Look to the Animals for Wooing tips this Monday
February 11, 2011
Posted By: Charlotte Nature Museum
From feathered friends to those with fins, several animal species perk up to woo their female counterparts in February. Barred, great horned, and screech owls, downy woodpeckers, white-breasted nuthatches, groundhogs, spotted salamanders, and rainbow trout, just to name a few, all stop their daily routine of surviving the winter to focus on who they want to be with for spring .
Around Charlotte, some animals like to announce their Valentine search loudly. You may hear the “Who Cooks for You” of the barred owl, the drumming of the downy woodpecker or the “werwerwer” of the white-breasted nuthatch as he hangs upside down on a tree singing his song and bowing his body with each note.
Some wannabe-lovers are less noisy but put on... Keep reading.
While leading an enthusiastic school group through Butterfly Pavilion, naturalist, Vonna Brown, noticed there were six caterpillars that looked like bird poop crawling on the orange tree (Citrus aurantium).
(By the way, check back soon to read about the amazing story of how the orange tree came to call the Museum home.)
Knowing that this was unusual she quickly summoned the Museum team to identify the wiggling droppings. Kids and naturalists in tow, we grabbed our field guides and discovered that we were viewing the larval stage of the giant swallowtail butterfly (Papillo cresphontes). Giant swallowtails are native to the southeast and are an impressive butterfly with a wingspan ranging between 3.9-6.3 inches (that’s big for... Keep reading.
I remember when I was in preschool and we visited the Vanderbilt Museum in Suffolk County, New York. As we hopped out of the station wagon and approached the seemingly huge halls, I remember by the enormous insect collections. There were more butterflies in all shapes, sizes and colors than I had ever seen in my life, neatly arranged telling me the story of each where it was collected, date, time and of course its name. That was the day I decided I loved bugs. This small natural history museum, with a hodgepodge of collections and artifacts, a planetarium that made me feel as if it were raining indoors and the vast property that connected us to the outdoors, was the day that I realized I love all things natural.
Walking through Charlotte Nature Museum, with children squealing with... Keep reading.
George, an Eagle Scout volunteer, recently installed a “fairy garden” on the Paw Paw Nature Trail. This experience is FREE with Museum admission and all little builders are welcome!
Take a walk and fall under nature’s spell to the enchanted garden where fairies dwell. Folklore has it that fairies are the spirits of the plants and animals that live in the woods. It is also said fairies love to visit houses in natural habitats. Using non-living natural materials, children of all ages delight in the construction of fairy houses. From mansions to cottages small hands create miniature homes hidden in the hollows of trees, on the sides of rocks or even in low hanging branches. Imaginations run wild as little builders use nature’s bounty to design homes in... Keep reading.
There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly
August 26, 2010
Posted By: From the Director
This could be part of the allure of butterflies, the mystery of its transformation from a creeping crawling caterpillar to a free flying butterfly. Starting as a caterpillar a little smaller than a grain of rice a butterfly’s life journey is laced with change. Examination of the chrysalis leaves one to wonder how in such a tiny case can a caterpillar transform to a butterfly? The emerging adult butterfly’s delicate wings, with intricate patterns and breathtaking color, beg even the youngest observer to stop and take pause.
What fascinates you about butterflies? Is it the beauty of colors? The whimsy of their flight? Or the miraculous transformation?
Butterfly Pavilion at
