How To Keep Milkweed Leaves Fresh

Introduction
Your Monarch Rearing Kit (available here) contains 14-xvi first to third instar monarch larvae (caterpillars) that were started on an bogus diet. Upon arrival, these larvae should be transferred to larger containers and provided with milkweed leaves. Monarch larvae will feed on all commonly available milkweed species (but do non confuse these with other constitute species with a milky sap). Milkweed plants tin be collected in the field (cut stems) and stored in a fridge in plastic bags for iv-five days. Leaves should be rinsed and dried before feeding. Do not feed the larvae leaves that are yellow, dried out, or moldy. If the milkweed constitute has non been in your intendance, leaves should be washed in warm, soapy water, rinsed well, and stale before feeding. This will help prevent affliction and death of the caterpillars due to pesticides. (Please note: Plants that have been sprayed repeatedly or sprayed heavily may comprise remainder pesticide that volition damage the larvae, fifty-fifty with washing.)

Rearing Containers
Monarch larvae can be reared in many unlike types of containers, such equally aquaria, glass jars, plastic nutrient containers, etc. Rearing containers should be at to the lowest degree three inches deep and should have ventilated lids (use either mesh lids or poke holes in the lid). Larvae will survive best and accomplish a large size if you keep the food fresh, the container make clean, and the humidity and crowding depression. Controlling humidity is very important. If the humidity is too low your leaves will dry out and will not be a skilful food source; if the humidity is so high that condensation forms in the container, mold may develop on the frass (feces) and/or the leaves. These conditions seem to favor the development of diseases that could spread rapidly from larva to larva. Your larvae will do best if only a modest number are reared in each container. To minimize the possibility of cantankerous-contaminating containers, DO Non transfer larvae from one container to another. Should a larva dice of an credible disease, for example lose its shape and colour, transfer the healthy larvae to a clean container with new leaves and clean the container with the dead larva with hot soapy water or bleach. You can find examples of rearing containers and cages here.

An piece of cake rearing method, which requires less daily care, is to identify the larvae on milkweed whose cut stems are placed in water in narrow necked bottles – 2-liter plastic bottles work great. First, cut the milkweed stems twice under warm water; this will keep the milkweed fresh. This treatment has the result of keeping the latex that typically forms on a cutting stem from plugging the vesicles that ship water to the leaves. To continue larvae from going downward the stems and drowning in the h2o, wrap the stems with a paper towel so that information technology fits snugly into the neck of the bottle. The bottles can so be placed in screened cages. A variation on placing the bottles in a cage is to construct a container of two plastic 2-liter bottles. This rearing container is made by 1) cutting the lesser off of one of the bottles, 2) drilling/cutting a 3/4 inch hole in each of the bottle caps and gluing them together (elevation to top) with a strong agglutinative. Fill the bottom bottle with water, screw on the caps, attach the other bottle and add together the institute stem. The top opening can be covered with screen or any other porous cover - we use a small foursquare of open-mesh shelf liner. Iv to six larvae can complete their development in this container. The plants should be changed as needed, usually every two to 3 days. Photos and more detailed structure directions are available here.

To rear monarchs outdoors on living plants outdoors you volition need to protect the larvae from numerous parasites and predators. Protection tin can exist provided by using mesh "sleeves" with draw-strings on either end. The sleeve is placed over a plant, the larvae placed inside, and the drawstrings tied tightly. This method works well and little intendance is involved.

Rearing Weather condition
The larvae yous've received should exist transferred to a rearing container with milkweed equally before long after their inflow as possible. To transfer the larvae, open the cups and use a fine paintbrush, toothpick or forceps to gently transfer the larvae to a suitable rearing container. Alternatively, you tin can add leaves to your rearing containers and place the open cups inside. The larvae will and then crawl from the cups to the leaves. Line the bottoms of the containers with newspaper towels. Add 2-3 leaves to each container and provide new leaves and a new paper towel every mean solar day or equally needed. In one case the larvae take reached the last (5th) instar stage (approximately ane" in length), they will feed rapidly and tin chop-chop run out of food. Lookout the containers closely at this stage; you lot may have to feed the larvae twice a twenty-four hour period. Development times of larvae depend on the temperatures at which they are reared. At room temperature, the larvae should pupate 10-14 days after you receive them. Mostly speaking, lower temperatures translate into longer development times and higher temperatures decrease evolution time.

