[Butterfly Header - North American Butterfly Association]

Raising Butterflies From Your Garden

Patricia Howley-Pfeifer

Children love nature and butterflies, in particular. The free spirit of a butterfly and the floating flash of colors in the air are very attractive. Children of all ages learn from the hands-on experiences of raising butterflies from their own garden. A garden with specific host (caterpillar) and nectar flowers for your region will definitely attract butterflies. Even if your school is in the city, containers filled with the correct types of plants will be active with butterflies. Interaction with the natural world connects children to nature and butterflies by allowing direct encounters. The concrete experience of raising eggs that are found on the children's plants unites the children to nature and motivates them to ask questions. Much excitement is generated when a butterfly lands in a garden or on plants cared for by the children, and a feeling of pride, protection and ownership develops between the child and nature. As environmental educators, I believe that it is imperative that we delight children of all ages with the joy and wonder of nature.

Many garden butterflies do not scare off easily. Often, when butterflies such as Monarchs, Black Swallowtails, Tiger Swallowtails and some Skippers are engaged in nectaring, you can easily stand within two feet of them for observation. I do not under any circumstances use a net or any type of capturing instrument in my personal life or with the children. I strongly endorse the North American Butterfly Association's belief in observing butterflies through naked eye observation or with binoculars. (Please refer to the article in American Butterflies, Spring 1997, pages 2-3. This article, along with many others, is available on the North American Butterfly Association's website.) I teach Kindergarten and my school children have had excellent observation experiences by just standing next to plants such as Butterfly Bush and New England Aster. In this way, the children discover that nature can be studied and enjoyed without impact or interference from observers.

Since Monarch, Black Swallowtail and Mourning Cloak butterflies are found throughout the country, I have chosen to focus this article on these three butterflies. The suggested activities are for a variety of grade levels. Please adapt them to fit your needs.

HOW TO RAISE A BUTTERFLY

For all the reasons outlined in Jeffery Glassberg's fine editorials in American Butterflies, (please see Bibliography), I do not use commercially grown caterpillars in my classroom. Rather, I rely on the caterpillars I find in my home and school garden. Finding your own eggs/caterpillars and raising them in the classroom can be a fun and rewarding experience for the children, parents and teacher.
1. You may want to practice raising caterpillars at home first. For Monarchs, milkweed (any Asclepias variety) is the plant to start with in your garden. Black Swallowtails prefer curly parsley and Mourning Cloak's favor Willow trees. If you keep caterpillars at home, they must be kept safe from curious pets.
2. As long as the caterpillars have space and are safe, a variety of clear containers such as the following can be used: large pickle jars, large pretzel containers, a fish tank, etc. Be sure to secure some type of netting or screen around the container so the caterpillars/butterflies do not get out. They must have an air supply and be kept out of direct sunlight.
3. It is not hard to raise caterpillars, but it is time consuming. Until they reach the chrysalis stage, caterpillars need daily care and will not do well if left over the weekend in the classroom. Do not handle the egg or small caterpillars. It is very easy to crush them. Also, to avoid crushing, please be careful not to lay the egg or the caterpillar on the bottom of the container or rest it against anything.
4. After the egg hatches, unless the plant that the egg was on has wilted, no new leaves will be needed for a day or so. When adding new sprigs with leaves, place them close to the old sprigs so the small caterpillars can move easily to the new food. When the caterpillars are very small, place 1-2 sprigs per caterpillar in the vase. Remove the old sprigs after the caterpillars have moved off them. As the caterpillars mature, 3 or more sprigs per caterpillar will be needed, depending on how much they eat. Monitoring is necessary. The larger the caterpillar, the more it will eat. Change the water in the vase when new food is added. If you buy parsley, please be sure it is truly organic - my friend had immediate deadly results with store bought parsley.
5. Caterpillars are very fussy and will only eat the leaves of their specific host plant. That is why the female butterfly will only lay the eggs on the host plant. This ensures that her larvae will survive. Some butterflies such as Monarchs obtain life-saving toxins from the leaves they eat. This insect-plant adaptation can be investigated and researched.
6. The caterpillar's dwelling needs to be kept clean. Wilted leaves and caterpillar droppings (frass) must be removed to prevent diseases and mold growth. Keep the container free of parasites. Spiders, etc. must be removed or they may eat the caterpillars. Get rid of plant pests by hand so they won't infest your houseplants or classroom plants.
7. After the caterpillar molts into a chrysalis, you may be able to find shed skin on the bottom of your container. I put the skin in small magnifying containers. Many nature centers sell magnifying containers.
8. Caged caterpillars need a place to become a chrysalis. With the caterpillars we raised, some attached themselves to the side of the fish tank, a few hung from the screen covering the tank, and a small number used the plants. Many Black Swallowtails and Mourning Cloak's attached themselves to the sturdy sticks we placed in the tank.
9. Become familiar with the "Stages of Growth" section of this article so you know what to expect during the different stages.
10. Unless it is raining, I release butterflies within a day of emergence.
11. Keep fairly detailed records of your experiences in raising butterflies. This helps you to remember mistakes, successes, growth rates, etc.

