Raising monarch butterflies

We ordered caterpillars from Insect Lore to watch them turn into monarch butterflies.  The process took about two weeks.  Fun to see the caterpillars get fatter and fatter, climb to the top the habitat to spin their cocoons, then burst free as full-fledged butterflies. 

We released the butterflies next to the passion flowers in the back yard (safely away from the grackles in the front yard, we hoped).  We'd seen monarchs around the passion flowers before.  But our monarchs zipped right past the passion flowers high into the sky and over the fence.  Wonder if they'll be back?

Before releasing the butterflies, we gave them an orange slice to feed on.  Hard to see in the photo but the butterfly has its proboscis out, drinking from the orange slice.  We hope the orange juice gave our  little guy or gal a good start in life!

After leaving the cocoon, we'd give the butterflies a day in the habitat before releasing them to make sure they could fly to the top with no problem.  This butterfly is ready for the great outdoors!