Pupation and Emergence
When the larvae have finished growing, they will spin a pocket-size silk push, or pad, at the acme or side of their container. The larvae will hang upside down from this pad and will assume the J-shaped position of the prepupa. Do not disturb the monarchs when they are preparing to molt to the pupal, or chrysalis, stage. The pupae unremarkably class in forenoon hours (9-eleven am) or later in the day (5-seven pm). You will notice the larva expanding until its skin splits to reveal a greenish cuticle. This cuticle hardens and the larva will become a pupa, also called a chrysalis. If the pupae are kept at room temperature, the butterflies should sally from the chrysalis within 10-xiv days. Over again, libation temperatures volition filibuster emergence and warmer temperatures will shorten the amount of development fourth dimension required.

An emerging monarch will cling to its pupal case. At first, the butterflies are soft and their wings wrinkled and pliable. Their abdomens will be big and you may discover the abdomen pulsating as fluid is pumped from it into the wings, until the wings are fully expanded and get strong. It usually takes 1-ii hours for a monarch'due south wings to harden sufficiently for flight. The new adults are relatively inactive and practice not need to be fed the first twenty-four hour period. During the first 24 hours the wings will harden and the sensory mechanisms (eyes, scent receptors on the antennae, and taste receptors on the ends of the leg - yes, butterflies taste with their feet!) volition become fully functional.

Y'all may want to consider moving your pupae from rearing containers into emergence chambers. This will ensure each butterfly has plenty room to dry and aggrandize its wings and will help prevent the spread of disease. The pupae can be moved afterwards they have hardened, nearly 48 hours later pupation, past gently pulling upwardly the silk pad with forceps.

Once they take emerged, the monarchs tin can be released or tin exist used for classroom instruction, student projects, or to start a convenance population in the classroom.

Emergence Cages
When the adult butterfly emerges, information technology must be able to hang with its wings downward to facilitate their expansion. Therefore, pupae must either be hung vertically or placed virtually a rough vertical surface to climb onto. Picnic nutrient protectors (bachelor from some drug and disbelieve stores) make good emergence cages. A pizza box with a rough surface (screen, washcloth, etc) on the bottom tin can exist used for a base of operations. The pupae can be hung (adhere tape to the silk strands at the end of the pupa or tie dental floss around the cremaster - the finish of the pupa that attaches to the silk) inside the food protector or placed apartment on the bottom of the box. If the pupae are hung by the cremaster, the new collywobbles will cling to the pupal case as in the wild. If placed on a rough surface, the new butterflies volition crawl beyond the bottom and climb upwardly the walls of the food protector to expand and dry their wings.

Individual emergence cages can be constructed by gluing window screen inside a 12 oz or larger clear plastic cup. The butterfly will use the screen to climb up on when it emerges from its chrysalis. The edge of the screen should extend to the bottom of the cup and the loving cup should be placed over the pupa on a paper towel or other rough surface.

Adult Feeding and Maintenance
The newly emerged adults volition not need to be fed the commencement day, simply the next day they tin be fed a sugar-water or beloved-h2o solution. Mix i part sugar or love with ix parts h2o and pour into a shallow dish. A plastic pot scrubber should be placed in the dish to aid in feeding. The food must exist inverse every twenty-four hour period to prevent fermentation. Equally an alternative, you tin can buy an artificial nectar mix from Monarch Scout. This artificial nectar will not ferment; therefore, you just demand to top it off every 2-3 days. If you have a large cage, the butterflies can learn to self-feed; the feeding solution should be placed near the height of the muzzle and relatively close (within twenty inches) to the low-cal source. Like almost insects, monarchs volition fly toward lighted windows or artificial lights.

The butterflies will live for two-3 weeks if they are well fed, but they may live as long as 6 weeks if the temperatures are cool enough and yous take practiced care of them.

Source: https://www.monarchwatch.org/rear/kit.htm#:~:text=Milkweed%20plants%20can%20be%20collected,%2C%20dried%20out%2C%20or%20moldy.