Making a Butterfly Nursery

Question: How can we create the right environment for a caterpillar so we can watch it transform into a butterfly indoors?

Answer: Here's one approach to making a butterfly nursery using a plastic soda bottle:
1. Cut the top of a 2-liter bottle, then run hot water in the base to loosen the glue and separate the base.
2. Add moist, sterile potting soil, sand, or gravel to the base.
3. Add the caterpillar, along with some twigs with leaves of the plant on which it was found.
4. Place the inverted clear plastic top over the base and punch small holes in the top for air circulation. (If you have very small caterpillars, glue screen or netting over the holes to prevent their escape.)
5. Add fresh leaves of the host plant each day and use a paintbrush to remove the waste, called "frass."
6. Add some extra twigs to give the larvae a place to crawl when it pupates.
7. Leave the container in a warm location out of the sun and watch for a week or two until the caterpillar forms a chrysalis. Your butterfly should emerge in about two weeks.
8. Once its wings are dry (don't touch!) in about four hours, you can release it into your garden.