Need some inspiration for half term activities? Embrace spooky season with Butterfly Conservation’s top five weird, wild, and wonderful things to do this October half term.
1. Spooky half term activities: carve a butterfly or moth pumpkin
Get ready for spooky season by carving a butterfly-or moth-inspired pumpkin as half term activities. Simply head over to the Butterfly Conservation website and pick a butterfly or moth, copy their outline onto your pumpkin and cut out your design! If you want to make things more detailed, print out a picture, trace the butterfly or moth using tracing paper and thick pencil, and transfer it onto your pumpkin. Then it’s time to get carving! Share your designs with Butterfly Conservation on their social media channels @savebutterflies
2. Go on a weird and wild walk for half term activities
Autumn is the season when things tend to get a bit weird in the wildlife world. Grab your wellies and your raincoat (just in case) and head out to see what weird and wild things you spot! From zombie caterpillars to skeleton leaves, check out Butterfly Conservation’s spooky spotter sheet for some ideas of what to look out for during half term activities.
3. Stay up after dark
Although the nights are drawing in, there’s still lots to see after the sun goes down! For half term activities, make your own moth trap using this handy tutorial and see what’s lurking in your outdoor spaces after dark. No time for DIY? Grab a torch and check out fallen fruit, berries or Ivy to see which moths are enjoying a sweet treat. You can even make your own moth cocktail with some wine (not for you, parents), sugar and a rope. Simply heat a bottle of cheap red wine (do not boil) and stir in and dissolve 1kg sugar. Allow the mixture to cool and then soak a length or lengths of rope in the sugary concoction. Drape the “wine ropes” over low branches, bushes or fences just before dusk and check for moths by torch light during the first two hours of darkness.
4. Play hide and seek
Ever wondered what butterflies get up to during the colder months of the year? Some overwinter as caterpillars, some as eggs or chrysalises, and a few species, like the Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock will spend the winter as adult butterflies. To help them stay snug and safe over winter, encourage the kids to get outside and make butterfly and moth hiding places! Leaf piles and log piles are brilliant spots for caterpillars to hunker down or pupate, and leaving your hedges and Ivy uncut can help provide hiding spots for adult butterflies and moths. You can even create a “butterfly door” in outbuildings, sheds and other cool, dry places by leaving a hole or a gap to allow adult butterflies to enter in the winter and leave again in spring. For more ideas of what to do in your outdoor spaces for half term activities, visit this webpage.
5. Make a moth mask
Need some Halloween costume inspiration for half term activities? Try making your own moth mask. This fun craft will have the kids entertained even on rainy days and can make a fun party activity. Head to this page to download your moth mask template and follow the simple steps. You can even get creative with natural materials you collect from your weird and wild walk.
For more fun half term activities for the family, visit https://butterfly-conservation.org/discover-and-learn
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