“The caterpillar does all the work, but the butterfly gets all the publicity”.
~George Carlin
What started as 3 little caterpillars quickly grew to 27-unintentionally! So, it is important to take care when starting out on this endeavor. Once I heard about folks in my neighborhood raising and releasing Monarch Butterflies, I really wanted to participate (thank you, Pam)!
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The more time you spend with me the more you will realize that I really like to do things in the most cost-effective manner possible. So, while I could have easily ordered the enclosures I have here I did not do so yet. I started them in enclosures that I made from plastic Dollar Tree cookie containers with lids. They had ample room for several to be inside each one. I have seen people use takeout containers, these were at least three times the size and three times as tall. They worked very well for this small-scale run. However, having said that, I will definitely order the ones I have included here and/or build one next time.
Enclosures
I cut the centers of the lids out, I used the cutout lid portion on the bottom of the containers wrapped in a paper towel to make frass cleanup easier. Between the lid frame and container, I used tulle (pronounced tool-netting for party favors, etc.) and it really has proven to be very efficient for this experiment (not to mention tulle has SO many other uses in the garden). I felt it was better than spending exorbitant amounts of money on enclosures and such before I was committed to doing this on a regular basis. So, less than $2 for each container seemed ideal. Not to mention that they are cute for holiday time. These enclosures are kept inside my lanai (for those not familiar, think screened-in porch) to help keep them as safe as possible from potential predators. Between being inside the lanai and in the enclosures they have been safe.
Other Enclosures
When I do this again, I will design and build a large enclosure that will house different stages on different levels and I will purchase habitats such as this one.
There are also options for less expensive ones, such as this one.
The most important thing is that they are kept safe. There are also other types of things that will be helpful that I want to include for the next round, such as these milkweed holders. Of course, I am sure there are even less expensive ways of going about it, but you get the idea.
It will definitely be better to have enclosures that are designed for this purpose. I will most likely grab one of the premade enclosures and also build one, just to see what I like better and why so I can share it here.
The Care & Feeding of the Caterpillars
Each day began with carefully removing the caterpillars in order to remove the frass, cleaning the enclosure, and replacing the paper towel and milkweed, and the caterpillars of course! I used a small spray bottle to keep the paper towel slightly damp as well as the leaves, this provides water to drink and also keeps the leaves fresh. I never had any leaves dry out using this method, it has worked well. I repeat the process in the evening. I let them tell me how much they want to eat. I start them with several leaves each in the morning. If they have consumed them by midday I replace them then. Otherwise, I just replenish them in the evening when I clean the enclosure again.
Once a caterpillar has gone to chrysalis (see below top), it is a matter of waiting for them to eclose-the emergence of the adult butterfly. As they are nearing the time of eclosing, they will start to turn in color and transparency (see below middle). You can tell when they are ready to do so because the chrysalis will start to become transparent (see below bottom). When this happens it can be a matter of hours or a day or two before they will eclose. On January 2nd I woke up to one that had just eclosed within minutes and one that was due to eclose any minute. The night before, they were not even fully transparent. The others went a full day from transparency to eclose. There doesn’t seem to be any real rhyme or reason to this that I can tell at the moment. Whenever they do it, it is a beautiful and interesting thing, as is going into the chrysalis stage.
Doing this in these containers, however, meant I really wanted to transfer them individually into a taller container when it came time to eclose. I did this to keep them separate and to give them more clearance for their wings to fill upon closure. I used very tall pickle jars that I cleaned and sterilized before moving the chrysalids. This basically just meant moving the tulle, with the attached chrysalis. I then used wire around the neck of the jar and added binder clips to the top to help keep them contained.
I did not want to go overboard to start. I did intentionally collect and hatch a few eggs, literally, like 3. However, once I realized how much milkweed these delightful critters ate, I felt I needed to reel in my enthusiasm for the project. Whatever eggs hatched without assistance was what would be. Ensuring I would have enough milkweed to bring each of them to chrysalis was of the utmost importance. So, keeping this small and manageable has been key. I am very happy with how it went, overall. Below is a timelapse video about the transformation from the fifth instar to the butterfly eclosing.
I very much enjoyed this project and sharing it with friends and family members, including my little partner in the project. She is enjoying it as well as you can see in the video below. She did hold one caterpillar that was in its fifth instar also (one of the 20 that have since eclosed) and she has now held the first one to eclose. She will no doubt be involved in releasing some of them as well. She has enjoyed watching their transformation.
If I do this again, she wants to take responsibility for some of them. It is a wonderfully educational project. We really enjoyed this. We already miss not having butterflies eclosing on a regular basis. However, I am content to wait until spring to restart this endeavor more properly prepared.
I do not want to be reliant on any outside sources for milkweed. Hopefully, I will have enough again by mid-spring or summer–if not by fall. Either way, I am over the moon that we did it! Oh, and by the way, we actually named each and every Monarch! If you want to see (most of) them and learn a little more about them, there will be a post in the next few days. I am also preparing a post on one that I was blessed to see eclose completely. Once completed I will add the links here (if you don’t see the links they haven’t been published yet).
Again, I cannot stress enough that milkweed is key. Whether you want to help by giving them a habitat outdoors, rear caterpillars yourself, or both. It is critical to have a good, healthy, clean source of viable milkweed. This will ensure the highest success rate of bringing these amazing creatures from tiny eggs to brilliant butterflies. If you want to grow milkweed in small pots, even that would be super helpful. Not to mention bring the beauty of the butterflies right to you! I purchased the milkweed seeds below and they have been chilling in the fridge. I will be planting them over the weekend. I also just found and bought more milkweed plants to put in the garden now, from Florida Native Plants Nursery.
It’s also very important to ensure that you have the time to give this type of project the right amount of attention. As long as you will be home in the morning and in the evening it should be enough. You may want to start them with more than a few leaves if you aren’t checking on them midday. Depending on where you are they may eat less. From what I can tell, the climate seems to make a difference in how much time they take to go from egg to adult.
Additionally, I will be taking other measures in the next phase. I may want to participate in tagging and if you are interested in that, you can find more information here at Monarch Watch. They also have a very helpful resource of nurseries with milkweed nationwide and have put it into a spreadsheet here. I also want to be even more responsible and test the adults for things before release. This will involve getting a microscope as well. This was the first shot to see if it would be something I could manage with all of the other responsibilities while still building my garden. We did it, and even through all the holidays too! I am so beyond happy! In total, I have released 20 beautiful adult Monarchs! Now that I know this it worked so well, for them and us, we will be repeating it. It’s all dependent upon how much milkweed we end up with and when.
One of the most helpful resources that I found during this project was the channel below. This guy is incredibly helpful. The video below is part one of a five-part series. Beyond the series, he has many other videos on rearing and releasing monarchs.
*I realize that there is another “project monarch” out there that has nothing to do with butterflies, I assure you, this has absolutely nothing to do with that. Please note, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.