Name that Beetle! An Identification Contest from Little Acorn Learning :)

How about another fun identification contest?  This is a wonderful way to encourage your children to research and learn more about the natural world around them.  If your children do not use the internet, take them to the library to research what type of insect this may be.

This large beetle was on the ground outside of a location I was visiting for work.  It caught my eye as it looked similar to a ladybug but was very big!

We live in Connecticut.  Can you identify this beetle?

Take a shot at it and leave your findings in comments below along with any links you want to share to support your hypothesis.  If you have an interesting fact to share about this beetle, please include it.  On August 23rd we will come back here and pick a random winner (you do not have to guess our insect correctly to win, just enter!).  The winner will get to choose a Little Acorn Learning e-book of their choice so be sure to stop back by and see if you won!

Best of luck to you!

The Mourning Cloak Butterfly

Congratulations to Tamara of Tea for Three for randomly winning our caterpillar identification contest!  Be sure to contact us directly at info (at) littleacornlearning.com to claim your free e-book!~

For those of you who guessed it, you were correct;  the Mourning Cloak Butterfly or Nymphalis Antiopa is the type of butterfly our little caterpillar will turn into.

One of the larger species of butterflies, Mourning Cloaks live a longer life than most.  They can often live up to 10 months as adults and grow to be almost 2 inches in length.  This butterfly's wings act as "solar panels" and collect the heat of the sun to warm its blood in its wings in order to allow for sufficient flight.

When the caterpillars grow to be full sized, they will leave their siblings and the plant they were hosting on to go look for a place to pupate.  Once it finds an ideal place, the caterpillar will hang by silk and shed its skin once again (it sheds up to 5x!) and go into the pupal stage where it will form into a chrysalis.

After about 10-15 days the butterfly will emerge!  These butterflies will eat various leaves of trees.  An interesting fact about this butterfly is that it will hibernate over the winter!  Yes, it will hide under bark or loose debris.  It stays there still until the cold temperatures pass.  That is one of the reasons it lives such a long life.  The longest life of any North American butterfly.  This hibernation is also why they are often the first butterflies seen in early Spring.

We hope you enjoyed learning more about this special insect.  Stay tuned for more fun identification contests by Little Acorn Learning.