Do nothing. Wait about two weeks for your butterfly. It's early enough in the season that your BST should eclose and not overwinter.

If you get to see it emerge from its chrysalis, you'll enjoy a rare privilege. But don't hurry your butterfly once it has made its appearance. It will need some time to pump up its wings and dry them and probably rest a little before it is ready to take on the world. So just be patient, and it will tell you when it wants to be free. When it starts flying around inside the enclosure, it's ready to go. If your enclosure opens at the top, that is perfect. You can take it outside, pot and all, and open the top and the butterfly will find its way out.

Good job so far, and good luck with your baby.

geni

Welcome to your new addiction!

I agree with everything geni said, but don't be alarmed if your butterfly doesn't emerge this season. I think it will because it is still warm enough, but sometimes butterflies have their own agenda. In my first experience, mine overwintered. I kept them in my unheated garage, then moved them to my porch in spring.

When they do emerge, they can't fly right away. Even when their wings look like they are fully pumped out and ready, they still have to dry. It's during that time that you can get them to walk all over you if you're so inclined. Just wait until the wings look complete, then gently put your finger near/under their legs and they'll hop aboard. Or you can put them on a flower or whatever and get some fantastic close up photos.

For the future, you can plant fennel, dill, parsley and rue. BSTs will lay eggs on all of those. The "problem" becomes that the more you plant, the more eggs you get, so the more plants you need to feed them all!

In reality, I think mother nature has the BSTs laying a lot more eggs than are necessary, since in "the wild", there is a fair amount of attrition from predators and also from the larger caterpillars eating the babies. Not on purpose, just cause they're in the way of whatever they are eating. I watched a 4th instar cat eat an egg today. I hadn't noticed the egg on the leaf, and by the time I did, it was too late.

The other wonderful thing that I witnessed today was a BST laying eggs on my dill, fennel and parsley. I happened to be outside and saw her flitting around. I literally pulled up a chair about 2 feet from my herb garden and watched. My 2 dogs were out there too, and she was really unconcerned that we were so close. It was way cool to watch!

Warning: Once you become addicted, you will find yourself "catnapping" at your local nursery. {{gwi:529114}}

True Confessions of a Catnapper

Linked below are some photos of my first BST experience, including shots of one eclosing and pumping up its wings.

Here is a link that might be useful: clicky

Eggs 3-5 days.
Cats for about 10 days.
They will emerge 10 days after forming pupa.

You need to do nothing but feed and enjoy!

They only overwinter in pupa if it's too cold to hatch. I forget temps to go by, but we have plenty of time.

I had some overwinter and I left them outside under my covered patio. I didn't get to see the hatching, but noticed the empty and broken cocoons earlier this summer. It was exciting to know they made it. It's nature. There's no need to keep them moist or do anything. Nature takes care of itself.

I'm not sure what you're reading online, but I can provide some great websites if you'd like.

I had my first BST pupate September 26th 2007 and we had a very warm October. I would've bet a paycheck that it would've eclosed, due to the heat, but it didn't, and it overwintered it outside in my butterfly cage. My goal was to overwinter it in my garage, but the darn thing just had to attach to the screen and not a stick in the pot, LOL. So I let nature take it's course, and it eclosed in June 2008. The only protection the cage had was a sheet that I covered the top and partially the sides with, to shield the chrysalid from extreme windchill. I can't remember if I had put something on the top of the cage, since snow or ice accumulation would've collapsed the darn thing. I must've prepared when snow was expected. It didn't get wet directly, and whatever moisture it got or received, if any, was with whatever was in the air. We didn't have alot of snow but did have a few bouts of extreme cold, and no warm spells until spring.
Hopefully I'll have another overwintering BST; I'd like to do a journal of the weather temperatures it endures...

ok, thanks everyone, it should be something to see!!! I hope everything turns out ok. I appreciate all your answers ,and now that I have some, I have decided to just watch and see for now.. But if it decides for some reason to overwinter I will take it out to the garage because my house is very warm, and I wouldn't want it to decide to hatch in the middle of no release season. LOL!!!