Raising Book Resources
Find Your Supplies
MILKWEED
- Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed)
- Asclepias purpurascens (purple milkweed)
- Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
- Asclepias curassavica (tropical milkweed)
- Calotropis gigantea (giant milkweed)
- Gomphocarpus physocarpus (giant swan milkweed)
- Gomphocarpus fruticosus (swan milkweed)
- Suggested Vendors for Buying Milkweed Online
CATERPILLAR and BUTTERFLY CAGES
- Food Storage Containers for Hatching Eggs and Baby Caterpillars
- Mesh Caterpillar Cages to grow monarchs through the 4 stage butterfly life cycle (Restcloud generally has best reviews)
For the cage liners, do not purchase 16″ platters for the 15.7″ x 15.7″ cages. They will not sit flat on the cage floor. The suggested size liners are listed below:
- 14″ by 14″ Caterpillar Cage Liners (my preference) ⬅️ (soft, bendable, silicone platter for 15.7″ cage) OR
- 14″ CLEAR Cage Liner ⬅️ (hard support platter for 15.7″ cage)
OTHER RASING SUPPLIES
- Magnifying Glass for Tiny Eggs and Baby Caterpillars
- Keyboard Vacuum Cleaner for Cleaning up Caterpillar Poop
- Hand Pruning Shears for Milkweed Cuttings
- Floral Tubes + Racks to keep Milkweed Cuttings Fresh
- Boot Tray for carrying cuttings containers
- Plain Paper Towels to line food containers and for cage cleaning
- Cotton Pads to feed adult butterflies
- Disinfecting bleach or bleach wipes for cage cleaning
- Monarch Egg and Caterpillar Vendors
Prepare Milkweed Plants
- Growing Milkweed in Containers
- Prepare Milkweed for Monarch Eggs
- How to Win the War against Aphids?
- Milkweed Quickstart Guide for Monarchs
Hunt, Gather, & Protect Monarch Eggs
- Where to Look for Monarch eggs
- Collect and Protect Monarch Eggs
- Bleaching Monarch Eggs Info (consider this in continuous growing regions where pathogens/disease are a common issue)
Feeding Monarch Caterpillars
- Floral Tubes and Racks (preferred caterpillar feeding method)
- Feeding Monarch Caterpillars with Cuttings
- Baby Caterpillar Care
Cage Cleaning Tips
Big Cat Care
Monarch Diseases and Prevention
Chrysalis Problems and Normal Development
- Chrysalis Stages, Problems, and Normal Development
- Do Chrysalises need to be Rehung?
- Diseased Chrysalis Photo
- Caterpillar Forming Chrysalis Videos
- Large Pins to Pin Up Chrysalides by Silk
Hatching Butterflies
Safely Release Butterflies
- Male or Female Butterfly?
- Clear Hummingbird Nectar (for feeding adults)
- Butterfly Pick-up Demonstration Video
- Fall Blooming Nectar Plants for Migrating Monarchs
- Butterfly Photography Tips
- Monarch Release Video
- Tagging Butterflies Programs
More Raising Monarchs Resources
- Monarch Butterfly Garden (blog filled with butterfly garden info + raising healthy monarchs)
- Pollinator Paradise Newsletter (Tried and true tips for both pollinator gardening and raising healthy monarch butterflies…includes Raise the Migration emails in late Summer/Fall)
- Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Info