This is a picture of the veil material stapled to a cardboard disk. The edge of the disk was lined up with the black line on the veil material and the material was stapled to the cardboard about two inches apart along the entire edge. There was a 4 inch overlap of material at the end. When stapling the second disk, make sure that the stapling starts at the same with the side of the material as with the first disk or else instead of mutual overlap the material will be twisted.
Staple the Veil Material to the Disks along the Black Lines
Cut Two 1-Foot Diameter Disks Out of Cardboard.
Cut two 1-foot diameter disks out of a sheet of cardboard for the cage, one disk for the top and one disk for the bottom. A template can be created by drawing a dot in the center of a sheet of cardboard and then drawing 5 lines through that center dot with a 12 inch ruler forming 16 equal slices as shown in the picture on the left. Draw a line across the ends end of those lines to make a hexadecagon is a sixteen-sided polygon, close enough to a circle. This can be used as a template for the second circle. The disks look like pizza trays.
Mark a Line across the Veil Material 1 Foot from the Open Edge
The folded veil material measured 3 yard and 4 inches across with a height 2 and ½ feet. The open bottom was tooth picked together. The material was marked with a large sharpie ink pen 1 foot from the bottom edge and a line was drawn across the material 1 foot parallel to the open edge. In this case, it made two lines across the material when opened, because the ink went through the top material. These lines were later used as a place marker for stapling the cardboard disk to the veil material.
To make a DIY cage, first request 1 yard and 4 inches of veil material at the fabric store. This material will be stapled around a 1 foot diameter cardboard disks. The mathematical formula for the circumference around a circle is π x D or 3.14 times 1 foot in this case. So, the distance around the disks is 3.14 feet or about a yard. Add an extra 4 inches for overlap to the yard and the total length of material that needs to be requested is 3.4 feet.
Purchase Enough Veil Material to Circle Around a 1 Foot Diameter Disk
The butterfly cage can be purchased or made at home. A commercial cage can be purchased at the cost of $7.58 at Walmart and has a volume of 0.13 cubic feet or purchased online for $10 with a volume of 3.4 cubic feet. A homemade cage can be made for just $2 and has the volume of 16 cubic feet. The homemade cage is bigger, cheaper, and disposable. However, making a cage is less convenient timewise. The purpose of the cage is to observe the birth and beauty of the butterflies before releasing them. It is possible just to tape the cup top containing the chrysalises to a tree limb.
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DIY versus Commercial Butterfly Cages
The butterfly cage was made from specialty netting found at a fabric store for $1.49 a yard. The finest weave netting seemed to provide the best transparency while also being the cheapest price. The netting comes on bolts of cardboard and is 5 feet in width.
Wedding Veil Material for Butterfly Cage
A butterfly cage was made out of fabric material for veils, two 12-inch cardboard disks, two rubber bands, a foot of sting, and the netting was secured to the disks using paper staples all for the cost of about $2. After all the caterpillars had climbed to the top of their cup and had formed chrysalises, the top lid of the cup was removed and taped to the inside top of the butterfly cage using double edged tape
Placing Chrysalises in Butterfly Cage.
Thirty eggs were ordered to dispense 5 eggs into 8 cups each containing 2 oz. of food, i.e. 40 eggs total. Carolina was generous with the eggs and there were 30 extra eggs after dispensing. These eggs hatched the next day in the centrifuge tube. However, there was no extra food ordered and the larvae had to be released outside in the home flower bed. If one orders an exact amount of eggs, it may be advisable to order extra food in case extra eggs are shipped and the larvae have to be kept inside.
Leftover Eggs Hatched in the Shipping Tube in Two Days after Arrival
The cap containing the 5 eggs was pressed into the food at the bottom of the cup, and the cover is place back onto the cup. Now, let the cup sit on a window sill that receives indirect light and observe the eggs hatch and the caterpillars grow. Temperature will affect how fast the caterpillars grow, 65 F is the minimum and the closer to 85 F the better they will grow .
