Tam101 Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 When is the best time to order the caterpillars? We want to be able to release them in the spring. TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellyndria Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 We did it last year... I think it said they would take about 3 weeks to develop. However, ours only took 2 weeks until they were butterflies. So, just keep that in mind. I guess it depends on where you are... I know we're not going to see spring around here for a long while yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialmama Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 We did it last year... I think it said they would take about 3 weeks to develop. However, ours only took 2 weeks until they were butterflies. So, just keep that in mind. I guess it depends on where you are... I know we're not going to see spring around here for a long while yet. :iagree: Ours were also ready for release in 2 weeks. I would wait. If you don't see them outside naturally, then it's too soon for them to be able to survive if released. ;) Have fun whenever you do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 Oooh great thread! I've been wondering the same thing. I live in South Florida and am wondering if I can order the catepillars now or not too. :confused: Does it have to be Spring for them to transform or it doesn't matter? Thanks. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennefer@SSA Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 When we bring our monarchs inside to observe more closely it always says not to release until it is at least 50 degrees outside. Another thing to consider is that they need sources of nectar. Wait to order your caterpillars until flowers are in bloom so they'll have food waiting for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 When we ordered ours from a scientific supply co., they had specific ship times based on the destination. So they'd done the legwork to figure out when they should arrive for optimal hatching and release. You could order early to make sure you'd get some but they wouldn't ship until the time was right. There are other companies now which I gather sell them for weddings and special occasions etc & which will ship whenever you like b/e in that case people don't seem to care about releasing an animal at a time when it won't survive.... :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 (edited) It didn't take ours even 2 weeks. Within a couple days they were in their cocoons and then a few days to emerge, then.... we ended up with caterpillars galore (seems that if you wait too long - which isn't long!- they will procreate; go figure). If you want to release them, wait til Spring to order. BTW, we had fun with it; but after reseaching further, I would not choose to do it even though it was so cool. One safer alternative would be to wait and find eggs locally (information is online) and raise local butterflies to release instead. I found this difficult, but it would be safer for the butterflies you grow as well as the population of them. Edited February 20, 2010 by 2J5M9K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennefer@SSA Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 It didn't take ours even 2 weeks. Within a couple days they were in their cocoons and then a few days to emerge, then.... we ended up with caterpillars galore (seems that if you wait too long - which isn't long!- they will procreate; go figure). If you want to release them, wait til Spring to order. BTW, we had fun with it; but after reseaching further, I would not choose to do it even though it was so cool. One safer alternative would be to wait and find eggs locally (information is online) and raise local butterflies to release instead. I found this difficult, but it would be safer for the butterflies you grow as well as the population of them. For us in the area of Texas we live in all I had to do was put out some host plants and wait for the butterflies to arrive. You can do a google search about what butterflies are most common in your area and what host plant (plant where the mom lays her eggs) you will need to attract them. Or just find a great local nursery with a knowledgeable staff. I did both. Here in Houston I put out lots of milkweed and within 2 weeks I had monarch eggs. By the end of the summer we hatched over 20 monarchs in our little butterfly garden. I also put out dill and fennel and we had 16 black swallow tail caterpillars (for whom I had to keep running back to the nursery to get more food b/c they were absolutely voracious!) It was very enriching for my boys to see all of this in a natural setting. Here is a link to a blog post I did that shows a little bit about what we did and how we did it. Just ignore all the text and scroll down to the pictures of our (very simple) butterfly garden as well as our first eggs and cats! Our butterfly garden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialmama Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Jennefer, thank you for the link! I love your beautiful butterfly garden! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam101 Posted March 2, 2010 Author Share Posted March 2, 2010 Thanks for the reply's and links! I'm looking forward to raising our butterfly's, but I think I better wait until late spring when the weather is more predictable here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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