I would cut the bottom out of the green net so as not to scrape the milkweed leaves when removing it potentially knocking off eggs in the process. I think you could keep it tight enough to the ground so the female couldn't escape, I am raising my first 14 Monarchs they just started coming out of metamorphosis. 3 so far 1 with a damaged wing an 11 chrysalisalide hanging. Released 2 today and 1 hanging. These videos have been amazing and have set me on a serious Monarch farming adventure. You really feel the power of life when you do this.
We've been raising wild-caught monarch cats for many years, supplying them to teachers at an elementary school, and then helping the kids tag the new adults. This video had us running to the store to get the pop up laundry basket. Two days later a female monarch was on our coneflowers, and wham! Placed her in the basket over a milkweed plant (we have a few hundred in our "yard"), and next day when we released her, we had 112 eggs! Dug up the whole plant and potted it to bring inside. The eggs are 36-48 hours old now. Can't wait to see if they hatch!
Sharon Mohney That is awesome! Sounds like those cats are in good hands! I know that with this method, it will save me plenty of time. I hope it works out well for you. Keep us all posted!
Inspired by your work and learned enough from your videos that I'm starting to help save the Monarchs. Funny store... all day yesterday my son and I were looking for milkweed plants in every Nursery in our area. After hours and hours I gave up and ordered plants online. After spending an obscene amount of money to make sure I had enough grown plants.. I came to work today and realized the parking lot is FULL of milkweed! I'm ready to get started and so excited to enjoy the process and help the Monarchs!
Yeah, once you get an eye for the plant, you'll notice it much more often. I've had great luck sometimes with checking the random isolated plant growing by a stop sign or alley dumpster, finding eggs on lonely plants such as these. Great to hear you feel ready! It's a very rewarding experience.
Hello Rich. Yesterday was my last hatch, I am now up to 20 Monarchs. I have seen no cats in at least a week. And no Monarchs except for my own. In my area anyway. Checking the weeds daily for eggs. Spotted several of what I think are eggs just waiting to be sure. I have made up a poster and set it up outside the rock shop by my milkweeds and made up a bunch of flyer's to give out to customers. Save The Milkweeds Save The Monarchs!!! Then I put in your site so whomever is interested can go and see for themselves. I will keep you posted 👍
Hey, that's awesome. These videos were certainly made to try to help any who want the info be able to get it. Thanks for helping to spread the word. I went on a road trip to St. Joseph, MI, then down along the west side of the state further south. I checked much milkweed, but found nothing. I'm still at a grand tally of zero eggs this summer... Really hope this changes and I can at least get some 4th generation eggs/cats/adults and send them off with my students.
I appreciate that for sure. I would have replied to you sooner, but there has been a bug with specifically your comment for some reason, and I never could have replied until strangely now. Thanks for the kind words!
Greetings to you. I'm not quite sure about pomegranate plants and how tasty they are to the caterpillars. Monarchs will almost exclusively lay eggs only on milkweed species. I have not heard of them laying on much else, nor have I heard of caterpillars eating pomegranate leaves. I can say, usually if there is evidence of leaves being eaten, if it is indeed Monarch caterpillars, they should still be around to find. I don't think you'll find them though. It's just not known to be their diet. Again, I could be wrong, and would be interested to hear if you do find them. I'd search and try to positively identify what has been eating your leaves. Good luck!
Hey I am from deep south texas close to the southern mexican border and no doubt that many of the beautiful monarchs i am seeing here are from your batch....u r doing a great job.
A few points: 1. make sure to check the plants for predators (spiders, assassin bugs, lacewing, ladybug, and hoverfly larvae, etc.) 2. during the day, mist the cage with water, the butterflies need water 3. give the container some shade so the butterfly will not overheat 4. I usually hand feed the butterfly before collecting eggs
Lol comment above. Don't think butterflies get overheated. They thrive in sunshine. My friend does this + she has butterflies flying in her house. Awesome...
Mr. Lund! Warm weather in So California this week has led to Monarch sightings and....(drum roll please!) EGGS! I harvested about 25 eggs this afternoon. Monarch Season 2017 - is GAME ON!
It’s wonderful witnessing the possibility of an increase to the Monarchs population! Rock Music as the background music for the gracefulness of a butterfly, interesting combo. Learned something new today. Keep up the good work.
Hi Rick.. In the Summer of 2014, (with a friend who showed me how) I raised \ released 14 Monarchs into the wild. Had never done this before. I found it to be a bitter\sweet accomplishment, as I knew only a small number (if any) would ever make it to Mexico and return for the 2015 season. I did not see one Monarch for 2015.... How sad!!! After watching your entire series on Monarchs and Milkweed; I am renewed!! And will continue the fight to save these majestic butterflies. Thank-You for your time and efforts, in publishing your videos.
So pleased to hear that your passion is back! More Monarch videos are coming this summer, amidst some other ones too. I'm hoping those who are here for the Monarchs will also enjoy some "at home" science from my Indy Labs vids, along with some science raps in the form of "Atomic Hip Hop". If you haven't checked out those videos on the channel, I'd be thrilled if you did and found something to your liking. In the meantime, I'm here to answer questions all summer long, and if I don't know the answer, well, that definitely gives me a reason to research it and find out! Good luck with your efforts!
