# After Eight Months, We're Getting Butterflies
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-eight-months-were-getting-butterflies/551175
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [August 23, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-eight-months-were-getting-butterflies/551175 "2010-08-23T16:56:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-eight-months-were-getting-butterflies/551175/1 "2010-08-23T16:56:41Z")
For Christmas last year, The Littlest Briston received a butterfly cage from her grandmother. It was supposed to come with a coupon you could mail in to receive a couple of caterpillars which you could then raise for a few weeks until they became butterflies. Unfortunately, it arrived sans coupon.
We were visiting TLB’s grandmother last week when she had us all look on a dill plant she had growing outside. There, we found a pair of beautiful Swallowtail caterpillars. We snipped plenty of the plant and brought the two of them back to put in their new home.
I’ve been updating my facebook with the progress Penguin and Unicorn (why yes, a four-year-old _did_ name them…how did you guess?) have been making. [Follow along](http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068387&id=1449202104&l=0a363203de)!
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### Author:  [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-eight-months-were-getting-butterflies/551175/2 "2010-08-24T23:20:22Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#):
>
> For Christmas last year, The Littlest Briston received a butterfly cage from her grandmother. It was supposed to come with a coupon you could mail in to receive a couple of caterpillars which you could then raise for a few weeks until they became butterflies. **Unfortunately, it arrived sans coupon.**
>
> We were visiting TLB’s grandmother last week when she had us all look on a dill plant she had growing outside. There, we found a pair of beautiful Swallowtail caterpillars. We snipped plenty of the plant and brought the two of them back to put in their new home.
>
> I’ve been updating my facebook with the progress Penguin and Unicorn (why yes, a four-year-old _did_ name them…how did you guess?) have been making. [Follow along](http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068387&id=1449202104&l=0a363203de)!
Try calling the company. This happened to my nephew … he got one for his birthday that had probably been purchased, opened, divested of its coupon, and returned. My sister in law called and the company sent them some for free!
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### Author:  [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-eight-months-were-getting-butterflies/551175/3 "2010-08-25T00:58:53Z")
Very cool. Sometimes it’s better to get the caterpillars from nature like this than from the company. I’ve heard that some of the Monarch farms in Florida send out a lot of diseased caterpillars unfortunately.
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### Author:  [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-eight-months-were-getting-butterflies/551175/4 "2010-08-25T17:02:24Z")
Holy crap THAT’S your daughter!!! I remember when she was born!!! She’s supposed to be a baaabyyyyyyy!!!☹ I’m getting old.
In all seriousness, TLB is a beautiful child. You done good.
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### Author:  [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-eight-months-were-getting-butterflies/551175/5 "2010-08-25T19:53:08Z")
> [@congodwarf](#):
>
> She’s supposed to be a baaabyyyyyyy!!!
Tell me about it. I’m barely wrapping my head around the idea of her not being in diapers, yet five minutes ago she walked into my office and said “Daddy? There’s something I need to discuss with you”.
You wanna discuss something? How about we discuss _you not growing any more_!?!
And thanks, **Avarie** – I had considered that when I saw there was no coupon, and immediately filed it in my “Things I’d like to think I’ll get to, but I know damn well I won’t” list. Anyway, TLB didn’t even care that there were no caterpillars at the time. She just looked at the cage as a fun toy on its own.
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### Author:  [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-eight-months-were-getting-butterflies/551175/6 "2010-08-31T15:43:26Z")
Bumping this for an update…
After eight months and two weeks, [we have a butterfly](http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068387&id=1449202104&l=0a363203de)!
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### Author:  [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-eight-months-were-getting-butterflies/551175/7 "2010-08-31T15:54:03Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#):
>
> > [@congodwarf](#):
> >
> > She’s supposed to be a baaabyyyyyyy!!!
>
> Tell me about it. I’m barely wrapping my head around the idea of her not being in diapers, yet five minutes ago she walked into my office and said “Daddy? There’s something I need to discuss with you”.
>
> You wanna discuss something? How about we discuss _you not growing any more_!?!
What did she need to discuss with you? 401k deductions? Credit card applications? Which sweater set to wear with her new grey slacks? 😉
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-eight-months-were-getting-butterflies/551175/8 "2010-08-31T15:57:53Z")
Both the butterfly and the daughter are beautiful.😃
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### Author:  [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)
#### Post date: [September 24, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-eight-months-were-getting-butterflies/551175/9 "2010-09-24T15:38:31Z")
Final update on this…
While the first one took nine days in the cocoon to make the big switch, the second one took quite a bit longer. Like, to the point where we were quite sure it was dead, and we just stuck the stick in the ground outside. 32 days after entering, the second one gave us all a very big surprise by [making an appearance](http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068387&id=1449202104&l=0a363203de) today.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [September 24, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-eight-months-were-getting-butterflies/551175/10 "2010-09-24T16:00:40Z")
Wow, black swallowtails. I used to raise them, and others, when I was a kid. The best and the worst were praying mantises. Best, when an egg sack hatched, and the entire house was full of a bazillion hungry baby mantises. Worst, when the adults had sex, and the female chomped off the male’s head.