Butterflies

Our butterflies emerged this week 

                                              

                                              Whilst exploring all the wonder of butterflies, the following observation was made
"Mum, I thought butterflies were insects so why does these only have 4 legs when insects are supposed to have 6?" 

                                              
After much research we were relieved to find that whilst most butterflies have six legs there is a class of butterflies (nymphalidae also know as brush-footed butterflies of four-footed butterflies) whose first pair of legs is reduced so it looks like they only have 4.
 

                                                         

                                              Tulip loved holding the butterflies and noticed that while the wings were beautifully coloured, the underwings were dull and spotty (she said they reminded her of dead leaves) which lead to a great discussion of camouflage (again!)
                                                         

                                                         Rose thought the 'split, curly tongue' was the funniest part - when a butterfly emerges its proboscis is in two pieces (like a split straw), they curl and uncurl the two parts repeatedly to form a singular tube.