That was fast!! Thanks for the RE:.. I wish I could do more; but at the ripe, young age of 67, more days than not are not as good as they could be.. I have enough Milkweed in my yard to support the feeding of 25 - 30 "worms" (I hope that term doesn't offend you). Some of my neighbors have threatened to turn me in to the town for allowing these "weeds" to grow. I've tried to explain the dire need for the Milkweed, but seems to fall on deaf ears. So far; I have not had any visitors from the town. Perhaps I'm being humored or maybe there are folks whom are aware of the situation with the Monarch and refuse to take action... So I will continue on. I have some seed pods from 2014. Will see if I can get some sprouts growing. I know it's a bit late, but there is still a lot Summer left here in So. Eastern CT. Take Care,
Worms does not offend me. I call them cats, sometimes, and they definitely aren't mammals. As for your neighbors, best you can do is try to educate them on the reasons behind it. Other than that, if it's on your property and no laws forbid it, plant yourself like a tree and don't move from your belief of what's right to do. You could, however, attempt to get the word out to non-neighbors. The more people in your immediate area who understand the problem, the better. Another option, too, is if your neighbors disagree with it, you could still educate them on the plight of the Monarch, and perhaps propose where an area in neighborhood could be devoted to milkweed, like in a nearby part or otherwise. Putting the milkweed somewhere visible, with added information signs can help efforts too. Either way, you're already helping, so congrats on your efforts!
Hi Rick, Just had a fantastic idea... What if we were to create a "National Monarch Rescue Station" site that would propagate future generations of the Monarch. We could do a National map of where every Rescue Station is located with the total number of butterflies raised and released for each Summer season. This could give us a pretty good idea of where the concentrations were located through-out the Country. We could add links where folks could buy Monarch eggs if they have not had any natural success with finding them. (I have seen these.. One that comes to mind is Amazon). Haven't checked it out. We could post some simple cage designs with basic instructions on how to build a cage. You have already done the major steps with your videos. I do not own a video camera (as of yet) but I suppose I could eat hot-dogs for a few weeks if I were to buy one to demonstrate cage building. I am pretty good at making drawings in MS Word as well. Your thoughts are more than welcome.. I have built a few web pages; but it was a number of years ago before all of this "meta" stuff came into play. I must admit; a lot of the new web design technology is probably beyond my comprehension. (I'll leave it at that) Happy Egg Hunting..
I gotta say, I get the biggest kick out of seeing your t-shirts. This has to be one of my favorites so far. Dude! You are totally amazing! Once I get set up with an abundance of milkweed, I am absolutely giving this a try! Thank you for all that you do and sharing it with us!! YOU ROCK!!
Times when I've done it, it makes it easier to take in the numbers I hope to take in, without burning countless hours in the field. I do this still when seasons are late or running low. No need to do it this year!
To answer your question: Yes, butterflies can indeed lay unfertilised eggs. I had a Papilio Polytes laying unfertilised eggs on a citrus plant in my conservatory. I knew they were infertile cause they never mated- the male died a few hours after hatching (Spider attack).
Hello Rich. I have 8 chrysalis and a doz cats. first monarch was around the first week in June. Only 4 all month. This month none so far. Got to be here but just not seeing them. I work inside but have a great view of well over three hundred milkweeds. I bring in the cats and take care of them in my shop. Doing pretty much the same things you are doing to take care of them. I really appreciated your videos. Some Awesome info!!!. Don't know if I have enough time to start with eggs but may try a few. I met your colleague a couple days as he and his family were visiting benzie county. He directed me to you and your videos. You keep filming and I'll keep watching. Thanks again!! Dean
That's awesome, Dean. Which colleague? Are we talking Miller? You mention that they must be here, and you're just not seeing them... Well, I checked my journal, and by this time last year, I was up to 15 eggs. So far, I've found zero eggs. I found one caterpillar at the Detroit Zoo about 4 weeks ago, which has since emerged as an adult and has been released. But since then, I've found nothing. My usual spots have produced eggs by now, and they aren't. I'm keeping the fingers crossed, so to speak, and hoping that the Mexican winter storm they faced in March just slowed the process for a few days, and they are just a bit behind schedule. I have a full on egg hunt planned for tomorrow. We'll see!
i know this is an old video and im not sure you still look at comments, but i just wanted to thank you for all your videos! theres not a lot of milkweed in my area but ive successfully raised one monarch so far! i hope to plant tons of milkweed in the fall so there will be more next year :)
Omgosh! Amazing! I have been raising monarchs from eggs for 4 years now and was thinking this year I am not finding as many eggs as last year. They all hatched and lucky you! It can be alot of work...but if u can find the milkweed plants to feed them all.. hey... awesome!! U are right this isnt for everyone. But it IS FOR ME! THANK U FOR ALL YOUR VIDS! I am called the butterfly whisperer by my neighbors..🐛🦋 The Monarch is Illinois' state butterfly!! Shout out from a suburb in northern Illinois!
Why not keep the cage over the milkweed plants and let the eggs hatch on the plants. Then bring the plants inside and put them in water containers inside a butterfly cage to rear the caterpillars.
I am in the UK - I am fascinated by the Monarch butterly - sometimes they accidentally migrate here too - I have two well maintained Milkweed containers in my garden that I always check for eggs! I also plant Coneflowers too!
That truly amazes me. I've never heard of that before, but investigated it based upon your comment and yep, they do at times head to the United Kingdom. I seriously had no idea about that! Part of what I love about doing this videos is how much those commenting teach me things. So cool. I hope you get the chance to rear some eggs! To be honest, if I were in your shoes, I'd be terribly tempted to capture a few to try and breed them so I could experience raising some. Keep us posted if you happen to get some little Monarch surprises!
Hi.Heads up on how to get more Milkweed plants. Had trimmings left over from cuttings I trimmed to feed my cats. Decided to try something different. Took a 8 ounce plastic water bottle and put 1/8 teaspoon of rooting hormone in it, filled it with water and shook it till hormone disolved. Scraped bark off cutting on opposite sides and put it into the bottle. That was 4 days ago. Look today. Looked today. Could not believe my eyes. Roots growing out of all the cutting. I believe hormone water was the trick. Easy way to get a jump on getting mature planes quicker. Do not forget to vote.
