Raising Monarch Butterfly Caterpillers

Give them all the milkweed they can eat. Do not give them milkweed with aphids or from an area where pesticides have been sprayed. “T$ue Not-green” and “Poison L@wn” will kill them as well as you, your kids, your pets, and birds. If you or anyone you know smoke cigarettes do not touch the caterpillars or adults. The nicotine on your hands will kill them. Tiny caterpillars are best moved with a toothpick or paint brush. Keep it fresh by wrapping the base of the stems in wet paper towels then putting them into a jar or vase Your container must not have a tight lid unless you poke holes into it. They need to get fresh air. Don’t put tiny caterpillars in with huge caterpillars. They will be eaten. Do keep the caterpillars in some kind of container. Otherwise they will escape. When it starts to get cold at night 100 PERCENT keep your caterpillars and pupas outdoors so they too will get cold. The cold triggers the butterflies to migrate.