Science & Life Skills

Learn how to find, care for, and raise monarch butterflies from eggs to beautiful adults!

We learned that monarch butterflies need milkweed plants to lay their eggs and feed their caterpillars.

We found a tiny monarch egg under a milkweed leaf and learned how to identify it by its delicate stripes.

We discovered that milkweed is toxic and makes monarch caterpillars poisonous to predators, but eggs only have a 3% survival chance in the wild.

We learned about molting stages called instars and how caterpillars shed their exoskeleton as they grow bigger.

We learned to move larger caterpillars to jars with twigs so they can climb up when ready to form their pupa.

We watched a butterfly emerge from its pupa with wet, folded wings that need time and space to unfold and dry properly.

Hatch and Raise Monarch Butterflies - complete how to guide with detailed and beautiful video!