This spring we decided to order 2 butterfly rearing kits. Seeing as this was our first time ever doing this I ordered 2 rearing kits as we were told usually only half of the larvae will be successful in becoming butterflies. We received 13 larvae, 7 in one container and 6 in the other. We were so excited when all 13 of our larvae made chrysalises and turned into beautiful Painted Lady Butterflies!
Our teeny Painted Lady Larvae find a nice warm spot in our living room.
A chrysalis and some caterpillars getting ready to make their own.
All 13 of our larvae formed their chrysalises!
Our make shift terrarium…it worked!!
We added moistened paper towels and set it in a warm part of the living room to keep the humidity up.
Once some broke out of the chrysalis, we added a small cup of diluted honey and a slice of watermelon for the butterflies to eat.
Here are some of our Painted Lady Butterflies starting to stretch and exercise their wings.
Have you had the opportunity to raise butterflies? We would love to hear from you!
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Love the pictures. Were they mostly in chrysalis form when they arrived? How long did the process take? Do you let them go one at a time or all at once? When do you let them go? How old are the children? What are/were there reactions to the whole process.
This is so exciting! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Diane, thank you so much for your interest.
The larvae were quite tiny when they arrived (will post that picture w others next week) and what you see on the bottom of the container is their food.
The whole process took about a month or just a little more, once all of them formed a chrysalis, we transferred to the terrarium. (part 2 of this series will definitely have more of this information)
My children are currently 11, 9, and 6, and they absolutely LOVED doing this project and have decided that next year we order even more kits!
It was very exciting indeed!
I will most certainly have more posts, pictures and links on this exciting nature study!
WOW! So cool!!! Where did you order them from?
These were ordered by our homeschool group. I am getting some contact info together, would you like me to keep you posted?
Yes please! I’d love to do this….for my son. Ok…for me too 😉