Where can I find caterpillars to rear or adult butterflies to sample?
The best places to find caterpillars in the wild are areas with milkweed plants. Successfully finding caterpillars and adult butterflies will depend on where you live and the time of year. In many areas, butterflies are not often found in the summer months. Sightings can be more common in the spring and fall periods durring migrations. Keep persistent! If you have kits and are not seeing butterflies, don’t give up–migrations may be just around the corner! The easiest places to fins caterpillars and adult butterflies are state parks, gardens, and other natural areas. Please always make sure when removing caterpillars or catching adult butterflies on private property or in botanical gardens to ask permission and/or notify the proper authorities. 3. Why do I need to wear gloves and try and maintain sterile conditions? The parasite spores are very small and very easy to accidentally spread around. It’s important to wear gloves to minimize the spread of spores from one sample to another. A