Thank you so much for your inspirational videos. I followed your lead and have just released 21 Monarchs into our SW Florida neighborhood. I discovered a great way to “ serve up “ my Giant Milk weed leaves vertically! It is like a toast rack made from tooth picks pushed into a foam base. Works great and keeps the caterpillars well fed,. SYLVIA SHIRLEY Port Charlotte FL
Hi. My jacked up Monarch female passed this A/M. Will miss her. I talked to her and believe it or not when she heard my voice she would turn her head in my direction. Who knows what these animals are capable of. Plant I brought in to protect Chrysalis on rim of pot had 9 eggs on it and they are starting to hatch. Fortunately I have my own supply of milkweed to feed them and a nursery close by in case I run dry that does not spray insecticide on its plants. Hopefully I will have something to release on Halloween as the orange and black colors of the Monarch do go with the holiday. Happy trick or treating.
Yes, a monarch on the 31st would be fitting in color, wouldn't it? Sorry to hear of the passing of your female, but at least she had experiences to enjoy before her time. If you're feeling in the Halloween mood, have you seen the new Tungsten Clan song, "Who's The Monster?", which is a rap battle between The Doctor and The Creature from Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein"? If that sounds like it's up your alley, give it a look: th-cam.com/video/wfAxzn8dA2A/w-d-xo.html We definitely put a lot of work into this one!
Takeing care of Monarch that was born with only one working wing. Feed her honey water 3 times a day. Like takeing care of a baby The one that was born without a closed probiscus died today. Another one for the Butterfly bush. Finally gave up on last 4 that I had from the big hatch. Put them in the garbage to prevent disease. I found a Monarch cat this morning so I guess I'm back in business. Thank you for all the informative videos. They were as good or better than most professional videos on the subject. Thanks again.
That's a pretty strong compliment. Thanks! I'm just a guy, trying to help out some butterflies. I'm nowhere near professional. But I'm so glad that many find help with these videos. I have two more for this year on their way. Might take a bit of time, though, as some others non-Monarch related are scheduled before them.
Hello, Rich. Hubby and I have been actively trying to find and raise Monarchs for several years, here in Madison, Wisconsin. Last year I discovered your extremely well-done videos, and because of them, I feel much more confident for this summer project. Thank you! I'm anxiously waiting for you to continue your 2017 series. Although we search our yard for cats every year, we have never found more than three cats in any particular summer. Two years ago, we raised two from 3rd or 4th instar stage to adults, and one perished when the chrysalis failed to attach strongly to the top of the critter cage, and fell. I thank you for the video on Chrysalis Repair. Hopefully, we will catch that problem quickly enough to fix it if necessary. There are at least three different types of milkweed that either grow wild or we have grown from seed and planted in several places on our 1/4 acre yard. We've grown Asclepias Tuberosa (Butterfly Weed) for many years, have a corner of the lot where we leave the common milkweed alone, have grown from seed and continue to plant more each year of Swamp Milkweed, grow from seed the annual Tropical Milkweed in pots, and recently obtained three plants of Purple Milkweed, which is not in the ground yet! Because of this and our devotion to perennial gardens of Yarrow, Bee Balm, Cone Flowers, and Black-eyed Susans, we have recently become certified as a Monarch Waystation by Monarch Watch. Last year, we found ZERO cats here on our lot, but we're feeling much better about the plight of the Monarch this year. Although we haven't seen any adult Monarchs this year visiting our yard, or really anywhere that we've noticed, we found five 4th and/or 5th instar cats in the past 24 hours! Four of the five cats look as if they could J-hang very soon. We currently have them in random containers with window screening covering, held in place with rubber bands. Two are in a 5 qt ice cream bucket, one in a 2 qt Rubbermaid container, and the littler one is in a shallow take out food container. After watching your video using the spiral hamper to encourage egg laying, we invested in two of them. We don't have a screened porch, but we do have a long table in the room off our deck that from late April to late May is used to aid in hardening off the dozens of tomato and pepper starts we raise for co-workers, friends, and family. We dragged our heels at putting the tables away this year, and they're very convenient for the three containers our five cats are munching and pooping in. I guess we're ready if we catch a female in the wild and are fortunate enough to get her to lay eggs on. Questions: [1] Do you recommend a source for buying a good quality butterfly net? [2] Critter cages? I don't know if we are quite ready to raise 90 at once! We have plenty of milk weed plants, but I don't know if we could house the cats properly, but more so I worry about how to keep that many chrysalides sheltered. [3] Would an UNSCREENED porch (facing west) be suitable for running the string on which to mount the chrysalides? Thank you for reading. We are big fans!
