2000: Been having a lot of questions as far as what to do with fallen chrysalises or caterpillars that have hung themselves on the bottom of the milkweed leaf. First off, if a caterpillar has started hanging off the leaf or stem, please take the leaf or stem out, that it is hanging from, and place it over a cup or container so that the caterpillar is able to hang freely. This is quite common, just so you know. Also, when placing the stem or leaf over a cup or container, try to support it with a butter knife or lid with holes to hold it firmly in place so it does not bow inside the cup or container.
Important note: After the caterpillar pupates, please wait 24 hours to perform the following steps. Very important, as the entire chrysalis is very soft and will become permanently damaged if dealt with right away. After waiting 24 hours, please do the following:
1) Get about 6" of dental floss and begin tying the first loop in the center of the floss
2) Once the loop is just big enough for the chrysalis to fit though, slip it up the chrysalis and to the base of the black stem. If the chrysalis is one that had fallen, try to make the first loop small enough to fit over the stem and tie from there. Fallen chrysalises take a little more time because they are so "slippery". Just take your time <smile>
3) Without using a lot of force, gently tighten the loop closed around the stem. You want it as snug as you can possibly get it so that the stem does not slip out
4) Once first loop is secure, tie again to make the knot. Now, since we are using dental floss, the more you tighten (without a lot of force), the more it will pull the first loop closer in and secure it better. Make sure the knot positions itself as close to the center of the stem as possible. You don't want it too close to the top of the stem (closest to the leaf or stem of the plant), as this may not form a secure hold on the chrysalis
5) Get a good hold of both strands of the dental floss as close to the stem as you can comfortably get (perhaps a little less than 1/2" away from the stem)
6) Make sure you hold the stem or leaf firmly above the chrysalis
7) Cupping the hand, you are holding with the dental floss, around the chrysalis, gently start pulling down on the dental floss to loosen the chrysalis from the area. This should free up the chrysalis and gently swing it into your cupped hand. If too much force needs to be used to loosen the chrysalis from its place, please stop and cut the stem or leaf close to the area in which the stem is positioned. Yes, you will have a piece of stem or leaf still attached to the end of the chrysalis and that is fine
8) Tie the chrysalis up on the underside of a lid (that has holes in it), or an aquarium screen lid or even a branch. The knot for this does not have to be as snug as the one you tied to the stem, but please keep it relatively close to whatever you are securing it to
The chrysalis does not have to be in a housing unit, unless you have other curious pets in the house that may disturb the chrysalis. When the butterfly hatches, it will not go anywhere for the first couple hours or so. However, please keep in mind that after about the first 10-15 minutes after the butterfly hatches, they excrete bloody fluid from their body. This is normal and it WILL stain! This excretion only lasts a few minutes and then the rest of the bodily fluids will be clear.
For those of you who experience chrysalises with a partially broken stem, please follow these steps (again, make sure the chrysalis has sat for 24 hours -- if not, then lay the chrysalis in some cotton balls and then proceed):
1) Get a plastic lid and poke holes in it with a pen tip. Why I suggest a pen is because that will make the hole big enough for the remaining part of the stem to fit through
2) Grab a couple pieces of cotton balls, tape and Elmer's glue. Please use Elmer's glue because this glue will not be absorbed through the chrysalis and harm the pupa inside
3) Pull the cotton balls so that they are elongated, but thick enough to be used as support for the chrysalis
4) Place the lid so that the inside of it is facing up and see which hole will best support the chrysalis in an upright position by placing the stem in the hole and putting the cotton balls on either side of the chrysalis for support
5) Once you find the hole that will best position your chrysalis, place a piece of tape on the outside of the lid and over the hole you want to use
6) Put a bead of glue on the hole (on the inside of the lid) and place the stem of the chrysalis in the hole. The more glue, the better I've found
7) For support and for something the butterfly can cling to when it hatches, place the cotton on either side of the chrysalis and tape only the ends of the cotton balls to the underside of the lid
8) Let it sit and dry for an entire day before checking to see if it's sturdy enough to place over the container
When checking its stability, use no force at all. Gently touch the end of the chrysalis (where the head is) to see if it wiggles at all. If it wiggles, you need to put more glue on and let it sit for another day and check again. If it does not wiggle, it is safe to flip the lid over and place over it's container so that the chrysalis is hanging in its natural position.
When using glue, please try not to get any along the sides of the chrysalis. I know this may be hard to do, at times, so, if you feel you might leave a glue trail, please bring the bottle of glue up the front of the chrysalis (where the gold markings mostly are and that gold and black line). They hatch from the back and need that area clear from any potential blockage.
2000: Have been informed that butterflies will feed off of sliced or crushed fruit. This includes watermelon, cantaloupe and peaches. For those of you who have wounded butterflies, that cannot fly, I would suggest this method as being the best one when it is kept in an aquarium or other large housing unit. Keep in mind that they will also feed off of humming bird nectar or sugar water mixture as well. Most of all, they enjoy being let outside to feed off of various nectar producing flowers.
Angela, from Florida (1999): A neat trick I was taught and it's working beautifully; go to any pet store and, for 10 or 12 bucks, they have what they call an insect farm. A little cage that has tiny slats at the top - the same kind of cages used for hermit crabs. I take a piece of paper towel and line the bottom. Then I go to a flower shop and get that green little piece of foam they use to keep floral arrangements fresh in (the ones that hold water, not the tubes, the little square green foam), I wet it with purified water and stick my milkweed in. It keeps fresh and the green foam keeps the plants standing up straight. Then I fill a clean water bottle with purified water and mist the plants and caterpillars once a day - a trick my friend taught me so that they stay moist and don't dry out. I also do it lightly so I don't drown them. It's working because I still have 13 good caterpillars.
Phil, from Louisiana (1998): I went to a lecture at the botanical garden regarding attracting butterflies to your garden. After the lecture, the garden sold nectar and host plants. I bought some milkweed and planted it in the garden. About a week later, there were at least four caterpillars crawling on the plant. I realized that my plant was not that big so I went to a local nursery and bought three more potted plants. I put the potted plants next to the planted one in the garden. Then I came up with the idea of building a wire container around the potted plants so that I could watch the chrysalis form. The base of my container is a wooden crate. It is a crate that I used back in college as a book shelf. I then nailed four wooden stakes on each corner of the crate, making it about four feet tall - the sides are 1 X 2 feet, and went to the hardware store and bought some wire screen. I stapled the screen around the crate and stakes and, presto, I had a butterfly hatchery. The roof of the hatchery is also wire screen. Now there are about 10 caterpillars on two large milkweed plants in the container. Three caterpillars went to the top of the container to attach themselves and went into the chrysalis stage.