Raising monarch butterflies at home is a rewarding and enjoyable experience. To begin, find the eggs and/or caterpillars, place them in a ventilated enclosure, and clean the cage regularly. Milkweed is essential for the butterfly host plant, where females lay their eggs underneath the leaves. A monarch rearing kit from Monarch Watch is recommended, which includes 14 to 16 live monarch larvae and detailed instructions.
To prepare your butterfly habitat, purchase or create a net butterfly cage for caterpillars to be moved to once they enter the chrysalis stage. Keep all containers in natural light and clean them daily by removing the leaves with the eggs or caterpillars on them. A patch of milkweed should consist of 6-10 mature plants for feeding hungry monarch caterpillars. Grow at least 2-3 different species of milkweed, and grow native milkweed and provide nectar-rich plants.
Create a habitat in your garden to attract butterflies and other beneficial pollinators. The best way to help monarchs is to create native plant habitats, avoid tropical milkweed if in the US or Canada, and don’t use chemicals. If you choose to raise monarchs, ensure they have a safe environment and food source free from pesticides and predatory insects. Rinse the milkweed regularly.
In summary, raising monarch butterflies at home is a fun and rewarding experience that requires careful planning and care. By following these steps, you can successfully raise monarch butterflies and help them migrate into the wild.
📹 How I Raise Monarch Butterflies
Made a little vlog showing you how Red and I raise our Monarch Butterflies! This is our third year raising them and we are still …
Can I raise monarch butterflies?
Captive breeding is a practice where adult monarchs are kept in captivity and a colony is formed to produce hundreds or thousands of monarchs. This practice is often commercial, with monarchs released at weddings and other events. Concerns have been raised by the Xerces Society and other monarch researchers, including the risk of increasing parasites that can spread to wild monarchs when released. Continuous rearing over multiple generations can dilute genetic diversity and have adverse effects on wild populations. Additionally, releasing captive-bred monarchs into the wild can interfere with research studies aimed at understanding monarch movement.
A study of recoveries of tagged monarchs suggested that captive-bred monarchs have lower migration success compared to wild monarchs, as they have lower fitness. There is a broad agreement among the monarch scientific community that captive breeding and mass releases introduce unnecessary risks to wild monarch populations.
In recent years, large-scale captive rearing of wild-collected monarchs has emerged as a way to boost the population. This involves collecting eggs, caterpillars, or pupae from the wild, raising them in captivity, and then releasing them. Newcomers to rearing find encouragement on online platforms and networks of others, making it seem like a great idea to raise more “cats”.
What is the best plant to attract monarch butterflies?
The Xerces Society and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recommend including at least 1. 5 species of milkweed in monarch plantings. There are 76 species of milkweed native to the United States, yet few are commercially available.
What colors are Monarch butterflies most attracted to?
Butterfly eyes are immobile and are capable of perceiving a vast spectrum of colors, yet they are nearsighted. They are most attuned to ultraviolet light, which is why pink, red, and white are the most prevalent colors. The phenomenon of ultraviolet light reflecting off white clothing and emitting a glow is visible to butterflies, which are able to perceive this light. A UV light display at the sanctuary provides visitors with the opportunity to observe the phenomenon of the glow exhibited by these butterflies.
How hot is too hot to release butterflies?
Butterflies are cold-blooded creatures that can only fly in temperatures above 70 degrees. To release them safely, it is essential to consider the weather forecast, including factors such as temperature, wind, and rain. It is crucial to release the butterflies at the best time for their safety and the release of other birds, as they may not be able to fly in temperatures below 60 degrees. Therefore, it is essential to release the butterflies at the best time possible.
How many eggs can a monarch butterfly lay?
Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed plants, which are food for newly hatched caterpillars. Female monarchs lay a single egg on a leaf near the top of the plant, which hatches about four days after being laid. They secrete glue to attach the eggs directly to the plant, and they lay 300-500 eggs over two to five weeks. Each egg is formed inside the female before fertilization, including a hard outer shell called the chorion, lined with wax to prevent drying.
