Tom Terrific

Butterfly Gardening.Org

Bring Butterflies into Your Yard

9016 Robyn Rd
St Louis MO 63126
Phone: 314-849-6114

Aquariums in the Garden
	The last couple of weeks I’ve seen a flurry of butterfly egg-laying in the garden. Since most of these new hatchlings seem to become breakfast, lunch, or dinner for the other insects in the yard, I try and protect a few and raise them inside. The question is – What do I put them in? My answer is to use a common five gallon aquarium with a wire mesh top. These are easy to find at the local pet store.
I usually put my cut-off plant stems in a water filled soda can and then place it in the aquarium. Over time the aquarium will get a bit dirty and junky from the caterpillar frass (poop). It’s easy to take out the cans and plants and caterpillars and clean out the aquarium. I also use a ten percent bleach solution on my aquarium to disinfect it. The wire mesh top will protect the caterpillars from the larger predators and also prevent the caterpillars from wandering all over the house when they are ready to go into their chrysalis form. Note - I’ve seen local suppliers selling monarch larva for $8.00 each. Why spend the money when you can just go out to your backyard and find them?
	I’ve also found the aquarium and wire mesh to be a good seed sorting system. I break up seed pods on a piece of cloth and then pour the pile over my wire covered aquarium. The seeds fall through and the wire catches the chaff. This system won’t work for every seed but is a winner for Dames Rocket. Give it a try.