Tips for Rearing Gulf Fritillary Caterpillars at home or in the classroom:

• Collect caterpillars from host/food plants in your garden (passion vine). 

• Use a screened habitat with clippings of the vine in a bottle of water/jar, cover with a screen/net/plastice to protect the caterpillars from the water. The vine will stay fresh for 7-10 days at a time if the stems stay wet.

• You can also take clippings and add to a smaller plastic container with air holes only (no mesh top) and feed once or twice a day with new clips, cleaning out frass daily.

• Fun and easy to raise with kids in the classroom or at home.

• Never touch or move a caterpillar not in forward motion. The caterpillar may be preparing to molt or pupate, which if interrupted could cause death.

• Recently emerged adults need 1-2 hours to dry their wings. They don’t do well in captivity for long but may adjust to feeding on their own from potted flowers (scabiosa or lantana, etc.) for a few days.