Greetings Jeri (and Hubby), and that sounds like some cool work with your Way Station. If you do successfully "milk" a female for eggs, yeah, do it for much less time than I did. I too wasn't sure I was ready for 90 at once. I did it, and with a good success rate, but many things during that time had to go on the back burner. It was a very large time commitment. As for the chrysalis repair, I'm happy to have made that video, but the "Eclose Without Hanging" video trumps it. Repair, it would seem, is not necessary. As long as the chrysalis is in tact, it can develop even on its side. If you haven't watched it yet, check it out, as it could save you some time next time around if it happens: th-cam.com/video/kxCzr89Ck3E/w-d-xo.html To answer your questions: 1) I don't have a specific company or anything, but I would say, don't get your typical store bought net. The *deeper* the net, the better (and safer) for the butterflies or whatever you are attempting to capture. If the net it turned sideways, the length of the net that is below the bottom of the opening circle should be more than the diameter of the opening. Does that make sense? Another way of saying the same thing is, the entire depth of the net should be *at least* twice the length of the diameter. That way, when you swing the net and something is captured in it, you can give it a quick 90 degree angle rotation and the net is "closed" but there's still plenty of room for the insect within the net. 2) The cages I recommend are the "to go" containers that I show in the videos for when t he caterpillars are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd instar, and when they are 4th and 5th, I recommend the plastic terrariums I show (mostly in Parts 3 and 4). I know that those containers for the 4th and 5th instar are expensive, but they also are durable enough to last for years. I've had the same for as long as I've been doing this. I like them for the easy ventilation they provide. However, cheaper tupperware containers could be used, provided enough holes are put in them for ventilation, yet not large enough for the cats to get out. 3) You absolutely could run string outside without the screened in porch. That porch was just a "bonus" already there when we bought the house. It gives me the advantage of getting to test the emerging Monarchs, though, should they emerge when I'm not home, as they don't get to go anywhere until I release them. But yeah, I understand not most people will have such a porch. It's totally NOT a necessity. Great work with your efforts. Seriously! I'm loving the enthusiasm. Keep it up!
Thanks for writing back! The random tupperware containers and ice cream buckets are covered with window screening, so the entire top is ventilated. Today we found two more large cats, and Hubby completed the two-day training through UMinnesota's Monarch Joint Venture. We are excited and ready for the summer. After watching your two videos on OE today, I became worried that it's a risk to encourage egg laying with the hamper. What if the mama is infected with OE?
The most important video plans for this summer is testing out a way to prevent OE, *even if* the mother had spores and deposited them on the leaves/eggs. I've heard about it, and it involves bleach solution to cleanse the eggs. If the bleach is diluted enough, it kills spores without harming the eggs (apparently). I'm excited to give it a shot, but can't really coach on it yet, as I've not done it before. Still, if you look up "bleaching monarch eggs", you'll find information that is already available on the internet that discusses the technique. In the mean time, I wouldn't let the threat of OE discourage efforts. Whether it is from milking a female or just collecting eggs found, the chance of OE would still be present. If you do feel concerned, though, you could milk, and then test out the bleach method for yourself. (Perhaps, though, try to do it with just a few eggs first to get the hang of it.)
This was amazing that you did this. The time it will save I can only imagine. I had the problem of running out of milkweed this summer with 90 cats but was able to find some to feed them. I am now growing and starting all types and next summer will be ready, I have done lot of research and find al of your videos to be the best and answered all my questions. Some of the other sites you have to look all over the place t find what you need to know Thank you so much Sue
Thanks Sue! And I'll keep 'em coming. Shot a new one today, which is currently being edited. In the meantime, if you know others into science in general, feel free to check out some of the other types of videos here. Indy Labs is meant to be some fun at home science for kids (or adults), and if you enjoy the occasional Science Hip Hop, you can find that here as well. New Raising Monarchs soon!
Seasons Greetings everyone. Had my 3 jacked up cats in the mesh enclosure and they were doing fine. I got pneumonia and on Xmas Day went to the hospital for a week. My daughter who was visiting for the holidays with her family was place in charge of my "3 friends." She decided that because I had 2 Milkweed plants in pots outside that were flowering that they might enjoy the fresh air, sunshine and being on natural habitat. So she put ithe milkweed plant into the enclosure with them. She could not believe how animated they became. They were all over the plant jumping from flower to flower. Said she was glad that she did as they seemed to really enjoy it. A little latter on my Grandson said that he thought 2 of them were really enjoying the plant. And they were. Looked the plant over yesterday and found 8 1/2 inch Cats and a few eggs. Now we know that even deformed Monarchs can mate and keep the species alive. I now have a new argument for those who say I should " terminate cripples."I never expected to be raising cats in January. Hope my Milkweed lasts. Has anyone else ever done this? Would like to know.
That's certainly some encouraging info. While it's sad if they can't fly, I've usually gone the route of still releasing. They at least get to experience their senses and what nature has to offer, stimulating their antennae and such. Plus, birds and other predators do need to eat at least one to start learning the lesson that they taste bad and that those colors/pattern should be avoided, so even a flightless one can still contribute to the species that way. Great to hear that yours contributed in a much more successful way!
Hi. Had to get a friend to move my milkweed buckets from outside into the living room as we are going to have a freeze tonight. I do not want to get caught again.
Monarch Alert!!!! Just went out to check the weeds for cats and spotted a Monarch. Might of found two eggs. Got to get the magnifier to be sure. Still working on the I.D. aspect. I have been doing this since 2012 and started keeping track 2013. I will have some numbers for you later today. Got to get my rock saws and my tumblers going. Been into lapidary for years. Your colleagues name is Caleb. He paid a visit to the C&M Rock Shop where I work. My boss mentioned that I raised Monarchs and it went from there. Wasn't sure if I should of made that public. Good luck on your egg hunt! 👍
Hey Mr. Lund, after seeing your video I went the local nursery and they gave me a Milkweed with pods for free!! :) :) They even pulled out a root for me. So I've planted the root and hope that it will survive North East winter. I've seen your "how to get seeds and plant milkweed" video. Thanks so much :) Please make more video. You're my favorite guy right now :)
I have enjoyed your videos! I live in Florida, purchased some milkweed to "help out" and since viewing your information have raised 15 monarchs to chrysalis! They will be emerging any day now. As a bonus, I went and checked my plants and found more eggs which are now caterpillars - 20! I believe they will fly and winter at St Mark's wildlife refuge near Tallahassee. Thank you for the information, they are a joy.
