Published: November 10, 2009 09:57 am      

Butterflies in the Library

SMEF grant helps bring painted lady larvae to SMHS

San Marcos — Painted Lady larvae (caterpillars) grow in the library under the watchful eyes of San Marcos High School students, thanks to a San Marcos Education Foundation grant called “Explore Science!” awarded to the high school librarian Sandra Plumb.

She used the grant funds received last year to purchase science models and displays for the library, thereby showcasing new science books and fulfilling San Marcos CISD's goal of promoting science. Among the displays is a butterfly habitat.

“We started with 30 caterpillars for Painted Lady butterflies and watched them grow from pupas to the adult butterfly stage,” Plumb said. “As adults, the butterflies laid hundreds of eggs, so we raised a second generation-having the opportunity to witness the entire life cycle from egg to larva to pupa to adult.”

Raising butterflies is apparently not an easy task. Plumb says that the caterpillars require certain foods, but there were so many “library larvae” that they ate the supplied plants down to the stumps. “We had to transfer the larvae to plastic containers and feed them a special artificial diet,” she said.

When butterflies are in the pupa stage, their habitat must stay moist and humid, so the students and library staff had to mist inside the habitat several times a day. Adults need flower nectar for food, but because there were more butterflies than flowers, the junior scientists had to make “flowers” out of paper towels soaked in sugar water. According to Plumb, the butterflies drew quite a crowd in the library. “We learned a lot about the Painted Lady variety, such as what they eat, how to identify an egg, why they need heat, how long it takes for them to pupate, and more,” she said.

Barbara Power's class had been tracking the butterflies' progress in the library daily and studying them in their classroom since the eggs were laid out about a month ago. It was only fitting that they should be the class to participate in the butterfly release held on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

The school is now raising money to build a bigger habitat that is self-sustaining so there is no interference with the natural cycle. Plumb said, “A large habitat will not only give the butterflies more room to live but also allow nature to take its course so that the larvae don't have to be raised in plastic containers and no artificial food sources will have to be provided.”

She also added that the last batch of adult butterflies laid some eggs on the library host plants, so the school library may be seeing a third generation soon!