Raise your own monarch baby! If you've never seen a caterpillar miraculously transform into a butterfly, now is your chance!

You Need:

shoe box * scissors * plastic wrap * scotch tape * monarch egg or caterpillar (commonly found on milkweed leaves) * milkweed leaves * glass jar * paper towel * rubber band * water

To Do:

1. Use a shoebox to create a chamber to raise your monarch baby. Cut a large rectangular "window" in the shoebox lid and tape plastic wrap over the opening. Stand the shoebox on its end.

2. Find and capture a monarch egg or caterpillar (commonly found grazing on milkweed during spring and summer). Do not separate it from the leaf it is resting on. Take it home along with a handful of milkweed leaves for food. Give it a name!

3. Before placing the milkweed leaves in the shoebox, wrap the stems in a piece of moist paper towel. Next, cover the paper towel with a piece of plastic wrap and secure it with a rubber band. Keep unused milkweed fresh by storing the stems in a jar of water.

4. Place the egg or caterpillar on a milkweed leave in the shoebox. Be sure to keep the cage clean, and replace old milkweed leaves.

5. Over the next 10 days carefully monitor the monarch's stages of transformation. Note: a healthy caterpillar will suspend itself from the top of the box as it begins its transformation. Near day 10, a butterfly should emerge from the pupa, or chrysalis.

6. Once the butterfly begins to flap its wings, remove the plastic wrap and set it free!

Think About It:

How long did it take for the caterpillar to form a pupa? How long did it take before you Could see a butterfly take shape inside the pupa?

Resources:

The Great Butterfly Hunt by Ethan Herberman, Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1990, p. 21.

University of Kansas's Monarch Watch on rearing monarchs:

www.monarchwatch.org/rear/index.htm

Can't find a butterfly? Check out educationalscience.com

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