+Adel Partlo In Michigan, we are definitely done for a while. But it's so awesome to hear this kind of news in December. I get to enjoy the process vicariously through my southern state friends! Thank you so much for not only taking up the effort, but for leaving the comment that helps testify to others that yes, this can help, and planting milkweed WILL make a difference! (And thanks to ALL of you for commenting and telling us of your success!)
+Adel Partlo Thank you for your response! I now have 2 Monarch butterflies and the rest are well on their way. This is only possible because I followed your 5 videos on "how-to". Thank you! Surprisingly though the 2 emerged this evening right at dusk. I don't know what they will do till morning. But it is warm here and the milkweed is right next to them. I guess the surprise was they came out at night, I did not know they would do that. But again thank you. I could not of done this without your help. I have been telling my friends here they can also do it and to just watch your videos. I gave my grand daughter 2 caterpillars and a milkweed plant and they are going to watch your videos and give it a try. I think the whole family is now involved. So glad you made those videos.
+Adel Partlo I haven't had any emerge at night, so that surprises me as well. What time did you first notice them? I have had some come out very early in the morning, as early as 6am. I've also had some come out as late as 8pm in the summer. In both cases, the sun was always out. I started to get the impression that something internal can sense if the warmth of the day has arrived. There have also been days where a chrysalis is all translucent and looks like it'll emerge that day, but the weather hasn't been too nice. It may have been a rain storm that day, or just cloudy, cooler than usual weather. The butterflies, in those few cases, have put off emerging for a day. From the look of the chrysalis, I thought they might then come out at night, but they would hold off until the next morning. At any rate, thanks for passing on the videos, and a definite special thanks for getting the younger generation involved and teaching them some conservation efforts! Those memories last a long time!
+MrLundScience Regarding the "2" now that emerged in the evening: It gets dark here now between 5-5:30pm. One was out around 4:40pm and then another one came out at 5:30pm to my surprise. I used a flashlight to see him on my deck (they are hanging on my chrysalis line protected under my glider swing awning - no screen porch to use). Last night the temp was in the mid 60's. Both are now warming up as the day gets warmer and they are starting to dry their wings. I expect they will continue during the day and go to the milkweed right next to them. So I guess these lil ones internal compass was off as I thought they would sleep until morning light. I was also surprised as the chrysalis looked black a day before they turned. I thought they would go from green to clear, I guess it was just the transaction of colors. Was that normal, or is it because it is getting cooler here? All my other chrysalis are doing the same thing, and they are monarchs. Also I am encouraging my friends and family to plant milkweed. Since they are not as dedicated to raising some like I have learned, I have asked them to have the plants so passerby Monarchs can have some food on their journey! Thank you!!!!!
+Adel Partlo Have you seen the other videos in the "Raising Monarchs" series yet? When the chrysalis is going about its normal business and turns translucent, it is mostly black, but eventually you also will see the orange pattern on the wings coming through. So, does it turn "black" or "translucent"? The better answer would be "translucent" and thus, allows you to see the mostly black body. If you see the other videos in the series, this is shown very much, especially "Raising Monarchs Part 5".
Hello Rich.. Don't know if I checked in with you last season or not. Too many comments to go through to see. My total was 76. But.... This being my ninth season has been the best ever. Amazing if I do say so myself. I raised and released 231 monarchs and tagged 25. If only one of them makes it and gets reported back to me would really make my day. My first cat was June 10 and it into chrysalis on the 19th. On 7 July I gathered up 65 cats in one day. Hadn't been back to that area for a week. All in different stages of instar. Being that early and that many cats I knew then it was going to be a stellar season. My last cat was 9/4 and I'm sure there were more around but I had to wind down my season for some issues. It was getting harder to take care of all of them at the rock shop so I bought half of them home. I had a ton of rocks to polish for customers. ( Petoskey Stones ) Busy season for sure! That's where I meet Caleb and got turned on to your videos. Which by the way are still watched over and over. And again thank you for all you do! 👍 I did some plugging for you. Handed out flyers to just about everyone that came into the shop. People were stopping by just to see the monarchs. And one my co-workers got in touch with a reporter ( much to my surprise ) who then came in to do an interview with me for the local news paper. So I mentioned you and your videos. Just wanted to spread the word. The paper is called the Betsie Current. Lastly... Where were you on September 3rd? We were on our way home from work and started seeing monarchs everywhere. In an hour's drive we counted over 300 in the 45 minute drive to home. And when we got home we sat out in the back yard counted twice that many. Totally Amazing. Had several friends calling me up letting me know what they were seeing.
Where was I on Sept. 3rd? Can't say I totally recall. I think I was skating around the Lansing area, as it was one of the last "days of summer" to do such before being in full teacher mode. Very cool that you're continuing to spread the message and that your local paper has taken notice! Awesome stuff. And it's great to hear that you had a successful season! It's very nice when it goes well. The year I found only about 15% of what I normally do, that was a bummer of a year. But, it can be hit or miss, and those things happen. Great wrapping up of the season!
Hello Rich. This morning numbers 51, 2 ,3, and 4 hatched out. I have a dozen chrysalises go and one hanging. Found a cat yesterday. Last year's last cat was on the 7th of this month and hatched out the 12th of Oct. Might have to put this one on a bus to Toledo to give it a head start. Thanks for all your help, info, and input this season Rich. About a dozen less than last year. But still worth it.
I always feel that when there's less, that likely means it's even more important. I had 29 total released this year, assuming my very last one that is in chrysalis now makes it. I tested every one, and one had the OE bacteria spores and could not be released, taking my number from 30 to 29. However, that was my only loss. Again, assuming the current chrysalis makes it. I'm still casually looking at milkweed, hoping to find as you did some that are at the tail end of the season. There's always hope of that awesome September find!
Thanks for uploading this video! I happened to find 3 young Monarch caterpillars at a friends house. I took them home and raised them up. Two have turned into butterflies, just have one chrysalis left.
