To begin, collect adult female butterflies with an aerial insect net and place them in the cage to harvest eggs. Place the host plants in pots or in containers with water to maintain the leaf pressure. In case of direct egg collection and transfer to diet, attach a host plant leaf to the top of a plastic cup of water using a rubber band.
Then, stretch a piece of Parafilm around the cup's edge, so that females touching the leaf will oviposit onto the Parafilm. Spray the cage with water to maintain the relative humidity high in the cage. If potted plants are watered in the cage, place a towel under the pot to prevent water pooling and to protect butterflies from becoming trapped.
Prepare 10%honey water for butterfly feeding. Then, to set up the feeder, rinse the yellow or orange sponges thoroughly with tap water and cut them into small squares. Place the sponges in 60 millimeter plastic Petri dishes and add honey water to them.
Change the feeders daily and clean the sponges in a mild bleach solution, followed by thorough rinsing with tap water to prevent mold growth.
