Okay. I found some caterpillars and i want to raise them what al should i do to keep them alive?

Question

[and what happens when it turns to a butterfly?

Answer 1

If you want to raise them successfully, you have to feed them properly. Like all larvae, caterpillars are simply eating machines. The best thing to do is to find out what they like to eat, the best thing to do is to give them leaves from the plant they you found them on, or find out what species they are and what they normally eat. Most caterpillars are specific to one or several varieties of plants, and must be fed these in order for them to molt and grow. I have raised several tropical and native caterpillars before and have found that the best thing to do is to either transplant their food plants in a terrarium and let them feed at their own pace, or simply add fresh leaves in their enclosure everyday.
Water may also be important, using a mist bottle, just lightly sprinkle some of the leaves, but dotn cover them, as they recieve lots of moisture from the plants anyways.
Once they pupate (form a coccoon) simply keep them in a well ventilated area, with a lamp. Keep the lamp on them for as long as the day is long and you should have no problem. You dotn want a light that immits too much heat, because they could possibly over heat.
Once the butterflies or moths emerge, keep the light on them as they will need this to dry out their wings, once they begin to fly on thier own, simply place them outside and let them go free. Butterflies are rather hard to keep because they are rather fragile and can easily damage thier wings in a terrarium.

I hope this helps!
And its good to see someone with an interest in entomology!

Answer 2

It is possible to raise caterpillars. Pick some of the leaves you found them on. This is their food. Take the leaves and caterpillars and place them in a small aquarium with a lid. You can use the plastic ones made for hermit crabs. Keep the leaves moist and replace as they dry out. Put some small sticks in for them to crawl on. You can add a damp paper towel to one end of the cage. They will eventually build cocoons or pupae and should hatch out. There is a good chance they are moths instead of butterflies, but unless you can ID the caterpillar its kind of a toss up.

Answer 3

If you are trying to raise caterpillars, you'll need to find out what kind of leaves they eat. Some are very, very specific. They'll starve if they don't have the right kinds. Some are not picky at all, like gypsy moth larva. So it's very difficult to say. You'll need to provide them with fresh leaves for a few weeks. The caterpillar will then either spin a coccoon or it will shed its outer skin to make a pupae. From then on you just wait. Some caterpillars pupate throughout the winter, and it does take the seasonal changes to trigger its emergence. Some pupate in a matter of days. Either way after it emerges I usually let them go. =]

Answer 4

You probably have tent caterpillars and they won't become butterflies, they wiill become moths... The best way to keep them alive is to put them back where you found them... Watch them in their natural environment...