Let 4 out yesterday in A/M. 1 today. Brings total to 40. 6 to go. Some look damaged. Had male born yesterday with a probiscus that did not come together. Put him in with female with deformed wing. Hopefully love will bloom. I'm off to nursery to purchase another milkweed plant. The female with withered wing was put on a cotton ball drenched with honey water yesterday.. Had to show her how to eat from it yesterday. Not so today. Placed her near it and she jumped on it and started eating. Amazeing how quick these animal learn. Also, my Swallowtail cat is still with us. Does not move unless touched but there is still life in him.
Stupified! Ypu are so fortunate to have access to enough milkweed to do this. Just amazing. I think perhaps half the time you confined the butterfly would have been better, that way her genetics would have been spread out further on other milkweed plants. But, just my opinion. I applaud your work in helping to save the Monarchs and wish you all the best.
I put my indoor plants outside to get more eggs to raise. Also got milkweed bug eggs. In order to get rid of these unwanted critters I came up with a new way of doing it without harming the Monarch eggs. I went to the dollar store and bought a jar of bubbles. Bubbles have more glycerine than dish detergent. I used a small hobby paint brush and was able to get rid of every unwanted egg without harming the Monarch eggs. Did a complete plant in about 10-15 minutes. And my wife will be happy that there are no bugs in the house. And when Mama is happy everyone is happy.
An interesting idea. What specifically did you do with the bubbles? What type of bubbles are you referring to? Like, bubble solution that kids (or fun adults) blow bubbles with?
Hi. Sorry I'm late replying. New to this. I bought childrens bubbles. For blowing bubbles. Used a artist paint brush and daubed it on the Milkweed bugs only. Allowed great control. Did this out in front of my home. Every time a neighbor drove by I started blowing bubbles. I would have loved to been able to read their minds.
We, brother & myself used to raise Cecropias ..a female was secured and placed on a live boxelder tree , a sapling , a six footer of so. ....a cheese cloth or similar tight weeve cloth was sealed \wraped around the limb to prevent escape ....the following day the " trap" was inspected and usually a male was discovered ...subsequently the female would deposit eggs and the netting would remain on the limb. Increasing in size, the grubs had to be moved to fresh limbs until finally pupating. Always keep the caterpillars protected with netting against the predator fly ..thanks...
In Iowa. Retrieved 83 eggs from a female Monarch, using your mesh clothes hamper idea!. I give many of mine away to kids and friends. Hatched 65 myself, down to 20 of my own that are just started forming chrysalis yesterday. Right now 3 are chrysalis, 8 are in J form, and the rest are still munching. My grandsons preschool has 2, should be in chrysalis by the time they leave school today. Great idea retrieving a mass of eggs at the same time. Pretty easy! Thanks! I raised these in mason jars. I use mesh interfacing on top of jar, makes great surface for cats to form chrysalis. Since I gave so many away, I could handle the rest in jars. Need to build a few simple cages to do this again. We have plenty of milkweed, so it's been fun! My husband thinks I'm a little crazy, but he enjoys them too. Right now I need to figure how I'm going to hang the 20 chrysalis I'll have! Need to review you're other videos again. Thanks again for the GREAT tip! So much easier, and productive, than searching for eggs. Plus catch them before ant predators get to them. These will probably heading to Mexico! Wish I had gotten tags!
Becky, that is FLAT OUT awesome! You're one of the first to tell me that they too have used this technique, and I'm thrilled that it was successful for you! I'm still at ZERO eggs this summer, which is weird. I'm easily over 100 by this time in previous years. If I find a female Monarch I'll be trying this technique again. Good luck with your efforts, and thank you so much for helping out!
Okay -- one of the chrysalis doesn't have enough to clip to a string. I tried your glue method (which worked on another one), but I couldn't get it to work on this one. The cremaster is too short to attach. Any other ideas? Can it just stay laying down until it's time to emerge? . . . but then what?
Reply to my own question . . . It sounds like 1) A hardened chrysalis can actually emerge if you place it laying down near a mesh type surface that the butterfly can climb up and hang from. It's critical that the newly emerged butterfly has a way to hang upside down while it's wings fill out and it dries. 2) If a cat falls "before" it actually forms a chrysalis -- it can pupate (form a chrysalis) while lying down. Try to watch for it's cremaster emerging, and see if you can get it to attach to a Q-tip -- and then hang it up. You don't want the chrysalis to harden while lying down, it gets a flat spot. (I actually just lost one that came loose while it was in a "J" -- I didn't think it could live, so didn't even attempt to keep it. I wish I knew this trick yesterday . . . )
Yes. After I posted the Chrysalis Repair video, a few spoke up and corrected me. (And to any reading this, please understand, I love being corrected! Learning accurate information is WAY more important to me that ever being "right".) I had been told by some good resources that they couldn't emerge lying down. Goes to show, we all have to do our homework, as trust me, this resource has some quality information otherwise, but they were wrong about this. Thus, I do have plans to make a video bringing up this necessary correction, and actually showing some laying down emerging. However, nature doesn't need to comply with my desires. It is July 25th, and I still have found ZERO eggs... I'm pretty bummed. I had plans for at least three more videos, but without the actual stars, it's tough to do. Can't really show how to test for OE on Monarchs without actual Monarchs, right? Thanks for the tips, and for taking it upon yourself to add your results of your research to the comments!
