Butterfly Delight Muffins & Butterfly Pie Puddles
Linda Rogers
Butterfly Delight Muffins
Butterfly Delight Muffins are flowery treats that butterflies love to eat. For this butterfly activity, choose a nice sunny day. Then whip up a batch of these sweet "mud muffins," and watch to see who flies by! You won't want to place these muffins too close to the house, since there might be bugs also dropping by for a snack. And while these muffins look good enough to eat, unless you're a butterfly, don't try them! What You'll Need:
- Soil
- Water
- Flower petals
- 1/2 cup honey or corn syrup
- Individual muffin cups
- Spoon
- Flowers
How to Make Butterfly Delight Muffins:
Step 1: Mix the soil and water together to make a nice, firm mud.
Step 2: Collect some wildflower petals, and stir these in.
Step 3: Add the honey or corn syrup, and stir well.
Step 4: Spoon the mix into individual muffin cups, and top each with a pretty flower top.
Step 5: Set the muffins in a place where you have seen butterflies before. Now wait for your fluttering guests to arrive.
Butterfly Pie Puddles
Butterfly pie puddles give butterflies a helping hand by offering them a drink. During this butterfly activity, children will learn that butterflies cannot sip water from ponds or other bodies of water. The surface tension of the water is too strong for their delicate wings. Instead, these insects must drink water from nectar and other moist substances. Male butterflies often "puddle" in the summertime at muddy spots which provide butterflies with the water and minerals they need. You and your kids can provide a mud puddle for butterflies to gather in. What You'll Need:
- Flat pan (such as a pie pan)
- Garden soil
- Water
How to Make Butterfly Pie Puddles:
Step 1: Fill an old pie pan or other shallow pan nearly to the rim with plain dirt, which is rich in minerals.
Step 2: Add water to make soupy mud.
Step 3: Set your homemade mud puddle out where lots of flowers attract butterflies.
Step 4: Add enough water each day to keep the mud very wet. Watch the puddle over several days. You may see butterflies landing on the mud for a drink.
May 2008.
