Transform a small section of your backyard or patio into a magical habitat for majestic Monarch butterflies with this cool new Monarch Migration Station.
To help out these beautiful monarch butterflies, you can build this protective habitat.
Did you know that fewer than 10% of monarch butterfly eggs actually turn into butterflies?! When the butterflies lay their eggs on milkweed leaves, other bugs will quickly eat the eggs or eat the tiny caterpillars when they hatch. Building a butterfly habitat is actually quite simple; all you require is a thin breathable fabric and a simple container. Most materials can even be found around your home. You can use an old lantern or a box for your habitat. Cut windows in the box to ensure airflow. Using a piece of thin breathable mesh or fabric, secure screens to the side with hot glue so your caterpillars have fresh air. Be sure to have a solid surface at the top of the enclosure for the chrysalis to hang from. Once your habitat is built it’s pretty simple to start raising caterpillars. My sister raised caterpillars with her family last year, releasing 177 Monarch butterflies, using an old Pampers box as an enclosure. You can really make your habitat as fancy or simple as money and time allow. If you check your leaves about once a day you could find tiny little white eggs on the back of them. Cut off the part of the leaf that has the egg on it and place the leaf in a container; any container will do! Be careful – this will quickly become a full-time job if you collect too many eggs/caterpillars as they eat an insane amount of milkweed! Eric Carle was not kidding when he wrote the book the Very Hungry Caterpillar! Last year I actually ran out of milkweeds as I didn’t have milkweed in my garden so I had to find pesticide-free milkweed that I could give to the caterpillars. (Yes, if you saw me, that’s what I was doing in the ditch!). You can usually find it in fields or ditches, but be sure to wash it very well when you get home. Making a Monarch butterfly enclosure!You will need: Old lantern or box hot glue gun screening or sheer curtain milkweed paper towels You probably already have a couple of these things around your house. Even though this milkweed plant doesn’t look spectacular now it will grow nice and tall with pretty purple flowers. In the fall it will grow giant seed pods that you can plant back in your garden for more milkweed next year. It’s a perennial so you will be able to enjoy it every year. These beautiful bushes are available at Anna‘s for $14.99 🐛 This is the only plant a monarch butterfly will lay her eggs on because it is the only plant the caterpillars can eat. (Check out our blog post from last week on how to care for a milkweed Plant🌱) Some other great plans for attracting the monarchs are daisies, aster, lavender, and the butterfly bush. Adding some butterfly-attracting plants will help bring even more butterflies to your backyard oasis. Do I have you interested yet? After you’ve built your enclosure, here’s what’s next: Get a small plastic container and start collecting eggs off your milkweed plant. Once the caterpillars hatch and start to grow a little larger put them in your enclosure. If you’re not careful, the big caterpillars will eat the leaves with the other eggs or tiny caterpillars on them. So it’s good to separate them once they get to a certain size. Clean, clean, clean! Clean out your caterpillar enclosure daily to avoid waste build-up. Place a fresh piece of milkweed on the paper towel at the bottom of the habitat and when it’s time to clean it out, gently slide a fresh leaf in. You will need to do this around three times a day. Once your tiny little caterpillars are done crunching and munching they usually go on a walkabout and sit somewhere to split their skin (it can take about a day). Then they come back down to eat again. When they go on their final walkabout they will look somewhere at the top of the cage to hang upside down and will look like little tiny J’s at the top of your enclosure. In the blink of an eye, they will split their skin and transform into their chrysalis. If you don’t spend your whole day watching you’ll miss it because it only takes a couple of seconds. Now that your caterpillars have turned into their chrysalis all you have to do is wait and enjoy. Your little caterpillar will sit in his chrysalis for about 10-14 days. You will know he’s ready to emerge because his beautiful light green chrysalis will turn dark green, almost black. It’s translucent, and you will see the developing butterfly inside. They usually emerge early morning so keep an eye out because it’s another quick process of less than a minute. The fully formed Monarch will be out of the chrysalis, slowly moving its wings to dry them in preparation for flight. Once the butterflies have emerged and are ready to go, open the cage and watch the magical moment as they leave the enclosure! This will bring joy to everyone who sees it. This year we planted more milkweed in our yard! By the end of summer, we will have great big pods shooting out the top of our plants that I can re-plant in my garden to make my milkweed garden twice the size next season. If you’re short on milkweed, there are so many other kinds of butterflies that you can lend a helping hand to. Swallowtail butterflies will lay their eggs on parsley and dill so if you have these herbs growing in your garden make sure you keep an eye out.👀 This is honestly such an easy project and will bring joy and entertainment to you or your kids for hours each day! My children loved this experience when we did it last year and excitedly anticipate repeating the process this season. It was truly such an educational experience for our family and made us feel like we were doing something wonderful for the environment. It just requires time, patience and love. I know it may seem small and insignificant but it’s not about what it is, it’s about what it can become -Dr. Seuss