Greetins one and all. I live in Florida and if you have been watching the news you will know that the weather here has been something to experience. I have 10 Milkweeed plants in buckets and knowing that we were going to get up to 150 MPH winds, and torrential rain I went out and stripped all my Milkweed plants of all Monarch eggs, Cats and Chryslises and brought them into the house for safety. All 34 of them. Once again the dining room table has been turned into a hatchery. At the height of the storm I looked out the window to check on my "food" supply. I could not believe how the Milkweed plants were "rideing "the storm. They were getting hit with tremendous wind and like Bamboo they just bent before it. No resistance to wind. Plants were bent at 90 degree angles with no damage what so ever. Went out after the storm to inspect plants. They were clean as a whistle. No sign of any kind of insect life on plants. Was amazing to me that tthe plants survived. First Monarch born last night. Female. Life goes on. Have a happy. J Costello
Great job dude... I’m just starting to attempt this in Redondo Beach, CA... it’s almost winter now and I still have caterpillars growing and changing... I wonder how long they will keep living when it gets into the 40’s at night here?
A Michigan guy like me would at first think that's crazy, but others on the West Coast have said that they too have Monarchs still in caterpillar or chrysalis stages. That's wild! I hope they do well for you.
Wow you are just amazing !! This is a big commitment we need more homeowners to plant a butterfly garden instead of those useless shrubs and plants that nurseries offer . I have a monarch caterpillar on my ice ballet milkweed do I need to do something to protect it or it’s fine on its own ? Thanks keep your good work.
Thanks for the kind words. For the caterpillar that you have out there, just be aware, nature is not a kind place for caterpillars. It's brutal. Statistically, depending upon which study you read, there's between a 3% and 10% chance of an egg making it to an adult. So, it's up to you if you wish to just root for the little bugger, or if you want to go further and take him/her into a controlled environment. But, either way, having the milkweed out there is already helping!
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Had 2 Monarchs born today. Have 2 more in Chrysalis and 1 cat in jug getting ready to J hook any day now. I am still checking Milkweed every day for eggs because I see a occasional butterfly around the flower beds in this community. Hopefully I will be able to nurture more to adulthood and to be released. 2 born today will be released tomorrow weather permitting.
Enjoy my envy! All the milkweed in my locale is dead (dormant, of course) and there won't be any monarchs anytime soon. There *will*, however, be another Raising Monarchs video soon. In the editing process now.
I love your video & what you’re doing to help our butterfly crisis! Do you have an updated video showing us how you went about caring for the caterpillars??? I’d love to see and learn! Thanks!
The Raising Monarchs series has a "core" to it, Parts 1 - 5. In those five, I show the entire process, from finding eggs to caring for the caterpillars, to releasing the adults. Part 3 is likely what you're looking for, on how to care for caterpillars. Here's the link: th-cam.com/video/sJU8-FpGI78/w-d-xo.html
In retrospect, I wouldn't have done it for as long as I did. I was able to handle 90 eggs at a time, but it was very time consuming. I took them in, though, and you know I'd see them through for sure. But since that time, I've done this twice, and only for (I think) about one hour. When that has happened, I earned 20 eggs, and the other time, only about 7. So just be careful. You wouldn't want too many eggs on your hands, causing more caterpillars than you can feed. Be conservative. And good luck!
Aphids are daunting. I've spoken to MSU's botanical gardens care takers, and they discussed at length that they've tried a few different things, but ultimately, the best non-chemical way (which is probably the route to take to not harm potential Monarch eggs) is to squish them. I go into more detail with the "Pests And Predators" vid here: th-cam.com/video/aae5Tkziex4/w-d-xo.html
Have you had problems with Oleander aphids infesting your milkweed plants? I have been inundated by them. Any suggestions on how, without pesticides, to get rid of these plant suckers?
I spoke with those who maintain the botanical gardens at Michigan State University what they do about Oleanders, as they too don't wish to use pesticides other than in rare situations. They told me that truly, the most effective way to handle them is to squish them when you find them. I wish (and they wish) there was some way to easily deter them, but there doesn't seem to be to my knowledge.
Hey Rich Just wanted to give you a progress report. Went into work today and there were three Monarchs waiting to be released. Now up to a doz chrysalises, three cats and three hanging. Hope you did well on your egg hunt. Things are going well so far. Be nice to see more Monarchs tho.
Thanks for the update. I'm sorry to say, though, after 4 hours out there, I came up empty handed. It's quite a let down. Usually by this time of the year, my hunts produce eggs, each time. Not yet. I don't want to get worried yet...but I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm a little worried. Hear from yourself, though, another Michigander, that definitely gives me hope!
Hi. Had my last 3 cats come out jacked up. Wings did not develope properly. Now I have 3 to feed twice daily. I find they like apple Juice. Just pore it into a colored cap [red or orange] and they will drink their fill.
Hi. Had a birth last p/m. Female. Lower tip of right underneath wing folded at outside edge about 1/2 inch. Tried something new. Took a tooth pick and gently "milked" the wing towards the fold that I was holding extended. I was literally forceing fluid into the unfilled wing end. With this done the female started pumping the wings like mad. Will not know if it will work but was worth a try. Also, I noticed on a Milkweed plant a cluster of small eggs laid in rows. Almost a square. Does anyone know what insect laid them. Please let me know if you do. Thanks.
What color are the eggs? I found a similar cluster and they turned out to be ladybug eggs. Happy to see them because the aphids are terrible this year.
i just wanted to say awesome videos an well put together .im in the process of getting into this myself here where i live in north western ,wi. i have frog habitats here i have made out in the yard an also getting into creating these monarch habitats also i have plenty of milkweeds growing here already but will be planting more in other areas here , thank you for all the information
Sound like you keep busy, and in a good way! Welcome aboard, and good luck to all your efforts. If you have questions along the way and I'm able to answer them, I check comments daily. If I don't know the answer, I try to find out too!