STAGES OF GROWTH
EGG
      The female butterfly searches for the host plant by tasting the plant with her feet. Some butterflies such as Monarchs and Black Swallowtails lay a single egg at a time. The female bends her abdomen into a C shape to lay the eggs directly on the plant. The eggs take about 3-4 days to hatch.

CATERPILLARS (Larvae)
      A tiny caterpillar or larvae hatches from the egg and enjoys its first meal- its egg case! The size of the caterpillar determines how much it eats and how active it is. Have students observe whether some caterpillars are more active than others and note eating habits. Does the rate of consumption change as the caterpillar grows? Also, students should observe eating behavior such as the direction and pattern of eating, how many leaves are eaten in a certain period of time or over several days, do all the caterpillars or does the same caterpillar follow the same eating routine, in which types of weather are they more/less active? Also, a variation of insect-plant adaptation is to experiment using potted plants rather than clippings. (You will likely notice that after a caterpillar has stripped a plant, new growth usually appears right away.)
      Caterpillars grow and change (molt) a number of times during their lifetime. Many caterpillars molt 4-5 times. When the caterpillar grows too big for its skin, the skin cracks apart and the old skin is shed. These stages should be noticed and observed so each child can study and make comparisons.
      The colors (Black Swallowtail caterpillars change colors as they grow) and body structure (some look like they have two heads) are essential for survival. The reasons for camouflage should be discussed and investigated. Pictures of other animals using camouflage can spark investigations.
      When a caterpillar is ready to begin the final stage of development, it expels (throws-up) excess fluid and starts to look for a safe spot to pupate (become a chrysalis).
      The Monarch caterpillar looks for a safe location, such as the top of the container, and attaches a white silk mat (that is produced from a gland near the mouth) to the chosen location. Then it attaches small hooks located near the end of its abdomen to the silk pad and hangs upside down. Slowly its body forms a J shape. When the caterpillar is in this J shape, it's getting ready to pupate. After some time, the caterpillar will begin to condense its body upward. It then becomes still for one to several/many hours, and sheds its skin one last time exposing the chrysalis. The time for this phenomenon varies from caterpillar to caterpillar and it varies depending on the temperature. Have the children compare and note temperature and the amount of time it takes to pupate.
      I do not allow the children to handle the caterpillars or butterflies because I worry about accidentally harming the animal. I want the children to see and understand that they can learn about and love animals without handling them.

