Monarch/Butterfly Help :)

Ok I just kidnapped (not really) hahah 12 monarch caterpillars from our nursery (where I work) they were on the new milkweed plants that came in ;) There were 12 that I saw anyways so I got all the plants with them (5 plants) plus 5 more to have for feeding them. Here is what I would like to do.. Make my son and neice a little screened in butterfly room/garden. I will plant the milkweed and put out sugar water for them. However, I need help what else do I need to do and are 10 - 1gal size milkweed going to be enough to feed these guys??? we got 50 in so I can get more if I need to but I'm scared we'll sell out. I wlould also like to get some swallowtail eggs or caterpillars for the kids also any suggestions??? I am going to make them I think a 10x10 screened area and plant milkweed, but any other plants for the swallowtail I need??? Where can I get swallowtail eggs/larvae ??? Ok any help is appreciated on set up of this and I also wanted to know how long will it take these guys to make butterflys (the caterpillars are fat and about 2" long right now) THanks sooo much

Katrina

Try this place http://www.wardsci.com/EC//products/catalog/?categoryID=10951

Wow that looks wonderful thanks so much! I am going to visit a butterfly farm later this week so if I don't get some of them from them, I think I will order from this company it looks awesome :)

Katrina

Katrina, check out the Wildlife forum and the post on milkweed.

This message was edited Wednesday, Mar 19th 11:15 AM

Katrina:
What a neat idea! I'm wishing I was your niece about now.
For the black swallowtail butterfly, you need parsley, fennel, or dill. That is their larval food. Here is a link to the Biosphere Nursery website that has information on the caterpillars and their larval foods as well as nectar sources: http://www.biospherenursery.com/pdf/birdsandbutterfliesbrochure.pdf

Pentas are one of my favorite since I don't have to worry about them being invasive. Zinnias are also good. If you don't mind all the offspring, Beggars' tick (Bidens alba) is also a great nectar plant, but you WILL end up with hundreds of this plant if you don't cultivate it carefully.

If you want to try other kinds of caterpillars, there is a gentleman at the Winter Park Farmer's market who raises and sells caterpillars--every kind you can find in Central Florida. His name is Lorenzo Zayas and he's an entomologist. His company is called Nature's Way. TEL: 407-851-5873 and FAX: 407-859-2026. You might even get him to trade you for something. I have traded larval foods and caterpillars with him in the past.