April

How did we get here so fast? Christmas has barely passed and now Easter is upon us. Time needs to slow down a bit!

New season's apples straight from the farm/orchard.

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After our morning farm visit, I was off for my usual walk. I saw an abundance of butterflies which lead me to do some internet research when I got home.

Common Brown Butterfly (Heteronympha merope)

Meadow Argus (Junonia villida calybe)

Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae)

Some of these poor creatures looked distinctly the worse for wear. I knew butterflies had a short lifespan but I didn't know how short until I did some research on the Museum of Victoria website.
The female Common Brown Butterfly lives on average for three months ( the males for an even shorter period). They lay their eggs in March and then die. No wonder the ones I saw today appeared to be on their last legs - they are literally about to die.
 I hope the poor things had a happy three months.

That's the end of today's natural science lesson. I found it interesting anyway!