I'm trying to protect the caterpillars from stupid parasitic flies. Ugh parasites. So I'm raising them indoors. I'm just looking at my options. That's why I'm asking.

Amazon, my friend has some great options for cages or you can always just go get a critterkeeper and those work great for raising as well!

Ok, Kristy, that clears things up. There are lots of relatively easy ways to raise the cats either indoors or in enclosures. For me it would be too much work hauling them in and out every day or so. If you have a lot of cats on a particular plant I suppose you could move the plant inside or in a garage until the cats go into their chrysalis.

But the plants require sunlight. So in other words, raise them enclosed outside.

If you want to feed them by potted milkweed, consider growing it in pots small enough to move by hand. I grow tropical in 1 gal pots and switch it out if only feeding a few. Of course, a larger pot could still be moved by hand, too. Other ways to offer milkweed is to cut stems and keep in water or if using really large leaves, pinned to a ribbon suspended from the top of the cage. No matter how I offer the milkweed or which type of milkweed I use, I do house them in net enclosures made for this type of use. You can either leave it outside in a protected area or keep inside. Made of proper netting designed for this purpose will insure the little cats are protected from predators. Monarch cats frequently move about so I'd think you would want some type of enclosure no matter where you raise them. You can get fairly good sized rearing cages for between 12-50 dollars that can be sanitized easily between rearings. I have found the ones with side zippers are easier to use with Monarchs because they generally hang/form their J from the top of the enclosure. If opening from the top, you can see how that would create problems. I also tried some of the black ones last season and find I like the black netting better because I can see through/into it more easily. Thank you for growing milkweed for the Monarchs and for protecting the little cats... Mary

Butterfly rearing cages

Butterfly and Moth Terrarium / Parasitoid-Proof Cage/Habitat

To be honest I feel bad forcing Milkweed to be in 1 gallon pots. They can get so much bigger (Milkweed in ground). They get heavier the bigger ya go. They gotta be big enough to house Milkweed inside of 'em. I've bought things at Educational Science before. And you're welcome. ^__^

I bought a pop up hamper at Walmart for about $7 -- looks like the black rectangle in the Butterfly Rearing Cages link above except it is blue. I needed a quarantine unit n a hurry for 3 cats I found in my front yard -- they had run out of milkweed and chewed one of the in ground plants down to the ground and my enclosure was already a bit crowded -- and I didn't want to mix them since they came from a different area. Anyway, most of my plants are in gallon pots. I stood the hamper upright, opened the top zipper and set tthe plant with the cats inside. Of course, that zipper is the thing they are most likely to hang from -- and all three did, so you might want to make sure the side zipper is along the lower half .

The one gallon will suport s pretty decent plant and a few cats. I am still working things out, but I prefer handling the 1 gallon pots to the larger ones I have and most of them have come back for me. I have ready that they last 2-3 seasons in pots, so I am probably going to start tracking them and rotate for two seasons and then put in the ground. I pot new plants from 4" pots I get at a nursery, volunteers in my garden and ones I start from seed. Anytime I have more than I need or caare to, I share with a friend or put them in the ground, which helps spread the food sources for them. In order to thrive, they need a continuous trail of milkweed and nectar, not just spotty yards with enthusiasts and their potted plants. And the one conclusion I have come to is that there really is no such thing as too much milkweed. The more you have, the more eggs they lay -- they are trying to do all they can to boost their numbers.

I'm glad the papions/butterflies are! Oh they don't live that long in little pots as opposed to natural.

I have raised Monarchs for years by taking fresh cuttings daily from my outdoor plants and just swapping them for whatever is leftover from the previous day. I need to clean out the frass, anyway, so I just pick up any leaves with cats on them, set them aside, dispose of everything else, and put the cats back in with fresh leaves for them to move to. I have had excellent survival.

Martha

I don't like wasting leaves.

Another option would be to use sleeves made of fine netting to cover the plants that have caterpillars or eggs on them. That way you could protect the Monarchs from predators while still leaving the plant stationary outdoors. And then you wouldn't be wasting leaves. I have never been fortunate enough to have so many Monarchs that my milkweed supplies ran out.

Martha