Black American Swallowtail Butterfly

So we found a dead butterfly lying in the driveway one afternoon, and Lex asked if we could "keep it as a relic."



I know people pin up dead butterflies all the time, so I said that we could.

We did a little research, and I found two really great articles with instructions on how to pin butterflies, which you can read here and here.  I know that the one from the Houston Museum of Natural Science is probably the way to go, because they have hundreds of beautiful butterflies pinned and on display.  I've seen them.

So, we went to Hobby Lobby and bought a suitable shadowbox frame and some foam board.  I cut the foam board to size, and glued it to the back of the shadowbox.

Then, I started to explain to Lex how we were going to spread the butterfly's wings out to make them look prettier, and he was not interested in doing all that at all.

He just wanted to "keep it as an artifact."

That kid and his vocabulary.

So, we got right down to the pinning, and stabbed it with a pin and then stuck it to the foam.



He wanted to put it in his room, so we did.



We looked it up, and this is an American Black Swallowtail.

We also found some great videos on the National Geographic Kids website, including this one about butterflies.  Just be careful, because once the butterfly video is done, another one starts and you may end up watching animal videos with your kids for an hour.  Which isn't all bad, if you have the time.

Meet Julia

Before I ever saw our new house, I found some Texas flowers that I wanted to plant just as soon as I could.

Remember?



Well, a few things had to happen.

I had to figure out what they were.

And we actually had to close on the home purchase and move in.

Now, both of those things have happened.  All that's left for me to do is actually acquire the plants and put them in the dirt.

You see, when we were at the Houston Museum of Natural Science I saw this display:







They are Passionflowers.  And the vine is a host plant for a butterfly.   A butterfly that's kinda sorta named after me.  ME!

So now, not only am I thinking of getting these flowers, I am thinking of ordering some caterpillars to go with them.

Because, well, look:

There's Julia.  It's almost like I was turned into a butterfly.  She likes my flower and she is orange.  Which is the butterfly equivalent of being a redhead, or so I imagine.

I mean, right?

I may not have a Texas Drivers' License yet...

...but I do have a local Texas library card.

And now, I have a membership card to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, too.

You see, when we went to visit last week, after we had added up the admission prices for myself and the boys, I was only $1 less than buying a family membership for a year.  So I went ahead and splurged that extra bit.

And I think it was worth it.  We didn't make it through the whole museum that day, and there are several areas that I know the kids are going to want to visit again and again.

Like the dinosaur hall.



There are so many different T-Rex skeletons on display!  Which makes the kids happy, because that's one of their favorites.

Another favorite?

Quetzalcoatlus.  For real, that thing was H.U.G.E.  And it could fly.

We also visited the Butterfly Center, and it was A-MAH-ZING.  You all know that I loved the annual Blooms & Butterflies exhibit at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, and this was so much bigger, butterfly-wise.  Everything really is bigger in Texas, is what Connor always says. 






There were hundreds of butterflies everywhere.  Maybe even thousands in the room.

You almost couldn't walk through the exhibit without having them flutter around your head.



It was enough to make some certain people nervous.  But not scared, because who is afraid of butterflies? 

This guy.  He likes to be picked up.

Our friends.  So glad you could join us.

Then randomly, we came across a male green iguana named Charro.  He's orange because he is 13 years old.

Lex calls these ones zebra butterflies.  He wasn't interested in looking at the guide to find out what they are really called.

So there are probably already enough photos of butterflies for one post, but here is another one anyway.



Because, why not?