Things You'll Need
- Saw
- Scrap wood
- Screws and screwdriver or nails and hammer
- Muslin
- Sheet of transparent plastic
- Hook and loop fastener
- Glue
- Cardboard
- Twigs
- Sugar
- Pan
- Cotton balls
Instructions
Saw lengths of scrap wood to the desired length, width and height of your planned butterfly cage. A cube of between 2 to 4 feet works well. Fix the pieces of wood together with screws or nails.
Cut four pieces of muslin to fit all the sides except the bottom and the front of the cube.
Glue hook and loop fastener to three edges of the top of the cube and to three edges of the corresponding piece of muslin. Allow the glue to dry.
Cut the sheet of transparent plastic plexiglass or similar material to fit the front of the cube and glue into position.
Fix the pieces of muslin to the cube. Glue the top piece at the fastener-free edge. This is the lid. Leave the arrangement to dry for several days, even if the glue is a fast-drying one. This is because glues can still give off fumes toxic to butterflies for a while after use.
Lay a large sheet of cardboard larger than the cube where you want the butterfly habitat to be. This should be somewhere that gets natural daylight but not continuous direct sunlight.
Put the cube over the cardboard and add decorations such as twigs, which provide perching places. Add the leaves from the plant the caterpillars ate, if you want the butterflies to breed. They will lay their eggs on these leaves.
Mix 1 part plain white sugar with 4 parts water in a pan. Heat gently on the stove and stir continuously until the sugar dissolves. Soak cotton balls in the mixture and place them in a dish. Put the dish in the cube and introduce the butterflies. Make up a fresh sugar solution and change the balls every day to prevent bacteria buildup.