. I read about an easy way to build a butterfly habitat that is inexpensive and easy for even a klutz like myself to do.
I bought two 2-paks of "paint strainers" in paint area of Lowes for about $3.60 each. You carefully pull the netting over an upside down tomato hoop. Not a jumbo-sized hoop, which is too big, but a regular sized hoop. You will still need to bend the 3 prongs on the bottom all the way down. You want to make sure the netting covers all the way to the bottom, to prevent parasitic wasps from getting in there.
I used an old pizza pan on the bottom covered with paper towels. You will want to keep the bottom clean of caterpillar poop, and they do poop a lot.
These do seem lightweight enough that they could blow over on a stiff wind, so you may have to keep an eye on it, or simply keep it indoors.
I stocked up on fresh ORGANIC parsley plants at my local organic farmer. The parsley MUST be organic or the caterpillars will die.
This is what the first instar looks like. At first, you will see tiny, pale green round eggs. The first instar comes next. I counted 7.
I should be prepping for my job interview for tomorrow, but I'm having too much fun. 
For Carol....(butterfly talk)
June 14th, 2017 at 08:02 pm
June 15th, 2017 at 02:04 am 1497492282
June 15th, 2017 at 07:48 pm 1497556104