Oh Good Luck!! I know I am getting nervous about my milkweed supply. I have already cleaned out Home Depot. I have so many caterpillars right now. And the monarchs that I am releasing are mating.

I would think 8 plants should be enough to feed three caterpillars. And I wouldn't feel the least bit bad about acquiring a few leaves if needed. Good luck! :-)

~Laura

I am with Laura, I wouldn't think twice about acquiring leaves or eggs.

MandM55 that sounds exciting..Would love to see some pics.

SCG

They hatch very quickly. You should have small cats in a day or two, I believe.

Exciting!!! I would definitely go find more eggs:) Good luck and keep us posted!

Can I just leave them in the plastic container with fresh leaves on a paper towel? Will they migrate off the old leaves and onto the fresh leaves on their own? Or should I cut the top off one of my milkweed plants and stick it in some water for them to use? I'm not sure how I would transfer them from the leaves they are on to the fresh milkweed stalk.
Liz

I would put one new leaf at a time when they are very small, right next to where they are. They will find it. Bigger cats might need 2 leaves at a time. The softest, newest leaves are the most tender, easier for the tiny ones to eat. Don't know if it matters, but I tried to open the containers at least twice a day for fresh air.

When they get ready to make the chrysalis, they need a stiff twig to do it on. I used a fish bowl with pantyhose over the opening, held on by a rubber band, for that. It's only confusing the first time, you'll see as you go along. Good luck!!

If your Tupperware container is large enough, you can leave them in there for the majority of their life, as long as you clean it out and provide fresh leaves daily. Once they get to a later instar and are eating as fast as you can keep up with, I move them to a paper grocery bag and just open it twice a day to toss in fresh leaves. They'll pupate on the inside of the bag, and then you just cut the chrysalis out with scissors and tape it to whatever surface you want to watch them from. While in the bags, make sure you fold the top over a few times and clip it in a few places to prevent escapees.

Martha

Please do not try to transfer first or 2nd instar monarch caterpillars from one leaf to another. What will likely happen if this is attempted is that the tiny caterpillar will secrete a sticky thread, and attach itself to the leaf. If any attempt is made to move the caterpillar while stuck down, the caterpillar will be injured beyond recovery, and die. If you want to transfer a small caterpillar from a dead or dried out leaf to a better leaf, you can take a small scissors, and trim the leaf, around the caterpillar, until the cat is sitting on a small remnant of the original leaf. This remnant is simply placed on the new leaf, and eventually, the cat will transfer on its own volition. However, 3rd, 4th, and 5th instar caterpillars are not so fragile, and they can be gently picked up and moved around as needed.

Congrats, congrats on the monarch eggs, Liz!

And ditto to what Eric said! Never try to forcibly transfer early instar cats to better leaves! I've got some red-spotted purple eggs on TERRIBLE wild black cherry leaves - the leaves have yellow spots on them, and don't look like anything the cats would thrive on. Oddly, they can live on these garbage leaves, at least for a while, so, after the cats get beyond hatchling stage, I'll cut off the bad part of the leaf, leaving the 'string' they make on the end, then put this bad leaf on top of a good one. Eventually, the cat will move to the good leaf, at which time, I'll remove the bad one.

Sherry

Two little, three little caterpillars...
Three hatched out, but I can't find one of them now. Maybe underneath the leaf, but I don't want to fiddle with them.
Liz

BTW-is it really OK to leave them in a sealed container? I thought it was important to have good ventilation to keep the frass dry and prevent disease.

Yes, it is okay to leave them in the container. I have this discussion A LOT. I have been to a university lab where they raise lots of caterpillars, talked to another that raises Baltimore checkerspots, looked at pictures from labs where they raise endangered caterpillars. You would be surprised at what they raise them in. Some in covered petri dishes (obviously in early instars), some in covered plastic cups, some in Tupperware. The key is not to let frass and moisture build up. So, I usually place a napkin or paper towel in and change that when it is too dirty or wet. In the early days, I even add some moisture. It helps keep the leaves fresh and the little cats from drying out. If you are raising them inside, the air is much more dry than outside.

Good luck!
Elisabeth

Look for 3 damage patterns on the leaves. There you'll find your missing cat.

I'm always amazed at how far those tiny guys can travel if they get a mind to. You're doing exactly the correct thing by not messing with them. When I clean my containers, I take out all the leaves, shake the container gently over a paper towel to remove the loose fras, and wipe the bottom of the container with a slightly damp paper towel if there is still lots of fras left. Then I just put all the leaves back in, plus some fresh. As the leaves get eaten and dried out, you can eventually tell which are too dry or old, and which they're still eating, and remove the old. Just check the leaves carefully for any strays that might still be resting on them. If they are, I either put the whole leave back in, or trim the excess off and just put the cat and a small portion back in. If you have lots of cats, it can be painstaking work when they are small.

Martha

Thank you all for the detailed info. It has been very helpful.

Last night I put in a new leaf. I checked this morning and it had a good size hole in it, but the caterpillars were still on the old leaves. Two of them were on a tiny leaf, one of the originals which had had an egg on it. It is all curled up and full of holes, but they still seem to prefer it. I don't know why they like it better than the nice fresh one, but presumably they have their reasons.

The new one was from a tropical milkweed, whereas the originals were swamp milkweed. Maybe that has something to do with it. I hope they develop a taste for tropical milkweed, since it is the only one I have available right now without getting in the car and driving a few miles!

I have noticed that monarch caterpillars prefer swamp milkweed leaves, when compared to common milkweed. I don't know why this is, but it is much easier to get a monarch cat to transition from eating common milkweed to eating swamp milkweed, than go the other way.

I think it has something to do c sap flow and young instars when it comes to Common Milkweed. I have the same experience, lots of cats on the Swamp and not so much on the Common