How to Grow Grass Caterpillars

We actually made our grass caterpillars in April as part of our Earth Day explorations but our “quick grow” grass seed was not quite quick enough. Our little caterpillars did eventually become big fuzzy grass caterpillars, however, and I wanted to share them with you.

Our live caterpillars from Insect Lore just arrived and we are excited to see their metamorphosis into butterflies! In the meantime, we enjoy caring for these grass caterpillars.

Materials:

• nylon stockings/knee socks (the more open the weave, the better)
• potting soil
• grass seed (use a quick-grow variety or wheat grass)
• rubber bands or hair ties
• chenille stems / pipe cleaners
• googly eyes
• pom poms (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix the potting soil with the grass seed.

2. Pour into the nylon knee-high stocking. Tie off at the end and snip any excess.

3. Add rubber hands (or colorful hair ties) to segment the caterpillar.

4.  Wrap the middle of a chenille stem around the segment closest to the head. You can also wrap pom poms around each end to decorate the antennae.

5. Poke a chenille stem through the head where one eye should be and then out the other side. You can also use floral wire for this if you prefer. Glue on a googly eye on each end.

6. Make sure to water your caterpillars every day!

Keep watering!

And you’ll have fuzzy grass caterpillars!

Educational Connections:

• Ecology: Find out what plants caterpillars like to eat and plant some of those in your garden.
• Ecology: Learn more about the butterfly life cycle. Match different caterpillars to the butterflies they will become.
• Ecology: What do plants require to grow? What would happen if you did not water your grass? Grass requires a lot of water to grow–how does this affect the water supply during the summer? How can you reduce your use of water?