Life Cycle of a Caterpillar

I was (grudgingly) doing yard work yesterday, which I generally HATE (strange considering I'm a total outdoors person, but I feel like adding work into it just ruins the fun). As I pulling weeds I saw 2 bright green wiggly things. I bent closer and saw they were CATERPILLARS!! I gently picked them up and found a third one. I ran inside and got a disposable plastic tub that previously had Safeway soup, and poked some holes in the lid.

I took the critters back outside with me a put some leaves and sticks in the tub for them to nibble and crawl around while I worked some more. As I pulled more weeds I took an extra careful look at each one. By the time I was done with my work I had 10!!!! Actually I swear there were 11, but I think one escaped.

So what does a teacher do when she finds a bunch of caterpillars! Decides her next science unit of course!! I would have titled this post "life cycle of a butterfly" but to be perfectly honest, my kids might be learning the "life cycle of a creepy ugly moth!" I really don't know what these will look like. But for now the little critters are pretty darn cute!

Two tried to escape... and I think a 3 was successful because I count one less than I thought I originally had. Or I was tired and forgot how to count to 10...either one is possible. 

Last year I ordered butterfly caterpillars and they all died. I'm convinced they were half dead on arrival because they only lasted 24 hours. Any tips on how to keep these critters alive? I decided fresh food from my backyard everyday might be the trick. The last critters didn't seem to like the "nutrient" stuff that came in their jar.