I've had monarch cats hang from a stem, even a leaf without a problem. Once they made their chrysalis, I made sure they had enough space to fully pump their wings. The stem was tall enough on its own. The leaf was not, so I snipped it off the stem and taped it to an angled stick I have in the cage. You can take the stem out of the water and tape it higher if needed.

Actually, once the chrysalis has hardened off you can just lay it on the bottom of the enclosure. As long as the butterfly has something nearby to crawl up on, it will be fine. I have the aforementioned stick, but most of the time they just crawl up the side and hang from the top of the cage.

Thank you! I'll monitor the milkweed stem and if it's starting to deteriorate when the chrysalis turns black I'll be sure to either put the chrysalis next to something it can crawl on or tape it up high. Appreciate the feedback!

> Posted by weed30
> lay it on the bottom of the enclosure....
> most of the time they just crawl up.

True of monarchs. Not of all kinds; badly deformed wings.