How to Make a House for a Pet Butterfly
Raising a caterpillar and watching it turn into a butterfly is a rewarding experience and a common science project. You can keep the butterfly as a pet afterward rather than releasing it; you should never release a butterfly that is nonnative or is a pest species. A butterfly usually needs a larger house than a caterpillar requires, but you can make a suitable one with cheap or free materials.
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Things You'll Need
- Scrap wooden poles, dowels or other wood strips
- Saw
- Nontoxic all-purpose glue
- Nails
- Hammer
- Drill
- Screws
- Screwdriver
- Canvas
- Muslin or fine netting
- Roll of hook-and-loop fabric fasteners with sticky backing
- Scissors
- Tacks
- Piece of branch
- Saucer
- Cane sugar
- Sponge
Instructions
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1
Saw the wood into 12 pieces, each 2 feet long.
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2
Connect four of the pieces of wood in a square by gluing, screwing or nailing the ends together. Make another square with another four pieces. Allow the glue to dry.
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3
Use the remaining four pieces of wood to connect the two squares together to form a cube. Use glue, nails or screws to connect the pieces. Allow the glue to dry.
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4
Cut two pieces of canvas, making each a 2-by-2-foot square.
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5
Glue one piece of canvas to a side of the cube all the way around. This is the bottom of the butterfly house.
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6
Cut a 2-foot by 8-foot length of muslin or fine netting. Attach this around the four sides of the cube using glue or tacks.
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7
Cut the roll of hook-and-loop fabric fasteners into four 2-foot strips.
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8
Adhere the hook half of the hook-and-loop fabric fastener strips to all four edges of the second piece of canvas to make a roof.
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9
Adhere the loop half of the hook-and-loop fabric fastener strips to all four top edges of the butterfly house.
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10
Place the piece of branch and the saucer in the cage.
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11
Make up a sugar solution of one part sugar to four parts water.
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12
Soak the sponge in the sugar solution, then put it in the saucer.
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13
Put your butterfly in the house, close the roof and secure it by lining up the hook-and-loop fabric fastener strips.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Ensure the glue is completely dry before introducing your butterfly. Even nontoxic glue emits some fumes before it dries.
If you have more than one butterfly and want them to breed, provide the same plant leaves you fed the caterpillars.
References
- Photo Credit White butterfly White butterfly on a blowball image by Rade Cojbasic from Fotolia.com
