Dianne-TX Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 I'm confused on what to do. The paper that came with our butterfly kit (World Alive) doesn't have direct instruction for painted lady, just the cabbage white. It mentions taking out the larvae or eggs, which ever you get, and putting them on cabbage leaves. The paper that was sent with our larvae from the biological co., says to leave them in the vial until they go to the paper on the lid and then take them out. I'm confused on what is best to do. I need experienced, step by step advice. Thanks. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 The paper that was sent with our larvae from the biological co., says to leave them in the vial until they go to the paper on the lid and then take them out. I'm confused on what is best to do. I need experienced, step by step advice. Thanks. :) Ours came in a clear plastic container with a lid. The food for the caterpillars was this brownish gunk on the bottom of the container. The 'pillars crawl around, eat the food, poop, and grow like crazy. Take a picture of them today--you'll be amazed at how much they've grown in just a few days! After a short time (maybe a week--I don't remember) they will start hanging out on the bottom of the lid, and then you'll suddenly see one hanging upside down, then another . . . hopefully all of them will eventually get there, but we did have one that never got past tiny caterpillar, so we just let him go outside. When they are all hanging, you can take the paper that they are hanging from and tape it to the side of a box or mesh butterfly house. When the crysalids start to look clear, they are about to emerge, and it will happen quickly. We've done painted lady butterflies twice with the kits--very fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 Here are instructions for another kit: http://www.butterfly-gifts.com/butterfly-kit-instructions.html So yours didn't come with the food? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gillian on Orcas Island Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 Not sure why one set of instructions would say to move the larvae, but I would follow the instructions from the Biological Co. which came with your larvae and leave them in the vial. There should be a layer of gunk at the bottom of the vial that looks like peanut butter for their food. That's all they need up until the chrysalis stage. The process for us was pretty much just as Barbie/mom2att described. All of our caterpillars attached themselves to the top of the lid of the vial and formed their chrysalises. My hands were shaking when I had to remove them and pin the paper they were on to the inside of the mesh pop-up container, I was afraid to damage them and not sure how I was supposed to pin in on there! I just used a big safety pin attached the paper to the inside mesh; they were fine. Once they emerged from the chrysalis stage and we had butterflies, we kept them around for a few days and fed them sugar water from the enclosed dropper bottle, which we squirted on some flowers that we dropped into the habitat. We also fed them orange slices - they like the juice. Then we released them and watched them all fly away - very memorable for the kiddos! The instructions to the kit we used are here: http://www.insectlore.com/xinsectucational_stuff/instructions/pavilion.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Jenn~ Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 No advice but this sounds like fun! Good luck with yours!:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianne-TX Posted March 28, 2009 Author Share Posted March 28, 2009 Ours came in a clear plastic container with a lid. The food for the caterpillars was this brownish gunk on the bottom of the container. The 'pillars crawl around, eat the food, poop, and grow like crazy. Take a picture of them today--you'll be amazed at how much they've grown in just a few days! After a short time (maybe a week--I don't remember) they will start hanging out on the bottom of the lid, and then you'll suddenly see one hanging upside down, then another . . . hopefully all of them will eventually get there, but we did have one that never got past tiny caterpillar, so we just let him go outside. When they are all hanging, you can take the paper that they are hanging from and tape it to the side of a box or mesh butterfly house. When the crysalids start to look clear, they are about to emerge, and it will happen quickly. We've done painted lady butterflies twice with the kits--very fun! And, thanks, for the idea to take pictures. I haven't done that, but will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 We didn't move ours, either, until the Chrysalis stage. You then pin it to the cage. Here's a picture of ours when "Sammy" hatched. If you click on it you can see the disk pinned to the container. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 we are waiting for our painted ladies. the boys are excited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moira in MA Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 Can't help much with advice on care -- it was a long time ago dds are 17 & almost 15! Time flies. But I *do* remember that we let the butterflies go before their wings had fully opened and dried. A couple of wasps swooped in and ate the wings! My, then 5 year old was devastated. Hope this helps others avoid such trauma. ~Moira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 One of the crysalids fell off the paper disk inside the mesh tent when we moved them. Anyone have this happen, and did it survive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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