Facts about Butterflies
Questions, Answers and Tips

Two Black Swallowtail Butterflies  We had one black swallowtail chrysalis in a glass jar with a mesh top. There had been two caterpillars in the jar but one disappeared and the other formed ...

What size are Swallowtail caterpillars when they're ready to form the chrysalis?  These are my first Swallowtail caterpillars (last year we had Monarchs) and I don't know how big they will get before they form the chrysalis. There are ...

Other plants as host plant for monarchs  Hello,
I'm wondering if the monarch larva can also eat leaves of other plants. I have no milkweed but have butterfly plants and in fact have found ...

Indoor/outdoor Caterpillar Raising in Summer  Hello, All summer I have been "saving" caterpillars found on our parsley and dill from the various predators that seem to be eating them up. I have them ...

Take care of a spicebush or black swallowtail butterfly wounded wings  I am not sure which one it is black or spicebush but he/she was born on my window cell inside. I was drying rosemary and notice the lime green pod so I ...

Incomplete transformation  My painted lady caterpillars all successfully transformed except for one. He has a caterpillar head still! I can't see his eyes! Is there anything I ...

Monarch Caterpillar Care in Florida  I purchased a butterfly weed plant and now have 23 caterpillars which I put into a large plastic container, netting on top for air and a few leaves for ...

Where have all my caterpillars gone?  This morning we had up to 20 caterpillars of various sizes, esp 2 big ones almost ready to pupate, but when we came home this afternoon we could only find ...

Chrysalis found on the Ground
Down and Doomed?  We Central Californians have had very rainy and windy weather recently and I just found a crysalis on the ground between two paving stones near the milkweed ...

New Butterflies Unsteady  Hi,
We are having an unusually cold Winter here in Central Florida, so we took in a few Monarchs: a newly emerged butterfly, a chrysalis from which a ...

Rasing butterflies indoors 
Reading the website, it sounds as though it may be possible for me to raise Monarchs indoors during the winter?....it's Dec. already but would it ...

Painted Lady Butterfly 
Is it true that Painted Lady butterflies can be raised inside my home during the winter months? Is this humane? And if the answer is yes to each ...

Butterfly with broken wing
How often to feed  How often do butterflies need to eat? I am feeding it some sugar water. It has a broken wing and I have it inside.
Thanks

Karen says:
Cathy, I ...

Black Swallowtail Chrysalis
Baby it's cold outside  I still have some chrysalis in my backyard. It will be 39 degrees F tonight. Is that to cold for them? Thank you

Karen says:
Cathy, my guess is ...

Tropical milkweed number of simutaneous cuttings per stem  Tropical Milkweed, one growing stem, 18 - 24" long :
Can it be used as three rootable 6 - 8" cuttings?
(either all cut within minutes, or spaced over ...

Need help finding milkweed host plant  I think I need a milkweed that is a kind called
Dregea volubilis. It is from Asia. Can you help me find seeds?

Karen says:
I am not familiar ...

Lantana Butterfly?  Discovered a "different" butterfly today. Its wings are not very large, black with white dots. Body is a vivid blue with the lower third a bright red....

A Monarch that won't fly?  We found our first Chrysalis and things were transforming well. Then after allowing the butterfly to dry her wings attempted to put her outside that ...

Monarch Release Question  I have a question,okay maybe more than one. How specifically do you go about releasing Monarch butterflies. How long do you wait after they emerge? Do ...

Monarchs Emerge and Fall to the Ground  We received the Butterfly Garden as a gift. The monarch caterpillars all attached to the top and after emerging several promptly fell to the floor. We ...

OE Parasite  We have had several caterpillars with a fluid coming out of them. Also two deformed chrysilias. what could cause this. Also one butterfly that was struggling....

Help required regarding a Monarch egg  I collected a milkweed leaf approx. 36 hours ago. I did not place the leaf in a container with moisture until this eve. Not smart, now I know. Is my ...

Monarch Chrysalis Fell  One of our monarch chrysalis fell off a branch and is lying on its side. Any help to make it hang again?

Karen says:
Yes, I have also had this happen....

How long from caterpillar in J to chrysalis?  This is my first year raising Monarch Butterflies. I would like to know how long it takes the caterpillar to Chrysalis after it attaches itself into a ...

