Cannibalism fix – When I found two newly hatched caterpillars on the same leaf, I knew I could not let the pair continue sharing the space. The dilemma: how to move one to another leaf without causing injury by touching it? I prepared another leaf by making two small cuts in the flesh. I then cut away one of the caterpillars with the leaf intact and inserted the ends of this piece into the cuts on the other. I’m sure my explanation sounds a bit convoluted, so I’m glad to have a photograph too. Success! You can see the caterpillar adjusted and moved on to the surface of the new leaf.
Another problem is how to clean the butterfly house. The bottom becomes discolored due to water spills and caterpillar frass (waste). I purchased another house to have a switch-out option. After all the caterpillars/butterflies completed their cycles, I washed the dirty house with a heavy stream of water from the hose and then hung it on the clothesline to be sanitized by bright sunshine. I didn’t use any type of soap or cleaner, only fresh water; butterfly feet are ultra-sensitive and chemicals of any kind can be detrimental to their thriving.
At some point milkweed leaves will begin to dry up when separated from the main plant. When this begins to happen I place a fresh leaf beside the one beginning to dry and the caterpillars move to the fresher food source.
To thwart the flies that prey on caterpillars I concocted these fly traps. Many recipes can be found on the Internet. I used water, with a bit of vinegar, sugar and soap. My solution did work. Unfortunately, foliage beneath it died when it overturned. I have some bare spots on my grass where I set the traps. I think an animal knocked them over. Parasitic wasps prey on caterpillars too, but since I bring them in before they are big enough to be of interest to the wasps, so far at least, I haven’t had a caterpillar in the butterfly house afflicted by wasp eggs.
