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Author and butterfly enthusiast, Nicola Strange, has written an important educational book for children on the life cycle of the iconic Cairns Birdwing butterfly. Her book is beautifully illustrated by images of little Gigi and also by her photographs of the various stages of the butterfly’s journey from egg to butterfly. The book enables children to follow Gigi as she watches the hungry caterpillar eat the special vine that she planted in her garden for her favourite butterflies. Then they can share with Gigi the different stages as the caterpillar eventually turns into a butterfly.
This book can help parents teach children about growth, changes, patience, new life and the wonders of Nature. The book also has a very important message for both children and adults about the correct food source for the Cairns Birdwing butterfly. Unfortunately, there is an introduced plant that looks very much like the vine that the butterflies choose for laying their eggs. If the butterfly makes a mistake the hatched caterpillars will die because the leaves of this introduced plant are toxic.
Here is an extract from the book, explaining about the introduced plant and urging gardeners to choose the correct plant so that these superb butterflies will survive.
There is another vine that looks like the real Cairns Birdwing butterfly vine. This other vine was introduced from South America and is called Aristolochia elegans, also known as Dutchman’s Pipe. It is very important that people in this region know not to plant this introduced vine in their gardens because it can cause the death of Cairns Birdwing butterflies. Unfortunately, the female Cairns Birdwing butterfly can be tricked into thinking that this is the correct vine on which to lay her eggs. If she does, the young caterpillars die when they eat the leaves because of the poisonous toxins in this deadly vine.
You can buy Gigi’s Butterfly Garden from our Shop.
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