Sleeping Larva  Do larva sleep during the day and night? This is our first week of experiencing and watching the butterfly larvae eating on parsley in an enclosed area....

Monarch Caterpillar Died  I am a toddler teacher at a daycare in Michigan. I found 2 Monarch caterpillars while by the lakeside. I took them back with me and we watched as they ...

Deformed Wing on Swallowtail Butterfly  I have this butterfly that hatched from the chrysalis and his wing is deformed. Should I still release him this way or should I keep him and feed it sugar ...

Caterpiller looks like he has died  Hello,
I just started raising Monarchs this summer here in MN. I had 3 caterpillars crawl to the top of the container, two have already pupated. One ...

Best place to keep cats?  You said you like to keep your cats out in the open, but do you mean inside your house or outside? I am assuming indoors but not in a cage? I have ...

Taking Care of Milkweed when Raising Monarchs.  I'm attempting to raise monarch butterflies. I picked milkweed leaves (7/8/2010), I tried the method of standing them up in a little water to keep the ...

Other plants as host plant for monarchs  Hello,
I'm wondering if the monarch larva can also eat leaves of other plants. I have no milkweed but have butterfly plants and in fact have found ...

Fallen swallowtail chrysalis  I have recently found a swallowtail caterpillar while at work. I work at a daycare so I was able to put it into a clear plastic bug catcher until I got ...

Wasps Eating Caterpillars  How do I get rid of the wasps that are eating my caterpillars?

Karen says:

It is almost impossible to get rid of the wasps...although one person ...

Raising Butterflies  Hi I am a teacher and was wanting to purchase a butterfly kit. I went to the link provided and can't get through to that business to order. Do you have ...

Where did the black swallowtails go?  This is my first year butterfly gardening. I was really excited to see how easy it was to attract monarch butterflies, and see them develop in my own backyard....

Black Swallowtail: emerging this year or next?  I am confused about when to expect the BS cat in my garden to emerge from his chrysalis. He appears to be in the 3rd instar. Your site says ALL swallowtails ...

Butterfly but No Caterpillars  I have a very large butterfly garden shaped like a butterfly. We have several larval plants and several nectar plants. There are several kinds of butterflies ...

How long will the seeds last?  I purchased both Swamp and Tropical milkweed seeds.
They have been in the fridge for about 6 weeks.
I have been unable to complete a planting area.
Will ...

Swallowtail Caterpillar  I have 3 rue plants in a tank with cardboard on the bottom that have fed 6 + caterpillars..
a couple keep falling off...
I put them back on the plants,...

Swallowtail Caterpillar  I have 3 rue plants in a tank with cardboard on the bottom that have fed 6 + caterpillars..
a couple keep falling off...
I put them back on the plants,...

Mother's Day Surprise  I received a spice garden for Mother's Day and now I have two beautiful black swallowtail caterpillars on it. I need to know what to do. It is outside ...

Painted Lady Buttlerflies
Just Emerged   We have just had our first 3 butterflies emerge. One of them looks like this... picture is attached. Is he/she gonna be alright?

Karen says:
I ...

Monarch eggs  What is the best month and approximate date to look for Monarch butterfly eggs? Thank you. Hoping to show my grandson the beauty of Monarch butterflies....

Tip for Blackswallow Caterpillars  I have dill in my garden which I was able to grow quite effortlessly from seed. Today I went out to find about 15 of these caterpillars all over it. So,...

Black Swallowtail Chrysalis Pupated In May, When Will It Hatch?  I'll be out of town for a few days; I'm just wondering how long it will take to mature and also if there is any special way to store it while I'm gone....

Butterfly Migration Stop Animation  Not quite a tip, but a video I would like to share of stop animation butterfly migration.here is the link....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fgq6TsUCUA&...

How can I help to fix folded wings?  We have 2 monarchs in our yard that hatched with folded wings. The wings are dry but they are unable to fly because they are folded. Is this something ...

Monarch caterpillars not eating milk weed  I bought milk weed from two different nurseries for my caterpillars. They were not eating the first plants I got, so I bought more which they have almost ...

