This is what they looked like when they arrived on our front door step! Well, after we opened the huge box and dug and dug and dug through all the foam peanuts! Thank goodness I kept digging just to make sure I got everything because I wasn't expecting two cups!
Our instructions were to just keep them in the cups like they arrived until they form into chrysalis. Before turning into chrysalis, the caterpillars eat the food that's in the cup and they triple in size within a few days. Once ready, the caterpillars crawl to the top of the cup and hang. After a day or two of hanging, they will then turn into a chrysalis.
Once all the chrysalis had formed, I then transported them into the butterfly garden. I hung them from the net on the side of the butterfly garden. I know....it looks quite disgusting!
After a few days of hanging in the butterfly garden, they began to shake and then they emerged from their chrysalis. We only saw one actually come out because they surprisingly emerged from their chrysalis very quickly.
After a few days of the butterflies flying around in the garden, we decided we would set them free. Some of them crawled right onto our hands and stayed there for a minute or so before braving their new home!
