enclosure til release

[MNkristin]

This is my first season rearing monarchs, so far we have released 7. We did so shortly after releasing, letting them dry their wings in the sun. I have since learned it's better to wait longer. I have 7 chrysalides with 4 more soon to be. I have returned to grad school M-F, getting home at the earliest 1130am and 430pm at the latest depending on the day. Seems most folks wait at least 3hrs after eclosing to release, and up to 24 hrs. So from a time perspective I'm not concerned about not being home to release til later in the day. My concern is that currently the enclosures I have are smallish- a 1 gal ice cream bucket, a 1# salad shell, and an upside-down colander on a plate. At most there could be 2 butterflies at a time. Will these be too small for the butterfly to be in for possibly a number of hours til I can release them?

[Mona Miller]

http://www.monarchwatch.org/rear/index.htm
Rearing Monarchs

http://www.monarchwatch.org/rear/cages.htm
Ideas for Cages

If you put "cages" in the search up on the right, you'll get lots of other ideas.

[MNkristin]

Someone on monarch watch FB page states that she uses a pop-up mesh laundry hamper, it even has a lid that closes with velcro. What a great idea, cheap and super easy. but what I am wondering about for Right Now is regarding what I am currently using- if the butterflies will be okay in there until I can release them: 1-gal ice cream bucket, 1pound salad container, and upside down colander. each container would hold at most 2 butterflies at a time.
btw- i just released a boy

[Mona Miller]

They must have enough room to inflate their wings. They should have some padding, a papertowel will do in case they fall. They should have something they can crawl up if they fall. Sometimes they lose their grip and fall. If they can crawl over and up something, they can save themselves.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Whitmor-Colla ... er/9720304
Whitmor Collapsible Laundry Hamper

http://www.enasco.com/product/SB46623M
Larger
http://www.enasco.com/product/SB46624M
Smaller
I like these cages because they are predator proof. I can use them on my deck under my umbrella.