Welcome to Insect Lore's world of butterflies
and the Live Butterfly kit that will allow you to observe the life cycle love
real Painted Lady butterflies.
Your kit is complete with a pop-up butterfly observation habitat,
a dropper to feed your butterflies, and your portable caterpillar habitat
with three to five Painted Lady larvae
inside. If you've chosen to receive a coupon
instead of live caterpillars, make sure that you're ready to care for them
before redeeming your coupon.
Remember to plan for school breaks, holidays, or extended vacations
that may interrupt your project. When you're ready, write your name
and address on the certificate, and mail it to the address listed.
Once we receive your certificate, we'll mail your tiny Painted Lady
caterpillars from our laboratory.
Please allow one to two weeks for your larvae to arrive,
and approximately three weeks for the butterflies to complete their
metamorphosis.
Now that you have your caterpillars, let's get started.
To ensure that your caterpillars grow into happy butterflies,
keep the cup upright, at room temperature, and out of direct sunlight.
If you ever see condensation on the walls at the cup,
you need to move the cup to a more shady spot. If at first they don't move around
much, don't be worried.
That's normal. If you're concerned that they might be dead,
gently roll the cup. If they remain where they are, then they're just fine.
All the food your caterpillars need is already inside.
So be sure to keep the lid on to keep their environment safe and clean.
Watch them eat and grow as they double in size
every day, until they become ten times their original size!
Look for silk webs that they'll create for protection
and to help them move around inside the cup. The green balls that you see in the
cup for called frase,
or the caterpillars' waste. If you see black fuzzy balls appear inside the cup
that's actually your caterpillars' molted skin. A caterpillar will shed its
skin several times before forming
a chrysalis. After seven to ten days, you'll see your caterpillars make their
way to the top of the cup
and hang upside down as each one begins to form a chrysalis.
Be very careful not to disturb your caterpillars
as you watch them perform this fascinating task over the next one to two days.
This is their most delicate stage. When all your caterpillars have completely
formed their chrysalids, its
time to move them into your pop-up Butterfly Garden habitat.
Pop the plastic lid
off of your Caterpillar Cup and gently peel off the paper disc with the
chrysalids attached.
Use a safety pin or paper clip to attach the disc to the
inside mesh wall of your butterfly habitat about four inches from the
bottom.
When your butterflies are ready to emerge from their Chrysalids, they'll
already be inside their new home. It's important that you place your butterfly
habitat in an area where it won't be bumped
or disturbed. A flat surface like a counter
or desk is a great idea. Or you can hang your habitat by it's carrying handle to
keep it extra safe.
If you have pets like cats or birds,
you'll want to be extra careful about where you place the habitat.
You'll also want to keep it away from direct sunlight
or any air vents that might cause dramatic changes in temperature.
If you notice your chrysalids shaking, you're actually seeing their natural
instincts
in action. This is how they scare off predators to keep themselves safe.
If at any time a chrysalis falls from the paper disc,
gently just lay it on a napkin on the floor the habitat. And don't worry,
there's still a good chance that a healthy butterfly will emerge with the
others. While it might seem that the caterpillars are merely sleeping inside the
chrysalis,
the old caterpillar body parts are undergoing an amazing transformation called
metamorphosis!
The result - a beautiful butterfly!
After seven to ten days of just hanging out,
your chrysalids will emerge as adult Painted Lady Butterflies.
Pay close attention, you'll notice how the chrysalids become darker in color
just before a butterfly emerges. You might just be able to witness the
remarkable change.
As the butterfly emerges, it will rest for a moment and pump its wings until
they are stretched out to full-sized.
After an hour or two of forcing blood into its wings,
the butterfly will be ready to fly. Don't worry if you notice a red blood-like
liquid come from the butterfly.
That's called Meconium and is actually the left-over color in tissue from the
new butterfly's wing and body formation.
Now that your adult butterflies have emerged from their chrysalids,
make your pop-up habitat even more like a garden by placing a fresh bouquet of
flowers on the floor the habitat.
Butterflies love Chrysanthemums and Carnations.
Mix three teaspoons of sugar into one cup of water,
and use the provided dropper to sprinkle the mixture over the flowers to make
them
extra juicy. If you don't have flowers handy,
you can do the same with the wad of facial tissue or a cotton ball.
Simply soak in sugar water and place on a paper plate
on the floor the habitat. Watch as your butterflies
unfurl their Proboscis, and drink the nectar.
Butterflies also like to drink from freshly cut oranges or watermelon.
Just place a couple slices at the bottom of the habitat and watch them
enjoy. To ensure that your butterflies always have enough nectar to eat,
sprinkle the flowers or facial tissue with water every day,
and remember to keep that sugar water refrigerated in between feedings.
And after observing your butterflies for a few days, if the weather is right,
at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit for several days in a row,
just unzip the habitat outside, take a quick look at the skies to make sure
there aren't any hungry birds in the area,
and watch them fly away! You might even be lucky enough to get
up-close and personal before you say "goodbye". And, several days after release,
butterflies can often be seen in the vicinity of their release.
For fun butterfly facts, activities, and games,
visit www.insectlore.com/butterflies.
And remember, when you're ready to watch the magic again,
head to our website or call 1-800-Live-Bug for more Painted Lady caterpillars.