A gorgeous archival art print for nature lovers depicting the monarch butterfly life cycle on 100% cotton rag paper. From a striped caterpillar, into a chrysalis, and finally emerging as a Monarch Butterfly, you can clearly see the metamorphosis happen. My original illustration was painted in watercolor. I've heard that the numbers of Monarch butterflies reaching their winter habitat in Mexico have increased. Celebrate their increased numbers with this lovely art print for yourself, a friend, a child, or a teacher. This fine art print will make a wonderful gift for any age. Art is a gift that keeps on giving! It can be enjoyed over and over again, everyday. The image is approximately 8.75" wide by 3.25" high. It is printed with archival pigments on 8.5" x 11" matte finish 100% cotton rag paper. This is archival paper: acid free, lignin free, and OBA free (optical brightener additives). The paper is 314 gsm, or approximately 120 pound weight, 19 mil. I will sign your print on the front and there will not be a watermark. I retain rights to the image. * Gift: I would be happy to send this directly to someone special as a gift. I can include a little hand written note so they feel a connection to you. Please add the recipient's address when you check out and let me know what you would like to say in the 'note to seller'. * Processing - Shipping Time: this print will be on its way to you in 1-3 business days by USPS Priority Mail. It will come in a cello sleeve and sturdy mailer with extra cardboard to ensure it arrives flat and ready to give as a gift or enjoy for yourself. Shipping within the United States is free. International shipping is as listed. * To see all of my artwork: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GenevieveKeller * The larger size print 13" x 19" is listed here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/456370934/monarch-butterfly-art-print-butterfly?ref=shop_home_active_11&frs=1&sca=1 Art is a gift that keeps on giving ~ it can be enjoyed endlessly! Here's my occasional blog: http://snowdayartist.blogspot.com/ Thank you for visiting my studio shop! ♥ (¯`v´¯) .`•.¸.•´ ★ ¸.•´.•´¨) ¸.•¨) (¸.•´(¸.•´ (¸.•¨¯`* ♥ ★~Genevieve © 2024 Genevieve Keller. I retain rights to these images from now until the end of time. ♥
A Monarch Waystation is a garden that provides food, habitat for the Monarch butterfly population. You can create one in Your Backyard!!
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This Tailed Sulphur (Phoebis neocypris) has been hand set by our expert entomologists in our studio and mounted in a museum quality bell jar. All of our display cases use museum grade 99% UV blocking conservation glass to preserve our specimens, and are supported by a bespoke wooden base. All of our specimens are ethically sourced from conservation projects around the world and help to support local communities and protect natural habitats. The picture shown is an example of the quality that you can expect to receive. Please be aware that given the natural origin of our insects, they may exhibit size variations, resulting in potential differences in the size of the accompanying bell jar. Every Curated piece comes with a loyalty sticker. Receive a reward for every third item purchased culminating in a platinum statement piece, complimentary from Curated. Base: Solid wood hand finished in our studio Mount: Stainless steel Dome: Handblown 2 mm tempered glass Dimensions: 12x16cm
Your yard or garden can become a habitat for birds, butterflies and other local wildlife to enjoy right outside your window. If you provide the four components of habitat – … Read more
Let's make a DIY butterfly feeder and fill it with an easy butterfly food recipe that can be hung from a tree branch in your backyard to attract beautiful
Product descriptionSize: 40 * 40 * 60 cmColor: all blackMaterial: polyester netPackage contents: 1 * breeding cageLightweight yet robust: When it's dirty or no longer needed, you can wash it. Mesh inserts for good airflow. This allows insects and butterflies to get a healthy flow of air to grow up. The fine mesh case is soft and breathable. Let your insect or butterfly be safe and comfortable. It is also convenient for you to closely observe insect growthLarge zipper opening: It is easy for insects and butterflies to enter cages, and it is easy to feed your butterfly or insect. If you want to release them into the wild, all you have to do is undo the zipperCollapsible design: Butterfly habitat cage is a collapsible design. Easy storage when not in use and does not take up space. Butterfly cage can be reused.
Walk among the butterflies at this magical butterfly house in Pennsylvania.
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Learn how to make butterfly nectar and find simple ideas for DIY butterfly feeders. A great way to attract butterflies to your yard.
