Where can I buy caterpillars? The butterfly kind.

[tangcoral]

I want to raise caterpillar so they can eventually turn out to be beautiful butterfly.

Where one might be able to purchase?

[worgeordie]

Not as easy as you think,because caterpillars eat different kinds of leaves,and would

need a constant supply of that particular leaf, this is not the time of year for caterpillars,

later on when all the butterflies come out,just look about in your garden ,or in countryside

and you should be able to find some, note the kind of tree they are feeding on.

What are you going to do with the butterfly when it emerges from the chrysalis?

regards worgeordie

[expatbrat]

I am sure and hope you can not buy them. Just leave them be, they do not need your help to be butterflies, they can do it all there own, nature is clever that way. sorry for the sarcasm, but on this thread necessary.

[daoyai]

Maybe you could go to one of the commercial butterfly farm, tourist attractions with a pocket full of money and talk to someone there? If you have a yard or some land plant some specific flowers known to attract them and you may fine the chrysalis and can watch the b-fly emerge.

[northernjohn]

Agreed with all plant the right plant and they will come to you.

[Mousehound]

Go out to the Butterfly and Insect Farm (It is near the more commercial Butterfly and Orchid place and the dreaded Monkey show. You can see the whole thing happening there. Buy the owners book. Butterflies of Thailandbu Pisuth Ek-Amnuay. He will give advice on how to go about things. It is a great book and explains with pictures all about butterfly rearing. He will have other simpler books there. The thing is you can see local Butterflies that do well in CM and also see their life stages and food. The hot, wet weather is best for butterflies but I spent a few days photographing around CM in January and had some success.

You can see a number of common species I got pictures of. I have identified most of them.

http://stevekeeling.smugmug.com/Category

Thailand has to be one of the best place sfro butterflies. Good luck.

[stoli]

When I grew up in Southern California, we had a Chinese Elm in our front yard. Each year thousands of those wooly caterpillars would come out of nowhere and cover that tree. Before long, the eaves around the hose were covered with cocoons. Loved to watch the butterflies hatch. Good luck on you endeavor.

[angiud]

Go out to the Butterfly and Insect Farm (It is near the more commercial Butterfly and Orchid place and the dreaded Monkey show. You can see the whole thing happening there. Buy the owners book. Butterflies of Thailandbu Pisuth Ek-Amnuay. He will give advice on how to go about things. It is a great book and explains with pictures all about butterfly rearing. He will have other simpler books there. The thing is you can see local Butterflies that do well in CM and also see their life stages and food. The hot, wet weather is best for butterflies but I spent a few days photographing around CM in January and had some success.

You can see a number of common species I got pictures of. I have identified most of them.

http://stevekeeling.smugmug.com/Category

Thailand has to be one of the best place sfro butterflies. Good luck.

Nothing more to add...

[misterkeeperofthereef]

The Atlas moth might beeup you alley. I came upon a cattapillar a few years ago . Looked around and found five more and put some of the branches with leaves i found them on.in one of those 180 spring up tents. It took a week but was able to watch the process from one end to the other. It is one of the most beautiful i have come across and also one of the largest. The wings have a pattern that looks like a cobra Head .