Eggs, Larva, Pupa, and Butterflies — Oh My!
Our 3rd graders are excited to have the unique opportunity to study the life cycle of a monarch butterfly this month! Thanks to a grant from Reap and USDA, along with collaboration with the Iowa State University Monarch Lab, every 3rd grade student is raising their own monarch butterfly from egg to adult. Central Lee is proud to be one of 50 districts participating in the Monarch Eggs Project, which encompasses over 270 classrooms and likely involves over 6000 students.
Our 3rd grade students have taken on the responsibility of transferring their caterpillars to new habitats, ensuring they are fed, and providing daily care. As our butterflies emerge from their chrysalises, we will attach identification tags to them and track their journeys. This generation of monarchs is migrating to Mexico for the winter.
This unique educational experience is a great source of pride for our school, and it’s just another reason to be proud of Central Lee!
Looking forward to a great year,
Mrs. Balentine
Mrs. Bass
Mrs. Campbell
Mrs. Johnson
Mrs. Wright
Mrs. Wright’s Class: What was your favorite part about raising Monarch butterflies?
Wade - Watching it turn into a butterfly from a pupa.
Rhys - When we released them!
Braydon - The pupa.
Ryder - Let them go!
Jonathan - The pupa stage, so I didn’t have to clean their mess.
Landon - We got to feed them and name them.
Christian - Taking care of them.
Eli - When it went into its pupa.
Kady - When they became butterflies.
Kynlee - Watching them change.
Haven - Having them in our classroom and being able to touch one.
Autumn - Seeing them fly away.
Evelyn - Releasing them.
Kaylee - When they are a caterpillar and watching them eat their milkweed leaf.
Avery - Cleaning out their little home.
Oliver - Releasing them.
Casanova - Feeding and releasing.
Levi - Watching them grow.
Branton - Feeding the larva.
Meika - Feeding them.
Kenton - Letting them go.
Zah’Ki - Letting them go and watching them fly away.
Mrs. Campbell’s Class: What was your favorite part about raising Monarch butterflies?
Bella - I loved learning about the life cycle.
Blye - I liked that they turned into butterflies.
Brynlee - When the larva grew.
Avery - When we got to watch them grow.
Will - The feeding of the larva.
Berkley - Feeding the larva.
Camden - Watching them eat.
Jessa - Watching them grow up.
Waylon - When they were babies.
Brantlee - I liked watching them grow in the life cycle.
Molly - Watching them grow.
Aubrey - When we released the adult monarch.
Grayce - Watching them make a chrysalis.
Kayden - I liked seeing them as eggs.
Wyatt - I liked seeing them hatch into a monarch.
Evelyn - I liked everything.
Codie - Releasing the butterfly.
Gunner - Going out of the pupa into an adult monarch.
Camden P - I liked feeding the larva.
Nora - I liked raising them.
Gage - Seeing them grow bigger and bigger and bigger.
Weston - How the butterflies have a proboscis.
Mrs. Bass’s Class: What was your favorite part about raising Monarch butterflies?
Korbyn- When they come out of the pupa because they are beautiful.
Carter - When they went in their J shape, and then when the pupa turned clear!
Lila - When they were little larvae and then when we let them go.
Liam - When they came out of their egg.
Christopher - When we got to see the butterfly flying.
Chaizly - When we released the butterflies.
Landon - When they were in their pupa stage.
Brensin - When we let the butterflies go, it was fun to watch them fly.
Jaxton - When we got to name them.
Mia - When we all release the butterflies!
Andrew - When we released them and one flew onto my head.
Kyle - When they came out of their chrysalis and we got to release them.
Oliver - When I got to see one of them come out of their chrysalis.
Jacob- How they did their life cycle and we got to see each part.
Aylah - Watching them grow up!
Eli - When they came out of their pupa stage.
Tommy - When they turned into their chrysalis.
Caden - When the adult butterflies flew into the sky.
Savannah - I liked when they were larva, pupa, and adult butterflies!
Mrs. Johnson’s Class: The best part of raising a Monarch was…
Nolan - Letting them go.
Beckett - Watching them grow.
Jace - Getting to hold them.
Easton - Watching them grow.
Abbie - It was very fun.
Addy - Watching them grow.
JayLynne - It was so exciting.
Eliot - Releasing them.
Jud - Watching them come out of their chrysalis.
Ila - Naming them and watching them grow.
Ryker - When they come out of their pupa because their wings are so small.
Bryce - Feeding them.
Henley - Releasing them.
Case - Letting them go.
Oakley - Watching them grow.
Kristen - Watching them crawl around.
Autumn - When they were caterpillars.
Avery - Watching them transform.
Huxley - Feeding them.
Harlan - Letting them go.
Ethan - Naming them.
Cam - Seeing them do their life cycle and learning.
Mrs. Balentine’s Class: What was your favorite part about raising Monarch butterflies?
Everlee - I liked the excitement that we had. I like that we got to do journals. I like that we could make memories. One more thing is we let them go full of joy!
Ana - I liked when they turned into butterflies.
Evan - I liked looking at them.
Kynzy - I liked when they changed colors.
Colt - Cleaning their frass.
Patience - I like the color of the butterflies.
Vivian - My favorite thing is releasing them to Mexico, and I like their colors.
Dempsey - Getting to watch them grow and change.
Aiden - I liked when they emerged and then flew away. It was my first time raising monarchs.
Teagan - I liked watching them change from a caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly.
Ashlynn - Releasing them to Mexico.
Brylee - My favorite was watching them grow up and seeing them fly away.
Michael - They are beautiful.
Nolan - I liked releasing them.
Beckett - Seeing them emerge.
Camden - They have cool colors.