I Go to Visit a Butterfly Farm

Today we went to the Aruba Butterfly Farm. They had one big netted cage garden with all the butterflies in it. They don't have local butterflies. They breed butterflies from all over the world. They have two categories of butterflies. There are those that eat nectar from small flowers, and ones that get sugar from fruit. The fruit-eating types live in the jungle where there are no small flowers. Butterflies prefer small flowers because they are easier to get into.

Two out of eight butterflies that landed on me.

At the Butterfly Farm they teach you how to get butterflies to land on your finger. What you do is you get a bit of nectar or fruit juice on your fingers. Then you have to stay very still while the butterflies come to drink. Then very slowly you put your fingers under the butterfly and lift it up. You have to do it very slowly or the butterflies will get scared. I managed to get eight butterflies to land on me in various places. Three landed on my hat. One landed near my foot. One landed on my back. Two landed on my finger. But not all at the same time.

Butterflies have a special mating dance. They chase after each other.

Also at the Butterfly Farm they had loads of chrysalises and different kinds of caterpillars. Some of the caterpillars blended in with the leaves so that they wouldn't be eaten. Some had hairs on their bodies which looked liked spikes to frighten away the birds. Others had big bright bold colours to tell the birds to stay away.

Immediately after the caterpillars grow they eat lots and lots. Some grow to be really big and some grown to be not as big. When we were in the butterfly cage it started raining a few times. I don't think the butterflies minded but Daddy and Mummy did.

We looked around at the shop and they gave us pineapple and orange juice, and then we left for lunch. After that we went to the beach. I went to look at fish for a bit with Daddy and then I got bored of that so I got out. There weren't so many fish as at Los Roques and it was a lot bumpier and a lot murkier, but I didn't mind too much. When I got out I dried off a bit and then went to look around for creatures in the tide pools. I found a hermit crab. Unfortunately this was not hermit crab paradise. I went and filled my bucket with sand and put him in for a while, then I sent him back to the wild.

For dinner we went to a restaurant called Hard Rock where they had clothes and guitars and CDs from all different rock bands, and TVs everywhere showing rock band videos. I had a cheeseburger and fries.