The shell has micropyles at one end, which allow sperm to enter. Raised areas on the eggshell are called ridges and the dark head of the developing caterpillar can be seen near the top of the egg before emergence. Monarchs remain in the egg stage of their life cycle for 3-5 days, depending on the temperature.
What is the lowest temperature a monarch butterfly can survive?
Monarchs, which are sluggish or unable to fly when exposed to temperatures below 55°F, can be lethal if not in their overwintering sites. During their diapause, they conserve energy and become more resilient to colder temperatures. However, unusually cold temperatures or sudden cold snaps can result in significant butterfly mortality. Johnny Butterflyseed and his fairy friend Raven Silverwing embark on a mission to save the rapidly disappearing butterflies by enlisting the help of Queen Venus Goldwing and her kingdom of monarchs to educate and inspire children to become butterfly farmers. Despite facing self-doubt and fear, Johnny develops a mindset that allows him to make progress one day at a time. Together, they educate thousands of children on becoming butterfly farmers.
What is the best temperature to release monarch butterflies?
Butterfly release is a crucial event that involves releasing butterflies from an envelope or decorator box, ensuring temperatures are above 65 degrees and the release is done during the day and outside. If temperatures are below 65 degrees, the butterflies may be slow to fly, and some may not want to fly at all. To enjoy the butterflies, guests can let them crawl along their fingers and hands or find a plant for them to be transferred until they are ready to fly.
Eventually, the cold-blooded butterflies will warm up enough to find nectar and shelter. Painted lady butterflies will only fly if the temperature is above 70 degrees. Beach weddings and releases are great, but wind can be a problem. Butterfly release helps populate butterflies that have been displaced due to urban sprawl. The farm is fully permitted by the USDA and reputable members of the IBBA, and they comply with state requirements. The butterflies are disease-free and once released into a new environment, they perpetuate themselves instinctively.
What can I use as a butterfly enclosure?
Building a butterfly habitat is a simple process that requires a thin breathable fabric and a simple container. Materials can be found around the home, such as old lanterns or boxes, with windows cut to ensure airflow. Secure screens with hot glue to provide fresh air for caterpillars. A solid surface at the top is essential for hanging chrysalis. Raising caterpillars is easy, with 177 Monarch butterflies released last year using an old Pampers box. You can customize your habitat as much as you want. Checking leaves for tiny white eggs can help identify them. Cut off the egg-bearing part and place it in a container.
How to make sugar water for butterflies?
The preparation of butterfly nectar involves the boiling of four parts water and one part sugar, allowing the sugar to dissolve. The solution can then be cooled and stored in the refrigerator for a period of three to four weeks.
What is the lifespan of a monarch butterfly?
The lifespan of a monarch butterfly is approximately two to six weeks. During this period, the abdomen shape and wing veins of females are distinct from those of males. However, the lifespan of the last generation can extend up to 8 to 9 months, making it the longest generation.
How to get butterflies out of enclosure?
To facilitate the release of butterflies, one may choose to unzip the habitat, allow them to fly away, or permit them to crawl onto one’s hand and subsequently take flight. The release of butterflies in the vicinity of flowers may facilitate their prolonged presence, as they frequently alight on human hands and faces prior to their departure.
📹 How to Raise Butterflies 🦋 || A girl with a garden
Want to raise Butterflies? I’m Javeness ” A GIRL WITH A GARDEN ” and raising butterflies not only keeps you connected with …
Just a warning to people who might be interested in raising monarchs: Milkweed is a very “sappy” plant, which makes it a perfect breeding ground for aphids depending on your climate. Having some aphids are totally normal and healthy in a garden’s ecosystem, but in my experience, they tend to multiply tenfold on sap-filled plants in particular. Aphids suck sap out of their host plants, which means that they can weaken and harm the nutrition of your milkweed if there are too many. Having so many insects living in a single place also makes it harder to thoroughly clean cuttings. If you have an entire garden and don’t want an infestation, it might be worth looking into eco-friendly ways to level aphid populations beforehand. You could also take an extra step of caution and keep your milkweed completely separated from your other plants. Good luck to all the monarch godparents out there! Diseases like the black death can be super disheartening, but keep at it. You can do it! <3
I always knew in your own way that you were always a Disney Princess but wow! That thumbnail shows love knows no bounds in your home!… Amazing job Tif and Mario! Ps…. Fun fact: The bright colors warn birds that they taste bad, thus they tend to have a better chance of survival as opposed to Viceroys which have similar wings as far as color, but have a different wing shape and are more palatable to preditors.
