Monarch, easy: plant milkweed. You can find that online or in a plant nursery.
All butterflies’ wings are fragile, and if they break their wing, they die. Monarch butterfly boys (or males, if you want to talk fancy) have little smell (again, fancy talk scent) glands that look like smudges on their wings. Girls (females) don’t have those, but they do have thicker wing veins. That is so cool! I’m glad God created Monarchs that way. Monarch butterflies are beautiful, and I’m thinking of planting milkweed in a pot. I hope you help the butterflies, because they are God’s creation. God is wonderful. See you next month! Bye! 💋
P.S – Wanna check out my video on actually releasing live Monarchs? Check it out at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2wJLL3FA4TY!
Harley Isabel Smith is a 2nd grader who has been featured on TV as a philanthropist, has a heart for evangelism, and writes monthly for the Gazette’s Kid’s Corner.
Visit https://harleyisabelsmith.com where she is constantly adding written and video content to entertain and educate children.