Raising Butterflies in Ohio - from Egg to Release

Here in Ohio, we're gearing up for butterfly season, which is an awesome time of year!

With the arrival of butterflies, comes the opportunity to "raise" them. In order the raise them, we need to attract them.

First let me say that there are a few organizations that are somewhat opposed to the notion of raising butterflies. To raise butterflies (watch the metamorphosis process), you need to either gather some butterfly eggs or capture a caterpillar. It's worth noting (and this is their main reason) that approximately 96% of terrestrial bird species in North America, including those in Ohio, rely on insects—primarily caterpillars—to feed their young, according to research by entomologist Doug Tallamy. About 75% of Ohio's 115 breeding songbird species are highly dependent on caterpillars for nourishing nestlings during the breeding season. A single clutch of chickadees requires between 6,000-9,000 caterpillars to fledge! So, removing a lot of caterpillars from the food chain wouldn't be great.

My retort to this is that most people aren't going to try to raise butterflies, so the majority of caterpillars are safe. Also, these same organizations recommend that you raise no more than 10 butterflies (and we're really talking about monarch butterflies), to keep eggs and caterpillars in the food chain.

If you're still interested in raising butterflies (and it is very cool!), here are some very important things to consider:

black swallowtail butterfly in the garden

black swallowtail butterfly in the garden

black swallowtail caterpillar in the garden

Red-spotted purple butterfly in the garden

Butterfly on a native coneflower

Eastern Tiger swallowtail butterfly on a zinnia

Red-spotted purple butterfly on an elderberry tree

Monarch butterfly on a zinnia in the garden

Giant Swallowtail butterfly in the garden

While some people think that raising butterflies/monarchs is conservation, it's better to think of it as research and education. The main issue here is that it does no good to raise a butterfly if it has nowhere to eat and lay its eggs, which brings us to....

• Habitat. Butterflies need habitat in order to survive. With shopping malls, subdivisions, apartment complexes and industrial parks, millions of acres have been wiped out. The silver lining to this is that our own backyards can collectively become the largest national park, creating a pathway of pollinator habitat. To do this, butterflies need host plants and sources of nectar....

• What's a host plant? A host plant is a specific plant that a bug, butterfly, or caterpillar eats, lives on, or lays its eggs on. A well-known example is milkweed: monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed, and female monarch butterfly only lay their eggs on milkweed. Without host plants, butterfly numbers decline quickly. Butterflies are very picky and won't just lay their eggs on anything. It's their host plant or bust and each species has their own group of host plants. If you want to attract certain butterflies, be sure to plant some of their host plants. Female butterflies are on the move, searching for host plants while flying. A single milkweed or golden alexander is easy to miss. Plant at least five of the same species in a cluster. Cluster planting is like putting up a billboard that says “nursery here.” More plants = better odds that butterflies will find them and stick around to lay eggs

• Nectar sources. Host plant provide a place for adult butterflies to lay their eggs, a place for the caterpillars to eat, but where do adult butterflies eat? They need sources of nectar. The best source of nectar is native plants, with a second choice being non-native that still produce nectar. Exotics are iffy. If you didn't know this - and I just learned this a few years ago - that not all flowers produce nectar. Some flowers with fancy names have been created in a lab to produce bigger flowers, different colors, etc...but it renders the flowers sterile (no pollen or nectar for bees and butterflies). The best bet is always a native plant. You can always ask your local nursery for help.

• Avoid pesticides. If you want to attract butterflies - or any pollinators and beneficial insects - then you don't want to kill them by broadly spraying pesticides all over your lawn.

Now that you've provided a pesticide-free lawn with host plants and good nectar sources, maybe you're ready to jump into raising a few butterflies! A few short points to consider:

• You'll need a butterfly cabinet or tent, to protect your eggs/caterpillars from predators. You can find one HERE.

• Understand that this is a time commitment The butterfly caterpillars need to have a constant supply of their host plant leaves. Another good reason to not try and raise a lot of caterpillars: monarch caterpillars are voracious eaters and you need to stay on top of keeping them fed with milkweed...or they'll die. Also, the enclosure must be kept sanitary, or you risk raising diseased butterflies.

• The ideal - and only place - the enclosure should go is outside. The developing caterpillars and butterflies need to be in their natural environment - which is outside. For monarchs, raising them inside apparently messes with their internal compass, which they need to migrate to Mexico in the fall.

• To get rolling, you can either find some butterfly eggs (usually found on the underside of the leaf of a host plant or find the actual caterpillar. Cut the leaf off at the stem, put it in a flower tube/milkweed tube and put it in your enclosure. In general, that's the process. If you want even more info with visuals, click HERE...although after looking through many of the videos, I may make my own! Just be sure to raise just a few, outdoors, in an enclosure.

• Last but not least: After the butterfly ecloses (comes out of the chrysalis) and its wings are dry, it's ready to fly off and find a mate (or migrate in the case of the 5th generation monarchs in the fall). You need to immediately let it out of the enclosure. Keeping it contained isn't an option, to be truthful.

I know this was a lot of information, but I hope it gives you some good points to consider if this will work for you.

Raising butterflies can be a super cool way to see the entire magical process of metamorphosis happen. It's actually quite a moving experience! Getting more in touch with nature is good for your heart, mind and soul and anything you can do to nurture that is a good thing!

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