Aw! But Tiffy without makeup, you look so cute! Hi Mario! Again, you look so cute! You nails is so beautiful. I love butterfly too. I love your article with the natural things like flower, plant, and more. I love it so much. This article look like a learning things about plants, naturalezas, butterflies, and more. I love it. I appreciate it Tiffy. I wish I’ll go to the butterfly garden. But, i’ll try my best. Your house with a garden, plants and butterflies is just so beautiful and relaxing. After taking your shower, you look so beautiful Tiffy. I was so happy and interesed while perusal this article. This is so cute when you helped the cartepillars and butterflies, I cried a little bit of cuteness. Exactly, like disney princess. I was like, Disney, why don’t you hire Tiffy as Disney Princess? Because!, she’s so adorable, kind, fun, and more! I wish for you to be in Disney. I’m just saying. All of your website is just full of joys, beautiful stuff, your talent, creativity, personality, and more! I love it. I appreciate all of your website. It’s makes me super happy in my life. Love your article so much. Love you. Have a wonderful day. 💖
Hello Tiffy! I just wanted to say that my dad passed away over a month ago and for many reasons, butterflies remind me of him. I don’t watch you all the time, though I have been subscribed for a long time, your articles don’t usually pop up on my feed. But since my Dad has passed, this article has popped up twice! on my feed. Specifically on days that are really hard on me. Thank you so much! You are being sent to me by my guardian angel ❤️
this reminds me of when I was in 1st grade and we raised butterflies in our classroom and when we released them, one was eaten by a bird and everyone in my class freaked out so my poor teacher had to calm down a bunch of first-graders and explain the food chain, to this day I get anxious around birds because of the experience
This touches my heart so much tiff! I have a skin condition called EB and in short my skin is as delicate as butterfly wings. I tried raising butterflies on my own, sadly most of them got killed by ants and bees, the ones that survived to coming out of their crysalis got stomped on by my little brother. Anyways your articles make me so happy and I love your creative ideas. I love you tiff!
When I used to Live in Brazil, as Kids, me, my Cousins and Siblings would adventure into the Forest and Collect abandoned Monarch Blue Butterfly eggs(as that was a big issue when I was growing up), and take them back to the Farm and raise them until they were beautiful Big blue Butterflies, and we would release them into the Forest. Damn I miss my Childhood
this reminds me of when in kids stop (a place for kids to go after school to be taken care of until parents are out of work) we helped grow butterfly’s. and we all got to put our hand very slowly in a the enclosure after the butterfly hatched to see if it’d go on our finger. the butterfly didn’t rly like it but i put my hand in and it got on my hand and would not get off. idk what that means but at the time i was terrified. now i wish that’d happen again
I love it! I raise monarchs myself and release them afterwards 🙂 we have a total monarch forest were we are cause we have milkweed everywhere! We raise ours similar to yours, and i learned a lot by your article! ^^ we do the exact same thing for the baby egg thing, i just call it a nursery for short though haha!
That’s good for 5-10 cats but not for 30+ cats ! I raise cats in Clearwater Florida for 4 months. Here what I do. 1. Buy Milkweed this year I bought around 4 3gal pots 2 in qts and 1 13gal . The first 4 got eaten down to the bone and I put them outside and in 3 weeks they were almost completely back ! One monarch came by and laid at least 32 eggs over a couple of days. So I move one plant into a 2x2x3 butterfly cage. I transfer any cats I find on the other milkweed into the caged mw. They get big and eat it down to the stalks. Then I put another plant next to the one in the cage and most will climb over to the new plant if not I use a plastic spoon. They get big and climb up to the top and make the J shape and make their chrysalis. They hatch and I drag the whole cage and plant to the door of our lanai and set them free. First batch 32 butterflies and now I have around 80 at various stages. You can never have enough milkweed so start growing your own. But if the butterfly lands on your 2″tall seedling it will eat the plant in a day and both will be gone. Very rewarding as I see so few butterflies only 4 last yr outside Philly.
