NatureSpace has an exciting new display – monarch butterfly caterpillars! Watch them grow from a caterpillar to a butterfly.
We need your help. The caterpillars don’t have a name! What should we call them? Put your suggestions in the comments, tweet them to @tepapa or email ruth.hendry@tepapa.govt.nz.
We’ll pick the best two names and let you know what you’ve named them.
Send in your pics!
There’s a community display in NatureSpace where we’re putting up your images of New Zealand monarch butterflies from egg to adult. We’d love to see your pictures!
You can email them to ruth.hendry@tepapa.govt.uk and we’ll put them in the display so everyone can see them.
Male monarch butterfly: scent pocket on vein of hind wing. Sharell, Richard. Gift of Mrs L. Sharell, 1987. © The Estate of Richard Sharell. Te Papa
Did you know…
Monarch butterflies in America and Canada migrate over 3,000 kilometres each year. It’s the longest insect migration.
In New Zealand, monarch butterflies don’t migrate. Perhaps they’re lazy!
Visit our caterpillars
We’ll be releasing them once they turn into butterflies, so catch them whilst you can.
You can find out more about monarch butterflies by checking out the books in NatureSpace, visiting the ARKive website or visiting Te Ara, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
4 Comments
Pater and Killa
Kelvin , Melvin
Our caterpillars have formed chrysalises now, so we’ll have to wait and find out whether they’re male or female to see if Kelvin and Melvin are suitable names!
Someone else suggested Silly and Billy…I’m sensing a theme.