Swamp Milkweed  I planted 3 swamp milkweed plants last fall. As of today, April 17 it looks like one is sprouting but the other look doubtful. Is this plant a late emerger ...

What do I do with the chrysalis?  I purchased a butterfly kit for my class room with 5 painted ladies. They have each formed a chrysalis on a napkin and are inside the 1-cup container they ...

Will our Black Swallowtail emerge?  My boys found a swallowtail caterpillar last fall and it has been in it's chrysalis all winter. I wasn't aware that you were supposed to keep it in a ...

Butterfly house  I purchased a butterfly house, but don't know how to use it. I would like instructions. Is the house used after the butterfly emerges as a safe place to ...

Osmeterium Harmful to Touch?  Hello,
First let me compliment you on your site. You've got some great info. I have two questions for you. Regarding the osmeterium on the black swallowtail ...

Orange dots in Giant Swallowtails  It's about the two dots at the base of the tails, visible when the wings are spread. Sometimes they are orange but I have also seen them more yellow/brown....

Monarchs in Salt Lake City Utah  I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. I see common milkweed in many places growing wild but rarely find Monarch caterpillars on them. Is our climate too cold ...

Milkweed harmful to birds and children?  Somewhere on your site you mention most animals not liking the taste of milkweed (the toxins) - but that cardinals love it. Due to a neighbor's bird feeder ...

Cold Weather  I live in South Florida, We are having a chilly winter. I have 6 chrysalis, that don't look normal. Sometimes they are on the side of the house instead ...

Care of Milkweed Plants  The caterpillars have nearly stripped my scarlet milkweed plants of their leaves. Should I cut the plants back now or just leave them as they are. They ...

Black Swallowtail Butterfly Emerges in Winter  We found a black swallowtail caterpillar in our garden last fall and put it in a jar to see if we could watch it go through it's change. It just "hatched"...

Indoor care for butterflies  I have a swallowtail butterfly that has just hatched indoors in the wintertime. I can't release him now. What does he need to survive?

Karen says:...

Chrysalis and moisture-sprinkler system?  We have several butterfly gardens where we have an automatic sprinkler system - is this good or bad, too much moisture-can it prevent chrysalis' from ...

How warm should it be to release monarch butterflies?  FYI, I was able to bring in the 9 monarch chrysalis that I found in my garden and so far 6 of them emerged, only one with a broken wing, even with the ...

Monarch Chrysalis Cold Outside  I have Monarch Chrysalis in my backyard. It will be 30 or below degrees F tonight should I try to bring them indoors? It is not the Black Swallowtail,...

Monarch Cold Weather  The weather has turned cold - should snow tomorrow. I have many chrysalis and 1 monarch hatched outside and is hanging on to chrysalis. If I bring it ...

Monarch eggs in November  What will happen to the monarch eggs and cats that are on my milkweed plants now, in late November?

Will they complete their cycle and have much chance ...

Tigere Swallowtails
Males or Females?  I grow Bronze Fennel and have watched the Swallowtails lay eggs and the joy of watching feeding babies. Two questions: I thought the yellow Swallowtails ...

Black Swallowtail Chrysalis
Unable to move! 
My kids and I have had the extraordinary and quite-by-chance opportunity to experience a Black Swallowtail caterpillar eat and grow and enter the ...

Milkweed Plant spacing in the garden?  How close together do you plant milkweed plants? Do you group them, several plants in a grouping and how close together should each plant be grown?


Karen ...

Book about Caterpillars  I'm looking for the very best book I can get on identifying caterpillars in all their instars. Most books show only one instar. My main interest is ...

When is the best time to start raising Monarchs? 
I live in Central Maryland and was thinking of starting to raise Monarchs. I have a daughter who will soon be an Elementary School teacher and I ...

Butterfly Can't Fly  I have a Butterfly that can't fly. Something is wrong with one of it's wings. I found it in my garden outside. What can I feed it? will it drink the ...

Chrysalis Moving  Thank you for answering all my questions? You have been very helpful. Instead of moving the Chrysalis inside of my home I want to move it from the garbage ...

Moving the Chrysalis inside  How can I move a Chrysalis from outside to inside the house. One of the caterpillars attached itself to my outside garbage can yesterday 6/26/09. I have ...