My mom does this every year she very well could have raised over 100+ of them every year some don’t make because of either illness or deformed wings then we… put them in the freezer for them to peacefully die… but we release soooooooo many every year. We do it a lot differently though and different milkweed…
I have about 30 in a net cage like yours and a couple have already died from “black death”. I”m worried all the others will be infected now. 🙁 Any advice on preventing this??? …..A couple had also been infested with tachinid fly eggs, and when they died I opened them and fly larvae crawled out. That’s why I still try to raise them, because I think most of them will probably be lost to the flies if I don’t.
I wanted to raise butterflies from the start but butterflies don’t appear naturally in my country guys I might have to get a butterfly or are they are breeds but if there are no breeds I can’t do anything to raise them guys butterflies are my favorite animals and I wanna raise them so badly and I might order some leaves for butterflies to eat!
and keeping your chrysalis hotel inside… Really bad idea! The butterflies get used to being indoors with that kind of environment and no predators to the point where once they emerge they don’t know what to do because I’ve never seen the outdoors before. Once they become butterflies they have a whole new mindset which is why I’m saying they’ve never been outdoors
Tiff can you please visit go fund me /get out of mold infested mobile home. I’ve been trying my hardest to get the word out about it & it’s as if nobody’s listening or they think I’m lying. I’m a mother with a lot of kids & I’m living in a mold infested mobile home that keeps me sick .The doctors are saying the only way that I can start getting better is if I put myself in a better environment, but I can’t afford it. I don’t even have to reach my goal. I’m not a fancy person. I just want enough to get my family out of this situation. I hope someone sees this and cares enough to help !! Thanks!!
Wow never seen anything like that crap. Change the pot to a much bigger pot to grow your plants or better yet grow the plant in your garden. Put the caterpillars back on the plant as nature intended. If you leave them on the plant the shit will fall down and away from them.. You may have the best intentions, but in my opinion your only making things worse. Grow healthy plants for the Butterflies and the caterpillars to feed on, that is your job as a protector of a species. not bring them inside into a plastic container and make them eat leaves you leave them, they may not really like that leaf, if you leave them on the plant they have a choice because you have grown the healthiest plant, with no pesticides or herbicides..
That was very interesting and my first time seeing this article. I thought this sort of thing was done at Syon Park or Kew gardens London I have seen a monarch and a red admiral in my garden but nothing to do with me at the time. But this year I am doing a bit of seed bombing for a meadow for bees and butterflies, this is all first time stuff using the garden and balcony ☺️👍🏿
Much respect to you for what you do. Butterflies are very beautiful little creatures. My girlfriend purchased a butterfly for her son from the butterfly farm in South Florida. I begin to have an infatuation with it and I asked her to bring the butterfly Chrysalis with her when she came to ride with me on my semi truck. The butterfly was with us for almost 4 days or so and did not hatch. We were not sure if she was dead we tried to Mist spray water on her, But we believe that she may have died when her son dropped her on the ground in the car. I still think till this day that when I slammed on the brakes I was the one who killed her because she fell from the bunk to the ground which isn’t but a couple feet, but she fell hard enough to detach from the top of the cup lid which she was hanging from and that resulted in the bottom part of her cocoon breaking and exposing the inner side which was black and white. Did not look good I miss her till this day.
When you collect caterpillars put 3 or 4 in smaller containers. If you put them all in one large container if one caterpillar has a disease or virus you will lose all of them. I use small ex food containers, making sure I clean them out everyday when I put new leaves in. I collect the eggs because of the predators, and put them in containers on a small part of the leaf I find them on. As soon as I see the black dot of the head emerge from the eggs I then place them on fresh new leaves.
I really wanted to have my own butterfly garden but I don’t have space, then I saw these containers and thought maybe this is enough? But I had doubts since butterflies are meant to roam around and not just stucked in a container. And yes… based on your article, I have to release them so if I do this now, I can only be with them through their early growing stage but bid farewell on their last stage😪 I really can’t bring myself to jail them for the rest of their lives, it’s just not my personality.