CHRYSALIS (Pupa)
      A moth larva produces a cocoon by spinning itself into a silk enclosure. Butterflies do not make cocoons. Instead, they pupate from the caterpillar stage into the chrysalis stage. (The chrysalis also uses camouflage.)
      About a day before each type of butterfly emerges, the chrysalis will begin to lose its color. By the time the butterfly emerges, the chrysalis will become somewhat transparent and you will be able to see the butterfly all squished up in the chrysalis. Emergence takes about one minute. The chrysalis cracks and the butterfly emerges - all curled and crunched up. The butterfly immediately grabs onto the empty chrysalis with its feet and stays there for several hours. It takes about 10 minutes or so for the butterfly to pump fluid into its wings and for the wings to unfold, and about an hour for the wings to harden. In time, the butterfly will exercise its wings before attempting to fly. During the chrysalis stage the students can graph the amount of days each was in a chrysalis, the temperature, the time of day each butterfly emerged and how long it took each caterpillar to emerge from the chrysalis.
      Adult butterflies do not continue to grow - the adult stage is the final phase. The time from egg to chrysalis is about 17-24 days. They develop faster in warmer summer temperatures and slower during cool fall weather.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
      The children document the growth of the caterpillar in a dated journal. Photographs were taken of the caterpillar's growth and at times I took pictures of the children with the caterpillars, chrysalises and butterflies. I often take photographs in my classroom to document and display activities, and to serve as reminders and reinforcements of our activities. I would encourage teachers to record through photographs, all aspects of their butterfly rearing and to encourage the children to ask questions. Don't be afraid to say you don't know an answer. Research skills can be taught as together you look for answers on the Internet or in books. It is the teacher's sense of awe and excitement about butterflies and the whole learning process that will encourage and facilitate the child's love of nature, not exact terminology. However, if you are so inclined, butterfly rearing presents an excellent opportunity to a lot of new vocabulary.
      If you are fortunate enough to observe molting, pupating or butterfly emergence, the students should write about and or draw the experience immediately afterward.
      I involve parents in the children's nature lessons. I have found that this parent-child connection strengthens learning for the child because the parents aren't left out of the process. Parent and child share a common knowledge and both can expand on it or reinforce the concepts learned. For the butterfly lessons, on separate occasions, the parents came to the classroom and did an art project with their child and I invited them to our Monarch Butterfly Release Party. At the end of the school day I took the Monarch container outside and allowed the parents observation time. When I came out with the children, I recapped our classroom experience and I spoke about how the Monarchs are migrating to Mexico. As each Monarch flew off, we waved and said, "Goodbye! Good luck! Have a nice time in Mexico!" (For various reasons, I do not tag butterflies.)
      The changing aspect of the caterpillar to butterfly is a natural source of wonder and is an important aspect to explore. I honestly can't explain the change that takes place inside the chrysalis, so the children hypotheses about the different possibilities. In the end we are secure knowing that it just happens! Afterward, we make life cycle drawings.
      Children learn how to make observations and they are able to communicate logical thinking related to their experiences by looking at the caterpillar, chrysalis and butterfly with and without a hand lens, and by drawing what they see and then writing or dictating their observations. The hand lens is a wonderful scientific tool that facilitates learning through discovery. The teacher is a facilitator in helping them to observe, describe, express feelings, etc. The following are some dictations about our butterflies:
      Ciara - I made the (Black Swallowtail) caterpillars hanging onto the stick. I saw the butterfly laying the eggs. The butterfly was blue and yellow and black. It was drinking nectar from the purple flowers. The caterpillars have stripes on them. They hang from the string on the stick.
      Casey - The caterpillars are in the chrysalis. We drew pictures of them. I drew the stick in the tank. I drew the skin and the chrysalis has spikes and string. The butterfly is going to come out in the spring. The chrysalis is camouflaged to the wood so animals won't try to eat it, because they will think it's part of the wood. The chrysalis is attached to the wood, and they can't see the string because it's so tiny and they think it is part of the wood.
      Tyler - The chrysalises are on a twig. There's two strings attacked to it. There are spikes on it. The little black stuff on the bottom is the skin of the caterpillars when they went into the chrysalis. The caterpillars are going to turn into butterflies.
      Tommy - I like all of them (Mourning Cloaks). They have spikes. They eat and get big. If I were them I would ask them to call me "Stuffer Face because they stuff themselves with leaves. My favorite part is when they eat. They are amazing! I like how they bunch up on the branches to scare away the birds, so they look like one big caterpillar so they don't get eaten. I bet they can really trick animals because they fake a head in the back of them and when the enemy comes it will pull out its tail instead of the head. I like the small ones because they are like me.
      We have a butterfly/bird garden in our schoolyard. Each year the school children raise nectar and host plants and transplant them outside in May. Try to include as many grades and parents/staff/administration as possible in your garden. During the summer soaker hoses on timers can take care of the watering, but the garden still needs much care during this time. Start off small and expand gradually. Keep track of the other types of wildlife that are now attracted to your garden. Ask the students to research the correct types of host and nectar plants for your area, how to prepare and choose the gardening area, why we deadhead, the flowers water and soil needs, the various heights of the plants and how to plant according to height, why annuals and perennial flowers should both be used in the garden, why native plants are usually preferred, what is "puddling" and how to include puddles in your garden, why rotting fruit and rocks should be incorporated and why a part of the garden should be left "unkempt". All answers can be obtained from the Bibliography sources or under "butterfly gardens" or "butterfly gardens for children" on the Internet. The listing of plants and butterflies for many parts of the United States and one part of Canada can be found in the North American Butterfly Association's website under Butterfly Gardening Brochures.
      Include discussions about the colors, stripes, patterns on the caterpillar and butterflies. Make a class butterfly book that includes the children's observations, drawings, dictations and photographs of the children with the butterflies, caterpillars and chrysalises. I use creative dramatics to act out the butterfly's life cycle and other aspects of its life; we form our bodies into the appropriate stage and during the acting, we talk about what we are experiencing. After we learn about the Monarchs migration, I use a map of the United States and Mexico to show/draw the Monarchs flight route. We explore symmetry by drawing and coloring the wings to show this concept.

