Activity of the month

Make a butterfly wand

April is an exciting, busy and colourful month. The warm sunshine brings everything to life so there is plenty of wildlife to both see and hear. Bright spring flowers can be seen on the Downs and the birds are singing clearly. Pretty blossom decorates the trees, including the pink and white flowers of the prickly hawthorn. Bumblebees are getting busy collecting nectar and pollen to feed to their babies and butterflies are out and about. These include the brimstone butterfly which looks like a yellowy-green leaf and the comma butterfly which has a white comma-shaped mark on the underside of its ragged wings! How many spring butterflies can you spot? Download our activity sheet to learn more about the spring butterflies of the Downs and how to make a magical butterfly wand!

You will need

● Plain white thin card or paper
● Scissors
● Pencil
● Pencil crayons or felt tip pens
● Sticky tape
● A long thin stick

Step-by-step guide

1. Choose which butterfly you would like on your wand and print out the template.

2. Neatly fold the card in half along the straight edge of the butterfly shape. Fold the wings backwards so that you can still see the pattern on the outside.

3. While the card is still folded in half, carefully cut around the outside edge of the butterfly shape, leaving a thin border.

4. Open out the butterfly. Using your coloured pencils or felt tip pens, carefully copy the patterns and colours onto the blank side of the butterfly making a mirror image.

5. Turn the butterfly over and place the top end of the stick along the centre of the butterfly shape. Attach it to the card with sticky tape.

6. Wave your wand to make your butterfly flutter- by!

Photographs © Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project.