Different individuals are more or less concerned with possible spread of infections from one caterpillar to another. Some would recommend keeping them in separate individual containers, to prevent sharing infections. I'd recommend keeping them separated into a few groups, to decrease the risk of losing them all, but also decreasing the amount of work required to take care of them all. I've not used the tomato cage containers, but would think you could fit all 11 in one container, if you chose to. I'd probably compromise and split them into two groups. That way, you are pretty sure of getting at least half of the cats to chrysalis stage, and possibly all of them. That will also minimize the work of cleaning and feeding that many cats. Good luck. I'm so glad there are so many people taking the time and effort to protect these wonderful creatures. Take pictures, if you can.

Martha

I raise a small number of monarch cats every year, when they are available. There are very few monarchs in Madison this year, so I have only raised and released one butterfly this season. This is the method I use, which has evolved over time in order to minimize the chance of infection, and to improve the odds of a successful outcome. Each cat is raised in a clean one quart glass canning jar, with a small piece of fiberglass window screen material on the top, held down with a rubber band. To minimize cross-contamination, there is only one caterpillar per jar. The sprigs of milkweed are first rinsed under a stream of cold water, and then dried with a paper towel. I try to keep the end of the sprig, or leaf, in a very small thimble of water, so it stays hydrated. This is probably not necessary, but it makes me feel better. The glass jars are cleaned and rinsed when there is an accumulation of frass. When the 4th or 5th instar is reached, I add a small stick for the cat to climb up on. As a general rule, they climb to the top, and hang from the screen, when they are ready. There is a lot of handwashing involved, as well as glass cleaning. Since this is pretty labor intensive, you can see why I raise only a small number of caterpillars every year-typically around 10. Some years, 9 of 10 will eclose as healthy adults, and some years, it is more like 6 or 7. I know that some people are using disinfectant solutions to clean the milkweed leaves, but I am getting pretty good results with cold running water, so I continue to stick with this method. Be sure to wash your hands well after handling milkweed, and if you happen to touch your eyes with milkweed sap on your fingers, a warm shower will get most of the sap off your skin, and make a trip to the ER not necessary. Unless you have a severe reaction...I hope all goes will with your monarch adventures.

Thank you both for taking the time to answer. It's a big help! I felt uncomfortable putting them all in one cage, and this confirms it. I'll split them up, and yes, will take pictures too.

Also, it's great that people mention the issues with handling milkweed. I'd read that in another post, but had been totally unaware of the potential danger prior to that. Definitely a case where a few reminders are better than none! I picked milkweed roadside yesterday (not enough around here to raise these), and I was sure to wear gloves when handling.

Thanks again.

I raise several together in a single cage. I have been fostering 51 for Sandy (aka butterflymomok) and it would have been difficult for me to have each one in a separate container. I did have one loss but I think those are pretty good odds.

I have 8 that eclosed this morning. :-)

~Laura

Great work, Laura!

I think as long as you keep the cage clean you won't have any issues raising 11 caterpillars in one cage.

I raised 53 (in a jumbo caterpillar castle) last September and the only one that died was one I accidentally smushed.

I remove chrysalises with a needle and hang them on our kitchen overhang. that way I can see who's going to hatch each morning. :) Tony

(removing chrysalides also makes cage cleaning easier)

It's been a week, and all my cats are still alive. I found one more a few days ago. It's the same size as the others so I guess I just missed it the first time. I have the dozen split between three cages.

One of my cats has crawled to the top of the cage, but I don't think he's old enough/big enough to be ready to "J" yet. I found them last Sunday, and they were tiny, so I assume they were relatively newly hatched. He's about 1.25" long right now.

Do I need to move him back to the milkweed or should I just let him do his thing? I'll post a picture of the whoile cage too. Thanks.

Oh, and Tony - I'd love to see a picture of all those chrysalises hanging in your kitchen!

I call this cage the Hyatt :-)

I rigged up a container to hold the milkweed with water in the bottom and that's worked wonderfully. I have a combo of incarnata and syriaca in it.

He's on the top right side of the cage.

The Motel 6 - where they started when I found myself with eleven cats and not a clue where to put them.

The Holiday Inn. Didn't want to clean eleven individual homes, so tried these 1 lb spring mix containers. One cat was isolated at this time because I wasn't sure he was eating and OK.

The milkweed wilted too quickly in this set up, even using wet paper towel and tinfoil. But I'll use these containers to wintersow asclepia.

I think I found the answer to my question. I found one site that said they can move to the lid when they're getting ready to molt. I didn't remember that from raising a couple so many years ago.

Guess everything is OK...on to week two!