Have you ever wondered about that gold ring around the Danaiid chrysalis? It is a foothold for the newly emerging butterfly. An hour or so before eclosure, the pupa shifts a bit, and the band pops out and becomes a groove 8:15 This provides a foothold on an otherwise celiphane smooth chrysalis. If you notice, each caterpillar will attach to its silk pad with its back to the light source. That way, as the newly emerging adult pivots to grasp this foothold, it now faces the Sun. I have watched countless times, and even butterflies that catch hold of the chrysalis at another point will still eventually pivot until its feet are securely within this groove.
I live in southern BC and get lots of different butterflies in my garden, and have had painted lady and tiger swallowtail caterpillars we raised and released for fun. Monarchs can come this far, but they are rare to non-existent here. I’m adding a fair amount of milkweed to my garden this year, but since we’re on the extreme edge of their migration range I’m not expecting any to come.
I saw a butterfly exibit at the zoo once… It was a greenhouse sized structure with mesh screening all around it and there were thousands of them flying around inside it… Can a greenhouse be used to raise them in to protect them from the cold winters? We’re clearing some land in South Carolina to build on and I was curious if they can be raised in a greenhouse out of the harms way of winter and predators like the wasps, lizards and frogs…
Thank you for posting. I’m starting to raise Monarchs. perusal lots of vids on raising them, especially in South Florida where disease is and parasites are rampant due to it constantly being in a state of summer. My QUESTION is what are you feeding the butterfly from???I’ve seen another method but this seems much better. Also I don’t know where where you live but tropical milkweed seems to be all we have. The leaves are so small that it is hard to have enough food for all the caterpillars. I’m sure I could order seeds from a dealer but worried about introducing a non-native plant to the area. QUESTION: any thoughts on that???
I’m just a mom, learning along my kids. I had bever raised butterflies till now, that we got a kit. I lost the instructions and came across this article. I think ours is painted butterflies and they came out of their chrysalis about 2 days ago. Now, should you release them in a nice day knowing that the next 3-4 days will be colder and rainy?
Hey!! It’s better to use native milkweed for monarchs instead of tropical milkweeds!! These tropical milkweeds are native to Mexico, when they reach their destination in Mexico they know when to stop when they see these plants. This may stop them from migrating if you plant tropical milkweeds instead of native milkweeds.
Hi…, I found three Monarch Caterpillars on my Milkweed plants yesterday! They were on the underside of the leaves. I didn’t see any signs of the leaves being eaten though… As a kid I seem to remember them being a lot bigger and fatter. Maybe they’re only half grown now… Would it be better to keep them inside or outside during Winter? In Nature of course they’d experience the cold outside which seems more natural. Will keeping them inside where it’s always warm throw them off somehow? Thanks…
Hi… Great that you’re raising Butterflies! How do you get Milkweed to grow in a warm climate though? I haven’t had success. Doesn’t it typically grow in a cold climate? I’ve even tried putting the seeds in the freezer for a couple of weeks first but I’ve never been able to get them to germinate. Thanks…
I found one caterpillar and i perusal it from few weeks but today i just got there to check on it but it’s flwe away before i can see 😢,anyways nicely explain article👌and i have one question which butterfly have golden chrysalis? I also found one few years a go but nothing came out of it, so if u know let me know pls👍
Hello, im currently waiting for my painted lady caterpillars to hatch but am a little lost on what to feed them once they do?? Should i continue to go out and scavenge thistle/milkweed for them or should i just buy some small mallow and milkweed plants ? Or what other leaves could i feed them? Thank you❤
Greetings ken here last year i tried to attract monarch’s like you showed in your article i grew some milkweed but very few monarchs and 0 eggs is it possible to find eggs to help jump start my program ….i am trying to create a little butterfly sanctuary in my back yard ….i have gezebo that i have enclosed and have armed my self with grow lights so the milk weed will stay good and healthy…. i am trying to see if i can cycle them to the fourth gen. and see them off to mex.i live in south texas…..sooooo can you find healthy eggs on line thx i like your website by the way pretty cool stuff
great information!! Question – I have the butterfly zip enclosure. I put three caterpillars in a container inside the zip enclosure. Should the container have a lid? One of the caterpillars keeps climbing out of the container and away from the milk weed leaves. I’m afraid it’s not going to get back to the leaves!! Please advise.
