Caterpillars to Butterflies Page 1

Caterpillars to Butterflies

One of the most delightful things about agarden is the anticipation it provides. -- W.E. Johns

Recently, we have been collecting baby Monarch and Queen butterfly larvae, from our Milkweed plants and those where I work, and bringing them inside to raise. It started with a friend sending some home with me when she went out of town. Many of these would have died, having been attacked by a predatory wasp that lays eggs in the caterpillars. These wasp eggs hatch into larvae that kill the host, as evidenced by "strings" hanging from the dead caterpillar or chrysalis. When collected as eggs or very small larvae, around 1/4" long, the baby butterflies will not yet have been attacked and will be able to develop fully in a simple "bug house" (shown in these pictures). Eggs do not do as well in the house as caterpillars do, maybe because of the dry air inside most homes. If you have a humid environment, it may be worth trying. Monarchs are among the easiest butterflies to raise. This is a wonderful process for children to watch and get involved in, but grown-ups are usually seduced just as much by the wonder of it. All visitors to the house are shown my babies, and I have taken the caterpillars and butterflies to see others, and nearly everyone is enthralled. I try to let a different person set each butterfly free because it makes them so happy!

Care is easy - fold a paper towel in half and dampen it, squeezing out excess water, then line the bottom of the house with it. This will provide needed humidity, as will sprinkling or spraying a little water on the inside walls. Place leaves with larvae on them inside, on top of the paper towel. Tiny larvae tend to crawl around a lot and may get out the holes in the lid, so I have covered the top of mine with a piece of voile, which is held on by the lid. Any fabric with very tiny holes will work, as will panty hose fabric. Remove the voile or other fabric when the caterpillars are too big to get through the holes in the lid - they will need to hang from the lid later. I set the house in a window where it will get some light, but not get too hot, and remain undisturbed. Each morning, I replace the paper towel with a fresh one and add fresh leaves. When transferring larvae, remember the small ones are very delicate, so it is best to coax them to crawl onto the new leaves, then move the leaves, rather than trying to pick up the babies.

Small larvae do not eat a lot, not even an entire small leaf at a time, but they may nearly double in size each day, and a single large caterpillar will eat three or four large leaves a day. Be sure you have enough of the correct larval food plant for your caterpillars. Monarch and Queen caterpillars will only eat Milkweed, though flying adults will sip nectar from a wide variety of butterfly-attracting flowers. If you start to run short of leaves, try looking in wild areas and collecting a few leaves from each plant. Leaves can be sandwiched between damp paper towels and refrigerated for several days (be sure to check them for eggs and larvae first!).

After several days, a Monarch or Queen caterpillar will be around 2" long and ready to move on to the next phase of life. You will find it hanging by its rump from the lid of the cage, its front end curved upward, a classic "J" shape. Within a few hours, it will begin to wriggle, then the skin will split at the head, revealing a bright green worm. It will wiggle furiously as it wrestles the skin up and off, and finally the skin will be lying at the bottom of the cage, a ball of black stripes and antennae. Then the worm will move a bit more, until it contracts into its final chrysalis shape. The outside is clear, so from about six or more days later, you will be able to watch its development inside, as through a window. Within seven to ten days, it will begin to turn dark, and on the morning of hatching, you will be able to see the markings of the wings on the folded-up butterfly inside.

It is hard to catch a butterfly in the act of hatching from its chrysalis, as it is very quiet, and it pops out very quickly. After raising several, I was finally able to see this happen, and ran for the camera to document the process. You can see the pictures on the fourth page. First, the butterfly is all folded up, but it quickly begins pumping fluid from its body through the wings, and they begin to straighten out. After that, the rest of the fluid is dumped, and the wet butterfly needs to hang to dry for a few hours more. This will often be early afternoon. When it is getting ready to go, it will do a lot of flexing of its wings. At this point, it still needs some time to dry its wings, so don't be too hasty in letting it out. When you do, it may be very docile, crawling onto your finger, then onto a nectar-laden flower. If it is very ready, it may fly out right away. Be sure there are nectar-producing flowers in the area where you let your butterflies go. Also, try not to let them out in the rain - wait for rain to stop, or the new butterfly's wings may be damaged.

These pages show the development of our charges over time, so the pictures are arranged by date. Click any picture for a larger version.


07-09-06 caterpillars raised inside from eggs - 1 Queen right, 1 Monarch left	07-09-06 caterpillars raised inside from eggs - 2 Queens, 2 Monarchs

07-09-06 caterpillars raised inside from eggs at Depot + home - 2 Queens, 2 Monarchs	07-09-06 chrysalis formed 7-6-06 at home - fell + had to be tied up

07-09-06 chrysalis formed 7-6-06 at Depot - this one later died and turned black. It was too weak to crawl all the way to the top, or to shed its skin completely.	07-09-06 chrysalis formed 7-6-06 at Depot

07-09-06 caterpillars ready to form chrysalis - both Queens raised inside from eggs at Depot	07-09-06 evening - chrysalises have formed

07-09-06 eggs collected at home today	07-09-06 moth cocoon formed around 7-2-06 from woolly black caterpillar on hibiscus at Depot - this one may take over a month to develop an hatch out - they usually like to lie under leaves, so this one went under his paper towel

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