Acknowledgements: I would also like to thank Pat Kane for her support and encouragement.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Glassberg, Jeffrey. "Release That Net You Need Two Hands For
      Binoculars!" American Butterflies Spring 1997: 2-3.
Glassberg, Jeffrey, Paul Opler, Robert M. Pyle, Robert Robbins and James
      Tuttle. "There's No Need to Release Butterflies-They're Already Free."
      American Butterflies Spring 1998: 2-3.
Glassberg, Jeffrey. "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly." American
      Butterflies Fall 1996: 2-3
Gochfeld, Michael and Joanna Burger. Butterflies of New Jersey. New
      Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1997.
Monarch Lab Exploring Monarch Butterfly Biology. University of Minnesota
      www.monarchlab.umn.edu
Mitchell, Robert T. and Herbert S. Zim. Butterflies and Moths. New York:
      Golden Press, 1987.
Nancy Everett. Children's Butterfly Site. United States Geological Survey
      Biological Resources. www.mesc.nbs.gov/butterfly/butterfly.html
Pringle, Laurence. Extraordinary Life of the Monarch Butterfly. New York:
      Orchard Books, 1977.
Pyle, Michael Robert. Handbook for Butterfly Watchers. New York:
      Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992.
Roth, Susan A. Complete Guide to Flower Gardening. Des Moines, Iowa:
      Better Homes and Gardens Books, 1995.
Sutton, Patricia. "Bewitched by Butterflies" New Jersey Audubon Autumn
      1993: 17-21.
Sutton, Patricia. "How to Create A Butterfly Garden." New Jersey Audubon
      Summer 1998: 16-18.
Zoom School. Enchanted Learning. www.zoomschool.com

ADDITIONAL WEBSITES OF INTEREST
www.naba.org - North American Butterfly Association
www.njaudubon.org - New Jersey Audubon Society
www.garden.org - National Gardening Association
www.wildlifegardening.com - Wildlife Gardening
www.nwf.org - National Wildlife Federation

7 Mar 2002 / Main North Jersey Page