I'm going to try and raise a black swallowtail butterfly from a caterpiller. Heaven forbid something was eating my g-pa's plants, you know. 
I'm 22 years old, and a girl, and he still saves the bugs he find in his garden for me. I love my papa!
I've got the caterpiller set up in a spare 10 gallon with lid.... Layered with papertowels on the bottom and sticks on the top. He has parsley, dill, and I think I'll be running to the store tomorrow to get some more because we don't have a garden and the only thing Papa will donate garden food to is the snails.
He's already in his fourth stage, so he should be turning into a chrysalis soon.... I just haven't been able to find out if it's too late in the season for him to hatch in 10 days, or if he'll be waiting for spring.
Has anyone else done this before? I did white cabbage butterflies last summer, but by nightfall of the day I got them they were in chrysalis form, and two days later, they hatched.
I'm 22 years old, and a girl, and he still saves the bugs he find in his garden for me. I love my papa!I've got the caterpiller set up in a spare 10 gallon with lid.... Layered with papertowels on the bottom and sticks on the top. He has parsley, dill, and I think I'll be running to the store tomorrow to get some more because we don't have a garden and the only thing Papa will donate garden food to is the snails.
He's already in his fourth stage, so he should be turning into a chrysalis soon.... I just haven't been able to find out if it's too late in the season for him to hatch in 10 days, or if he'll be waiting for spring.
Has anyone else done this before? I did white cabbage butterflies last summer, but by nightfall of the day I got them they were in chrysalis form, and two days later, they hatched.
You must have left them outside? Bummer. 
You should try it again! You're never too old for bugs! (Though from what I've experianced with the cabbage butterflys, even the caterpillers will eat other chrysalis. 
)
