"Butterfly Shortage? Grow Your Own." This was a July 18th, Wall Street Journal headline. It told how families could raise butterflies by buying kits from various vendors. Prices ranged from $30.00 to $60.00. Caterpillars were shipped via various methods, but it many cases the caterpillars didn't fair too well and died.

The question that came to my mind was, "Why not plant the host plants for your local butterflies and have your own natural butterfly factory without paying the high prices. In one case, they paid $18 per raised butterfly. That is a very steep price to pay. For $60.00 you could buy ten perennials or 30 packets of seeds and have plants to share.

Twenty-four hours after reading the Wall Street article I watched a Monarch lay about 20 eggs on my various milkweeds which I have over many locations in my garden. I didn't need to order Monarch eggs or larva, Mother Nature took charge. All I had to do was supply the needed host plants.

I've found that Cabbage Whites, Black Swallowtails, and Monarchs are very easy to raise.
I talk about this process on my website at: Raise Your Own

The moral of the story is...spend your money on host plant seeds and plants and don't get your butterfly advice from the Wall Street Journal.