Butterfly Rearing | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5
Butterfly Rearing Stage 2 - Hatching Eggs By: Tanya Rothe
Stage 1 was all about finding Butterfly eggs from caterpillars Stage 2 is how to transfer the eggs into a safe and enclosed environment. There are all types of cages that you can purchase, otherwise they are quite easy to build yourself with just a few rearing supplies. All it takes is some wire, screen or netting, scissors, and string. Connect the wire and screen together into a cylinder shape with a removable lid. Fill it with plenty starter plants so that the caterpillars have something to eat right away for nutrition. A good plant for this is milkweed because it has a certain kind of poison that is not harmful towards humans, but it kills the predators of the butterflies. That is their main line of defense.
Butterfly Rearing Stage 2 Photos & Pictures - Environment & Egg Hatching
Photos coming Spring / Summer 2012
Once the plants are in the cage, gently add the eggs. Over a short time normally X days (from the eggs were laid) the eggs will begin to hatch. The hatchlings will normally immeditatly start eating the egg pod because it high in protien plus it's readily avalible. Now the newly born caterpillars will start eating the plants you provided and start growing process. Stage 3 is the next stage of the life cycle.
Butterfly Rearing | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Stage 5