How to Hatch a Butterfly Cocoon (with video) – Hatching and releasing a butterfly from its cocoon is a fun and educational process for kids (and adults) to observe.
Finding the cocoons may be the most difficult part but I have managed to find a few in bushes behind our flower garden.
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We have a very kind mailman who is so considerate of my kids. Every Halloween he brings them pumpkins from his farm and they have a blast carving them and displaying them outside for all the trick-or-treaters. A couple of years ago, he dropped off some cocoons for my kids so they could see the butterflies hatch. We set up a place for the cocoons and shot some video of the butterflies hatching (video below).
How to Hatch a Butterfly Cocoon
Creating a safe environment for a cocoon to hatch into a butterfly is very easy. Simply tape a string across a jar full of grass or bucket and hang the cocoon to the string using a separate piece of tape via the string-like substance at the top of the cocoon.
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One of coolest parts about the whole process was how my kids taught me what to look out for. For example, when the cocoon turned darker, my son told me that was a sign the butterfly would be hatching soon. He was right, it was great to see how they put into practice the lessons they learned at school. They really enjoyed seeing it in real-life as compared to reading about it in a book.
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The first how to hatch a butterfly video shows the butterfly hatching. It’s kind of a slow process (I can see why the nature channels show it in fast motion), but still a beautiful sight. The second video shows the friendly, pretty butterfly crawling around on our hands.
For more info on how to hatch a butterfly cocoon, see this post in wikipedia.
