Mary Ochsenschlager, naturalist, St. Charles Park District

Watch the powerful and magical changes in a butterfly’s life cycle.

• Commercial size, wide-mouthed pickle jar
• Piece of netting and rubber band for lid
• Small pill or film container to hold the water for the food plant
• Piece of clay to hold the water container to the bottom of the pickle jar
• Small stick with branches for the chrysalis

During the summer, sometimes as early as May, you will begin to see monarchs in wild places, parks, and even yards and alleys where there are milkweed plants. Watch monarchs as they flit around a field. If one lands on a milkweed leaf and stays for a time she is probably laying an egg, which you can find on the underside of the leaf. Cut the plant and put it in water to keep it fresh. Keep it indoors to prevent predation and put it near a window to mimic outdoor conditions as closely as possible. The egg should hatch in about two days.

The tip of the egg will turn black just before hatching. The very small caterpillar will eat the eggshell as it emerges. If the plant is still fresh, put it in a small container of water, then put this into a large, wide-mouthed pickle jar. Cover the jar with a piece of netting (not the lid, as that will hold in too much moisture). Keep fresh milkweed available at all times to minimize wandering. Handle the caterpillar as little as possible. When it is small, transfer it to a fresh leaf by cutting a piece of leaf off with the caterpillar on it and laying it on the fresh leaves. The caterpillar will shed its skin several times as it grows. When it does, it will sit quietly, not eating for a time.

After 10–14 days the caterpillar will become restless and wander, looking for a suitable place to become a chrysalis. Put a stick with branches into the jar to offer a possible place for it to attach. It does this by spinning a mat of silk and then hanging down to form a ‘J’ shape. After it has been in the ‘J’ for 6–12 hours, it will slowly shrink out of its skin, and with a sudden whirling motion, throw it off and emerge as a chrysalis.

The caterpillar may have attached itself to the milkweed. If the milkweed withers and becomes too weak, then carefully attach the chrysalis to the netting with a straight pin. After another 10–14 days, the chrysalis darkens and the pattern of the butterfly’s wings shows through the translucent shell. The monarch will gently emerge from its chrysalis. It takes several hours for the butterfly to straighten and dry its wings. Then it is ready to return to nature. If your child is reluctant to let it go, make a ceremony of it and thank the butterfly as you let it go.