It's always interesting to see how other people raise cats.

I use fish tanks with newspaper on the bottom, soda cans with water for the milkweed and cover it with cloth and a wire screen. I have a 2nd fish tank I use to transfer them over to every couple of days depending on how messy the tank is.

I didn't put the milkweed cuttings in water; putting fresh stems in 2x a day worked well and the cuttings did not wilt any quicker than they did in water. Keep in mind I was using A. incarnata and not curassavica.

I double folded the top and secured with clothespin; no escapees.

I tape my chrysalids to an outdoor window on my porch which works beautifully and isn't that hard to clean. Never had a fallen one so far. I can see the potential for your concern in taping them to cages. I also use packaging tape rather than scotch tape. I also cut fairly large portions of bag so the tape overlap thus tape thus greater security to prevent hazard of falling.

The frass dries out quickly with less humid conditions, and I easily tip the bag over paper towels to assure no one falls out with the frass that I might miss in the process and if they do, I can see easily find them.

The bags are a great method to use particularly for Monarchs. I have only raised a few cats using this method so don't know how it would work on a larger scale.

Susan

Jeff,

Susan shared everything I would have added. I do use curassavica, and the leaves stay fresh until the butterflies eat them. I just throw in a hand-full of leaves 2X a day and usually dump out frass once a day. I cut the sack open and tape the whole sack to my eclosing container. If not feasible, I cut out a large area around the chrysalis. I need to look up the picture. I limit the number of cats to 6 to a sack.

The advantage to raising them this way is the climate control issue. The sacks allow light, but stay dry. The sack surface provides good traction for newly eclosed BFs.

However, each person should find the method that works best for them.

Sandy

It sounds like the key is not keeping the milkweed in water. I didn't use paperbags, but I also didn't keep my curassavica in water. They ate it fast enough that it wasn't a problem. Even when it was wilted, it was still okay for them to eat. Probably not perfect, but then my incarnata was wilted, in situ, in hot weather. Think I will try it next year as I can't keep them in cages and I love containers but it is messy.
-Elisabeth

Today I found 45 Monarch eggs. So, I will be utilizing the paper sacks again. These are destined to be released at a local wedding. No, I am not being paid for them! They are a gift.

Sandy

Did not want to see this useful info drop off the list.

Thanks, KC.

Betty

I also saw that Edith (of Shadyoak butterfly farm) demonstrated using a pizza box. I thought this was brilliant! Lots of room for caterpillars and they pupated on the top of the box. I wonder if they like sausage or pepperoni?
-Elisabeth

Thanks for the chuckle, Elisabeth.

Sandy

Bump for folks who don't know about paper bags.

I'm still using paper bags for part of my caterpillars. Mostly because I can give a bag of chrysalides to a child (or adult), and they think it's the best present in the world.

Did a presentation on Native Plants and Butterflies for our local Native Plant Society on Monday night. Nice crowd--had to bring in chairs--so I felt pretty encouraged about the interest out there. I brought a bag of pupae and gave it to a teacher in the group. She was HS Botany/Biology, and had some students with her. Didn't know all this, but had decided before hand to see if I could find a teacher in the crowd when I was asking questions to narrow down the group to one person to receive the "grand prize". Had a great time, and hopefully convinced some folks to plant for the butterflies.

How fun to get such positive response to your presentation. And it's nice to be able to give away pupae, since the recipient can't do too much damage at that point. But, they still get the advantage of seeing the emergence of the butterflies. Though, you know you've ruined whatever lesson plan she has ready for the day they start to eclose, right? LOL

I've used the bag method twice for large numbers of Monarchs (8-10 per bag) with good success. However, during my recent batch, I did have several escapees, even with those black document clips. It really is important to fold the bag over at least twice and then clip it. I don't keep my leaves or branches in water, either. I just make sure I put fresh food in at least daily.

Martha