Press the Cap Containing the Eggs Into the Food
Place 5 eggs, plus or minus 1, in a water bottle cap for placement into the caterpillar cup. Carolina recommends placing the eggs on wax paper to avoid the eggs touching the food. A cap was used instead with the idea in mind that it would prevent the egg from getting wet and at the same time prevent the egg from rolling while the students take the cup home. An alternative is to use a small plastic centrifuge tube like the one that the eggs were shipped in and embedded that into the food
Place Eggs in Water Bottle Cap
After the aluminum foil and coffee filter has been rubber banded to cup, fold the material back up over the rubber band and tape it around the lip of the cup. This forms a cap that can be removed from the cup and stretched back on the cup when needed, like to add the butterfly eggs.
Sealing the Top of Cup with Tape
Place two coffee filters and the circular piece of aluminum foil over the top of the cup, and crimp the materials down over the sides. Then. seal the materials with a rubber band.
Covering the Cup with Aluminum Foil and Coffee Filter.
Place a coffee filter onto a piece of aluminum foil, use the filter as a guide to mark a circle on the aluminum foil, and then cut out the marked circle with a scissors.
Making Aluminum Foil Coffee Filter Covers.
Each 2 oz. piece of caterpillar food was placed into a 16 oz. clear plastic cups and the food was pressed into the bottom of the cups using another cup. The food was pressed into the bottom of the cup, because that is how many of the caterpillar supplier send out their caterpillar. The surface area needs to supply 5 +/- 1 caterpillars with food for about a week. These 8 cups are designed to handle 5 eggs each for eventually housing a total of about 40 caterpillars.
Pressing the Caterpillar Food into Cups.
The artificial caterpillar food is agar based with plant and nutrient supplements. This food was purchased from Carolina Biologicals. The picture shows an 8 oz. container of caterpillar diet emptied out onto a paper plate and cut into 4 equal pieces of 2 oz. each. http://arachnoboards.com/threads/making-artificial-butterfly-diet.165168/
Distributing the Caterpillar Food.
The materials needed to make a caterpillar container are shown in this picture as follows from clockwise at 9 o’clock: 1) artificial caterpillar food from Carolina Biologicals, 2) bottle caps, 3) aluminum foil, 4) 16 oz. clear solo drinking cups, 5) paper plate, 6) rubber bands, 7) coffee filters, 8) a marker, 9) a spoon, and 10) a scissor. A butter knife is needed, but not shown. The cost of the artificial diet was listed earlier in the blog. The aluminum foil, 16 oz. clear drinking cups, rubber bands, and coffee filter can be obtained at a dollar store for $4.
Materials Needed for Making Caterpillar Hatcheries.
The butterfly eggs were put into the hatching incubator as shown in the picture above. This container was made out of a 16 oz. clear solo plastic cup with 2 oz. of artificial caterpillar food in the bottom. The top was made from circular material consisting of 2 coffee filters and aluminum foil. This top was rubber banded below the lip of the cup, and then the draping material was taped back up to the top to make observation easier. The cup was intended to raise 5 eggs to chrysalises that will hang from the paper top. Carolina suggests putting the eggs on wax paper so the food doesn't get the eggs wet. This example used a bottle cap instead, thinking the cap would keep the eggs more secure while the students carry the cups home.
Making Butterfly Egg Hatching Container.
The Hatching of a Painted Lady Butterfly Egg.
About one day after receiving the butterfly eggs, the eggs started to hatch. Luckily, some of the eggs were still under a microscope and observed at the right time. Their hatching was captured on video. Within an hour, he caterpillar chewed its way out of the thin casing, ate the casing as food, and crawled off searching for more food. The caterpillar was blue in color with hairs sticking out of its body. This means just as soon as the eggs arrive in the mail, one has to be prepare hatching containers with food and distribute the eggs into individual observing containers in order for the students to observe the hatching in time. So, shipping time is critical toward the goal of the student being able to observe the hatching.
This picture is a Painted Lady Butterfly egg at about 300 magnification, the maximum magnification for a 5MP USB microscope. The finned ribs become more visible in this picture.