How to Grow Butterflies at Home
- 1). Go on a nature walk in late spring or early summer and look for caterpillars on plants and bushes. Don't pick a caterpillar that is very small or wandering on the ground, as it will be hard to identify what plant that particular caterpillar needs to eat in order to survive, making it hard to care for in captivity.
- 2). Carefully pick up the leaf or stem on which the caterpillar is feeding and gently drop it into a clear glass jar or container with a lid. The Amateur Entomologists' Society cautions against picking up the caterpillar with your fingers as caterpillars are very delicate and can be hurt easily. They may also secrete oils that could irritate your skin.
- 3). Collect no more than five caterpillars from a site. Make sure to collect a large amount of the leaves or plant from each caterpillar was eating so that you have a ready food source for your caterpillars.
- 4). Keep the caterpillars in a large, lidded glass jar that has holes drilled in the top for air. Make the air holes smaller than the caterpillars to keep them from escaping. If the caterpillars grow or you have several of them, consider using a small fish tank or large container with a lid and air holes.
- 5). Place the stems of the plant(s) that you collected in a small jar of water inside the container where the caterpillars are kept. Put a cotton ball on top of the small jar of water to prevent the caterpillars from drowning.
- 6). When keeping caterpillars outside, make sure the container will not fall over because of wind or animals, as this will cause their container to fill with water.
- 7). Lightly spray the inside of the jar or tank with water every day. Do not use too much water or allow for large amounts of condensation to build, as the caterpillars may drown.
- 8). Continue to feed the caterpillars the exact same food they were found eating as soon as it is gone or begins to wilt. Offering them other types of plant material may be toxic to the caterpillars.
- 9). Place twigs and leaves in the jar on which the caterpillars can hang during the pupae stage. You may also wish to tape a few twigs to the side of the container. About 1 to 2 inches of moist soil may be placed on the bottom of the container as well. If collected during the late spring or early summer, the pupae process should take a few weeks. Continue to mist the container occasionally during the pupae stage.
- 10
Make sure there is plenty of room for the butterflies to emerge and keep twigs and stems in the jar or tank for that purpose. You may also wish to place a damp sponge in the container for humidity purposes once the butterflies hatch. Once the butterflies have emerged, you may watch them for a day or two but should release them into the wild as soon as possible. - 11
Take the butterflies to the same area where you found the caterpillars. Release them during the day in a secluded area to prevent birds from eating them immediately.
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