Tips for raising butterflies

It is relatively easy to raise butterfly adults, and it is usually not difficult to raise their larvae. This gives keepers the opportunity to learn about the various stages in the butterfly's life cycle, increasing the scope of knowledge about the animal. For butterfly collectors, breeding has another advantage: the adults can be killed as soon as they emerge, allowing collectors to obtain complete specimens without damaging the wings due to the butterfly's flight. Therefore, raising butterflies not only allows you to collect perfect specimens and preserve them in large numbers without incurring many additional costs, but it also protects wild populations from rapidly declining insect population densities in the wild due to large-scale collection.

If you have a garden at home, you can attract butterflies by planting a variety of flowers, because flowers produce large amounts of nectar, which attracts butterflies. You can also try to plant some plants that butterfly larvae like to feed on. This not only increases your interest, but also contributes to the protection of butterfly resources.

However, it is not necessary to have a garden to raise butterflies, as part of the work can be done indoors. The basic tools needed for husbandry are simple. At the beginning, you only need some plastic boxes of different sizes and 2-3 small breeding boxes (you can use a thick plastic tube with a perforated cover or a wooden strip to make a cage, surrounded by a nylon sand net). Then, a larger cage is needed for the adult butterflies to fly and mate. These tools are not difficult to make. A simple flying cage can be modified from a large wooden box. Just remove the wooden boards on the side and install a sand net.

Eggs can sometimes be purchased from butterfly dealers, or can be obtained by using freshly caught female adults to lay eggs in a cage. Wild collection of egg masses or larvae is time consuming but enjoyable. Finding eggs and larvae of common species is usually not too difficult, especially if the host plant is known. The larvae of some species are swarming, so many larvae can be found on a single plant.

Small larvae can be placed in a breathable plastic box, but not too crowded. Some larvae have the habit of cannibalism, so they must be raised individually. Feed (the larvae's favorite host plants) is added daily and feces is removed. Regular cleaning is great for reducing disease infections. It is likely that most of the larvae collected from the wild are already parasitized. Rearing egg masses obtained by raising collected adult worms can avoid being parasitized, but their ability to resist disease is poor.

The larvae grow very quickly and must be moved to a larger box at some point. It is best not to handle the larvae directly with your hands, the smallest larvae can only be worked with a fine brush. A sand cage can be placed next to a sunny window, but a plastic box is not suitable for this because many small water droplets will condense on its inner walls. Too much humidity is harmful to the larvae. Therefore, place a piece of absorbent paper at the bottom of each box to make cleaning easier.

When the larvae reach half their size, they should be raised in a cage with a sand net. At this time, the larvae eat a lot, and fresh food must be added every day.

When the larvae reach maturity, they stop feeding and begin to pupate. All food and feces should be removed at this time. No special care is required at this stage until adult emergence.

For species that survive the winter with pupae, the pupae can be placed directly in a wooden box (put a little soil or moss inside). You don't need to take care of the overwintering pupae. You only need to add some water to the soil or moss in the box from time to time to prevent the pupae from drying out. Most tropical species require greater humidity and must be sprayed with a small amount of water every day, otherwise the wings will not spread when they emerge.

Before the butterfly emerges, the cage should be placed with a few small branches so that the adults can hang on the branches and fully extend their wings.

To complete the rearing cycle, mating and egg-laying of adults must be ensured. Many types of butterflies do not mate and lay eggs under artificial conditions, so certain auxiliary measures need to be taken. Some species can use their hands to assist in mating. Gently pinch both sides of the male butterfly's abdomen with your hands to open its clasps and hold the female butterfly. It takes several trials to reach the mating state.

Some species require a courtship ceremony before mating and require a larger flying space. However, a female butterfly that has mated in the wild can be placed directly into a small cage with flowers or sugar water (dropped on cotton balls) to ensure that the adults feed. If this butterfly lays its eggs directly on plants where the larvae feed, fresh branches should be provided. It is best to cover growing plants (which can be potted) with sand covers.

The above method is only a brief summary of feeding technology. There are many variations in the operation process, and different methods can be chosen according to different food materials and tools, and can also vary with different types. Larvae can also be raised directly on living plants with a sand cover on the outside. Some species can artificially emerge early through heating and humidification. After you have some experience, you can improve or even design better feeding methods yourself.

Finally, it is important to record in detail the daily feeding time, amount of food, color changes, number of molts, eclosion time and egg laying volume, etc. Not only is this useful scientific information, it will also help you avoid repeating the same mistakes you've made.

animal tags：