Test your monarch knowledge
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Are You Smarter Than a Naturalist?
To celebrate Earth Day, we wanted to cover a variety of topics and challenge you — are you smarter than a naturalist? [wp_quiz id=”9950″]
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Make a coffee filter butterfly
It’s not any surprise that we love butterflies at the Dickinson County Nature Center. We also love butterfly crafts! This coffee filter butterfly is one that we made at the 2018 Bee & Butterfly Festival. It’s simple, but kids really love the colorful creations they can make. Plus, you can glue them to a magnet…
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Native Iowa Butterflies and Moths: Monarchs and other brush-footed butterflies
Last fall, when black and orange butterflies were fluttering all around the area, many people were so excited to see the masses of monarchs in their yards. However, the butterflies weren’t actually monarchs. They were painted ladies. We may think we know all there is to know about monarch butterflies, but sometimes we have more…
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The majestic monarch’s magnificent life cycle
A few more weeks and the monarch butterflies that are overwintering in Mexico will start making their way north. Once coming out of hibernation, a female monarch will find a male with which to reproduce. Around the Texas/Mexico border, the female monarch will find milkweed plants on which to lay her eggs. She can lay…
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How do monarch butterflies find their way south?
Those wonderful orange-and-black butterflies that we love so much. They fly overhead this time of year, and we know they are headed to their overwintering sites outside of Mexico City. But how do they get there? Plenty of studies have been done throughout the years to try to figure out how a brain the size…
Read MoreCreate an origami butterfly!
I thought I would try my hand at a paper butterfly today and give you some directions to try it out yourself! Step 1: Create a waterbomb base. Fold your square of paper in half, then in half the other direction. Unfold the paper and fold it into a large triangle. Unfold the paper. Flip…
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