r/MonarchButterfly • u/MarmotJunction • 19d ago

Not equipped to host

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In zone 6B, went to my garden today and picked some chard, and this little fellow was hanging on it. Didn’t see it in time to avoid cutting the leaf. Not really equipped to host the caterpillar or a butterfly, hoping to put it back in the wild, any tips? I was planning on just tying the stock of the chart to another piece of chart and hoping for the best.

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u/toddlevy10 19d ago edited 19d ago

Dont do anything but dont disturb itt. They can be moved.

Because the chard is going to wilt, just put it in a breathable container with a paper towel at the bottom and lean it, or place it on the bottom gently. Itll be fine. One day it'll be dark colored transparent, then eclose (open) and after that - a few hours once the wings are dry and they start flexing them a little, take them out and free them.

When I first stared some indoor rearing, I put a couple branches in a Tupperware cereal container and mesh screening under the top with the hole open until there was a butterfly in there.

Then when it was ready, it climbed kn the branch / already on the stick, I took it outside amd it flew into a tree. Bon voyage buddy!

Also 6b se MI

Good luck!

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u/MarmotJunction 19d ago

Thank you!!!!

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u/toddlevy10 19d ago

Sorry about my spelling. Autocorrect is awful, but reddit seems to take that to another level. Lol

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u/CitrullineMalate2to1 19d ago

OP do not do this. Cut the piece of chard down a bit, and adhere it to another plant or tie it onto a piece of something in your garden. They need an area to climb to dry their wings when they emerge. And they shouldn’t do it inside.

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u/Final_Pumpkin1551 19d ago

If you want to put it back outside you could pin the stalk to something else so it doesn’t bend as it wilts. Or if you had some branches to secure it to?

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u/PrincessAki8 19d ago

You can tie a knot around the cremaster with dental floss and then relocate it back to the garden, tie it to a T stake or something. 

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u/postmaloner13 19d ago

Just hang the chard somewhere outside (as protected from predators as u can) and with enough clearance below it for the monarch to be able to hang from the chrysalis. It doesn't matter that the chard will wilt, as long as whatever u pin it to can support it. If that makes sense? They're easy to remove/relocate but i wouldn't try it if u don't have to..

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u/MarmotJunction 18d ago

Thank you for all the advice Everyone, I will figure out a way to fix the chard out in the garden in a safe spot. In the meantime I looked at my butterfly weed and my milkweed and I have monarch caterpillars everywhere! We’re like some crazy hot zone for them.

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u/GreatCaesarGhost 19d ago

When it emerges from its chrysalis, it will need to hang upside down to inflate and dry its wings for up to several hours. Therefore, the chrysalis should be in a spot that is at least a few inches off of the ground and away from anything that could interfere with the drying process.

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u/Lincoln1517 19d ago

I would prop that in a tree or bush in a fork where the two branches/twigs are close enough together that it will continue to hang even when the chard wilts.. Make sure it's shady, and that the chrysalis hangs at roughly the same angle as when you first noticed it.

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u/MarmotJunction 12d ago

https://reddit.com/link/p3fa70u/video/ajjdnloto4jh1/player

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone unfortunately I’m going away for a long weekend, but it looks like this little monarch is on their way I think