Things You'll Need:
- Milkweed plants
- Annual and perennial flowers
- Butterfly Pavilion or large jar with netting
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Step 1
In a sunny area, plant 5 or more milkweed (asclepsias) plants, sometimes called butterfly weed. You can purchase them at your local nursery. This plant is essential to attract monarch butterflies because it is the only plant on which monarchs will lay eggs and is the only plant monarch caterpillars will eat.
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Step 2
Nearby, plant a variety of annual or perennial flowers. Cosmos, purple coneflowers (also called echinacea), zinnias, marigolds and pincushions (also called scabiosa) work well because they provide the butterflies with a flat surface to rest while drinking nectar.
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Step 3
In the fall, watch for tiny green eggs, about the size of a pinhead, on the bottom of the milkweed leaves. Soon, the caterpillars will hatch. Once they are about 1 inch long, you can bring them indoors. We use butterfly habitats, available at toy stores, but you could also use a large jar covered with netting. Provide your caterpillars with a constant supply of milkweed. You'll be amazed at how quickly they grow and your kids will be amazed at how much they poop! Hint: I put a clean paper towel at the bottom of the habitat every day to make cleaning a breeze.
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Step 4
In a couple weeks, you'll see the caterpillars crawl to the top of the habitat and hang upside down in the shape of the letter "j". Within a day or two, if you're lucky, you'll catch a caterpillar jiggling. Then within a couple minutes, he'll shed his outer skin and transform into a beautiful green cocoon with gold beads on the upper edge.
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Step 5
About 2 to 3 weeks later, the newly formed monarch butterflies will emerge. You can feed them fresh flowers, fresh fruit (like watermelon) or hang a sponge dipped in a solution of 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. When the outside temperature is 50 degrees Fahrenheit, you may release your butterflies to begin the cycle all over again.
Comments
lorisoard said
on 5/16/2009 Loved this article too. Our butterfly garden should be buzzing with butterflies this summer. 5*s
hoolihan0519 said
on 3/5/2009 Very informative article. Thanks for the new hobby. RCR.
PearlsWisdom said
on 3/4/2009 Sounds like beautiful fun.
elyria said
on 2/28/2009 I loved reading this article! Very informative and great topic to share! 5* and recommended!
camellia said
on 2/26/2009 I'm glad you enjoyed the article. I started out with just one milkweed plant and it wasn't enough to get caterpillars, but over the past couple years, our milkweed has since multiplied by itself. Now it's about 3' x 4' and we had about 40 caterpillars turn into butterflies!