- Plant milkweeds. Read more about milkweeds here.
- Get a container that is like a Kritter Keeper. The top of the Kritter Keeper lets a lot of air in so the caterpillars can breathe. The container makes it easier for them to find the leaves if they fall off, and also keeps them from getting lost or squished.
- Look for caterpillars on milkweeds. Caterpillars like to crawl up to the newer growth, but sometimes crawl under the leaves. If you can not find them at the top, gently tilt the plant with 2 fingers so you can see the underside of the leaves.
- Carefully pick the leaf that the caterpillars are on. You will need a long stem attached to the leaf. If you are picking leaves from a small-leaved milkweed variety, such as Asclepias tuberosa, pick a whole small branch. You need to have enough for them to eat and you need the long stem to keep the leaves hydrated. To keep the leaves in water, you can either
- Roll a wet paper towel around the stem. Make sure its not dripping and is continuously smooth around the outside so small caterpillars won’t get caught in it.
- Or you can use a small plastic container for water like the kind you get for sauce with a takeout meal. Poke a tiny hole in the top for inserting the stems. Make sure the the hole is tiny so small caterpillars can’t go swimming.
- Put the caterpillars and the milkweed in the kritter keeper. You’ll need to check regularly (daily when they’re small, a few times a day when they’re bigger) to make sure they have plenty of fresh milkweed to eat. Add fresh stems as needed. The caterpillars will move on their own from the drier leaves to the fresher ones. After everyone is accounted for on the fresher leaves, you can remove dried out leaves. Clean out poop when it accumulates.
It is best not to handle the caterpillars until they are larger, like close to this size.
When the caterpillars are full grown, they will crawl to the top because they are about to turn into chrysalises.
If you mess with them during this time, they can get stuck and be unable to complete this process. So it’s best not to disturb them when you see this happening. They don’t eat any more once they start this process. Sometimes they do wander to the top and come back down to eat again, however, so keep an eye on their behavior to make sure they still have food if they need it. Also don’t mess with the chrysalises, so they don’t fall off from where they are attached.
When they come out of their chrysalis, their wings will be wet. Don’t hold them until they have pumped up their wings. It will take a few hours.
After they have pumped up their wings, you can hold them.
Just put your finger under their legs, and they will climb on. Do not touch their wings.
Just put your finger under their legs, and they will climb on. Do not touch their wings.
Release them outside on a flower in your backyard.
And here's another article about how to raise monarchs:
http://www.thejerseymomma.com/2014/08/how-to-raise-monarch-butterflies-basic.html
And there are some good informational videos on raising monarchs on this YouTube channel as well (hatching eggs this way did not work for us, but we only tried it once):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIJYERWSMyVrOpgo-TVIgWRFKARuT7ImT
http://www.thejerseymomma.com/2014/08/how-to-raise-monarch-butterflies-basic.html
And there are some good informational videos on raising monarchs on this YouTube channel as well (hatching eggs this way did not work for us, but we only tried it once):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIJYERWSMyVrOpgo-TVIgWRFKARuT7ImT