I use terro, which is probably harmful to the caterpillars unfortantly, but the ants kill my plants, and caterpillars

Terro is a bait, isn't it? I use Terro boric acid bait trays on my patio and screened porch. Amazing stuff! But not safe around pets unless they can be prevented from access.

But in the flower garden and lawn, I use Amdro. When used the way it is supposed to be, it's safe around pets, caterpillars, and other non target creatures.

It's always useful for us to know your general location, Caitlin.

Im on the west side of Minneapolis- St. Paul

Could someone please explain how ants kill plants?

You may wanna try cinnamon powder, use like diatomaceous earth, or apple cider vinegar to spray on their pathways.

It is really worthwhile to invest in a butterfly

santuary, I think this one was under $50. I hatch the eggs I find, then place the small caterpillars in this predator proof enclosure.

Nearly all of them make it to chrysalis stage,

which I carefully relocate before they hatch.

coronadoca1 I love this idea. Where did you get this cage?

Educationalscience.com. They are $49.00. Easy to put together, easy to clean. I would like to get a 2nd one!

Hi - I'm wondering if wasps may be the culprits & ants are just the cleanup crew. wasps are notorious caterpillar hunters. In our butterfly garden, paper & mud dauber wasps patrol & kill caterpillars, then chew them up to take to their nests & feed their young. They often will leave behind the carcass, if the caterpillar is larger than the wasp & then scavengers like ants & lizards & birds take over.

They also chew open pupae, leaving a small hole that is difficult to see, killing the pupae, which quickly turns brown & never hatches.

Once the weather cools & wasps disappear, the caterpillars thrive.

Have you noticed any wasps around your plants?

Ants definately eat Monarch eggs - they wait on the leaves for the eggs to be laid. Ladybugs eat eggs & small caterpillers. Wasps seem to go for the bigger caterpillars.

Here in San Diego, the only stage that doesn't have many preditors is the butterfly!

We have several sizes of paper wasps here & the smallest ones seem to like the smallest caterpillars - 1/2 inch or less.

Neat-o! Can you share how you detach/reattach the chrysalises?

I use a dampened q-tip, and gather up the 'silk' surrounding the chrysalis. When I can see it bunching up, I take my tweezers and pull gently, taking as much of the webbing as possible. Using a small drop of Elmers glue, I glue the webbing around the limb of the jewelry tree.

It is especially easy to remove the chrylsis from the plastic ceiling of the monarch santuary - many times a whole row will come off attached together by silk!

I love the jewelry tree adorned with chrysalises! They really do look like jewels!

I love the repurposed jewelry tree also! Much prettier than the glass aquarium tank where I transfer the chrysalises, using masking tape and paper towel. Do you worry that a newly eclosed butterfly might fall into the moat?

Great question! One butterfly did fall in recently, but he was OK. The water is shallow. So now I empty the moat in the morning, fill it at night. My first 'moat' was ground coffee, but the ants eventually learned to walk across & climb the tree. Any suggestions for protection against ants, spiders, etc. welcome.

I live in North Carolina. So far I've had good luck with a thick ring of baby powder around the plants. Most of the ants won't cross it, and I found that adding chili powder on top prevents any of the others from trying. It does have to be reapplied after it rains, but doesn't blow away.

Help! Is this bad? If so, how do I stop it?

http://scienceintheclouds.blogspot.com/2013/11/cocoons-protect-ants-from-disease-and.html?m=1