Hi there, I am new at raising Caterpillars to butterflies. I just started at the beginning of August of this year. I started out with Monarchs and so far have raised and released 25 Monarch Butterflies. I then started collecting Black Swallowtail caterpillars. I have two that formed into their Chrysalis back in late August and hoping they emerge pretty soon. It’s been a lot of fun and very rewarding. I definitely want to continue doing this in the future. I do need some advice though. Since Fall is only a couple weeks away. I have 10 Black Swallowtail Caterpillars that are basically just now going into their Chrysalis. They started forming their Chrysalis On September first. Do you think they’ll emerge into a butterfly before October, or am I gonna need to overwinter them? I honestly don’t want to stress with overwintering them. I’m not interested in overwintering them this year at least. Yet I do not want to kill them either? I feel like I’m gonna be worrying about them to much during the winter and feel pretty guilty if they don’t survive. Anxiety! That’s why I don’t want to overwinter them. What should I do? Any kind of advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Hi very informative 🦋do you provide housing inside ? also I have grown them b4 but got discouraged bcz out of 5 maybe .one would survive . It starts with a clear thread like being released and them it turn black they told me it was called black death from an infected plant or butterfly infected by some fly???help !!!
Pls could you tell more about feeding caterpillars. I had a small plant (curry leaves plant) on which caterpillars were growing. They ate the whole plant leaves and then there was nothing for them to eat. I put them in a cardboard box with loose curry leaves but they ate it the first day and then didn’t eat. I got very worried and left the caterpillars down in my building garden on some random small plant. Pls educate me more on how to feed them? How to pick them? I am from Mumbai, India.
Hello, idk if you will answer my question, but I’m from EU Poland and yesterday an european peacock butterfly flew on my balcony. The weather is kind of harsh this few days, rainy and windy and temperatures are 10 Celsius day and 4 at night. How can I help the butterfly? Can I help at all? It is alive, I put a few quinces and sugar water in a bottle cup near it, but it doesn’t seem to eat anything 🙁
Help! I have 8 Black Swallowtail chrysalis in an mesh enclosure. One emerged today and others are getting dark so I know it’s soon their time, but we are having rainy weather for the next 3 days! (Hurricane remnants) I need to figure out how to keep them safe. Never had this happen before, I’ve always been able to release them… any tips, tricks, or suggestions accepted!
I dont quite understand how to make the diy nectar. 10 parts water to 1 part sugar, boil until sugar disolves? Doesnt sugar disolve as soon as you mix it to water? Why boil it? How long do I boil it? Would this be good to add to a butterfly garden so they have something extra to feed from? Like putting out a dish of this stuff for them?
Thank you for your article. This is my 3rd time back. I have a question: I have a few black swallowtail caterpillars, but the last couple of days they fell off the dill branches onto the soil. The first time I noticed this happen, I tried using a watercolor brush so they can attach onto the brush and then I would put them back on the dill. They still fall off. It seems like they can’t get back on the dill again? Last night, I had another one fall onto the soil. I decided to leave it alone and figured it will find its way back to the dill. It was laying next to the base of the dill plant. This morning, It still looks like it’s dying. I am puzzled. How do you successfully help them get back on the dill again? Thank you.
I want to raise butterflies but i live in the Netherlands so i can plant as much milkwheat plants as i want but none wile come😂 can i just raise any native species? Is there any hazards w toxicity? (I know we have oak proccesionary caterpillar who have hairs that are irretating) what is your advice? How do i find out about a species that is friendly to keep?
Hello everybody I am Chilean and I want you to help me with the preparation of food for the caterpillars, since the host plants here in Chile are not very abundant and I do not want my caterpillars to starve. I have heard that it can be made with soy flour? Does anyone know how is the elaboration? If you can help me in the detail of the elaboration, my caterpillars would appreciate it very much 😉 Thank you