MrLund, I have a weekender cabin in the Catskills NY (13788 zip) that has a small 'natural' MW patch about the size of a handball court...though I don't know what type of MW they are nor whether the type is beneficial and/or if Monarchs are conducive to feeding/breeding in that locale of the US (I've seen an occasional Monarch flit by, but not many). I have extensive (!!) areas to expand the patch or plant a different type of MW if doing so in that area would benefit the population as a whole. I tried last season to sow some of the pod seeds (there are about 100 pods per year) but I believe I gathered the seeds too early before they were 'ripe' so to speak. Do you have any thoughts generally regarding that area of the country, if it's an area where expanding the MW patch would be beneficial - and if so what type of seeds are best to sow (species) and where maybe to get some? I know that's a lot of questions, I simply have a ton of space that I can relatively easily convert to a MW pasture if I get some tips on the best MW to plant or if that part of the US really isn't Monarch beneficial. TIA for thoughts you might have.
We have 2 right now! Ur videos helped me so much!!!! But the milk weed we have is only one stalk with leaves not bushy like yours was with the net over them! I found a new obsession!!!!!
I know of no known way. Part of it isn't just that the wing gets laid out flat, but that fluids get pumped into it the correct way from the abdomen. I've had this happen over the years twice. In those cases, I have fed the Monarch some sugar water, and then placed it on nectaring plants so that it would at least get the sensations of nature. It's possible too that a bird or other predator takes it, in which case it will learn how bad they taste, and thus, the Monarch's life was still beneficial to the population.
Do you have any experience with painted lady butterflies? I have a mated female but she won't drop eggs, I've only gotten 11 so far and I was hoping for a bit more before her release, which will be this coming week. Also, I'm trying to grow a group of milkweed in my yard for monarchs in the future but I live in California in the valley and we don't really see monarchs. I've looked for farms to buy monarch caterpillars from but none sell to the west coast, they say they have "partner farms" that supply monarchs for California but they never name them. Do you know of any of these California-approved monarch suppliers?! I would like to breed and continuously release monarchs once my milkweeds get established well.
You're definitely welcome! I don't know that we need to take brothers and sisters into consideration all that much. Female Monarchs will lay eggs throughout a patch of milkweed at times. There could easily be 20 eggs, all within 10 or 20 feet from each other. And while not all are likely to survive, those that do will be forming chrysalides near each other, and emerging near each other on approximately the same day. And if we think further of it, all of the eggs that a Monarch lays in a day, well, they are all within the flight distance a female can make within a day. Thus, when whatever Monarchs that are in that day's batch make it and emerge as adults, they are all brothers and sisters that emerge within a day (or less than a day) of flight between them. In short, Monarchs have been having brothers and sisters emerge nearby each other for millions of years, and it hasn't cause a problem. I hope that makes sense. Thank you for doing what you can to help them out!
And the beat goes on. Have found 5 cats over the last 3 days. From 1/2 inch long to 1 inch long. Thriving. Saw a Monarch flying outside near flowers so I went out to see where she would go. Went straight to a Milkweed plant and laid some eggs. I only counted 8 eggs. I covered the branch with netting to protect the eggs. Hopefully I will get more cats off this plant. I do notice that when I release them now that they head North West in the direction of the Florida Pan Handle. Mexico, here they come.
Cool finds, indeed. Seems late in the season, though. Meanwhile, yesterday, I found a HUGE female Chinese Mantid, and she ALREADY laid a nice plump ootheca for me! Come spring, I'm not just raising monarchs...provided it's fertilized, I'll be raising a few hundred mantids!* *And after a few days, it'll be much fewer, as the shall eat each other quite readily once hatched.
They are categorized as an introduced species, but not an invasive one. Their population has taken root, but is not over-abundant. It predates on both beneficial insects, but also on pest insects, which has deemed it neutral. So, while it's certainly capable of taking out the occasional Monarch, the Chinese Mantid is certainly much less a factor than human influence. And when she turns her head to look at me, I feel the love an affection (or so I wish to believe)! Last night, she drank water off of my fingers, and it tickled a little!
Of the 91, I don't know for sure. I was also raising others that were around the same stages, and once these hatched, they made it in with the rest of my batch. In other words, once hatched, I did not keep track of which cats were from the 91 and which were just normally going through my process. That year, if memory serves me correctly, I had around an 84% or 86% success rate. Around there. I'd have to look up my records to know for sure, and they are tucked away in my closet at the moment.
Hi. I'm back in the Monarch busines after a 7 month respite due to illness preventing yard work. Have raised 76 Cats and 10 that were deformed. Took your advice and now put deformed ones out in the flowers so they at least get to enjoy some of Nature. I have a question. Last week I had a female born that was at least 2-3 times bigger than any other butterfly I have ever seen. What made her stand out is that she was born right next to anothher. Comparison was unreal. Has anyone ever experienced this? Would appreciate a reply. Thanks and happy hunting. J Costello
Great to have you back, and glad to hear whatever such illness has not kept you away from at least some of the things you enjoy. Are there photos somewhere that we could get a link to for your monster-sized Monarch? I'd love to see it!
No pics. I stupidly let her go without thinking. Also, you might like to know that a woman activist for Monarchs has convinced the Bloomington, Indiana Fire Dept to put planters in front of all the fire houses planted with Milkweed and flowers. Firemen have really gotten into it. Also, seeds are being given to anyone who wants them to plant. The movement is growing. J C
Have so many questions. We are looking at plotting some of our land to making a habitat for butterflies and would definitely love more info to draw them in. Any help on pointing me in the right direction to start is appreciated.
Help! My caterpillars keep turning black & dying (Black Death)! Even the ones that were living outside! I’ve done research on how to prevent but it doesn’t seem to solve the problem. Just an hour ago, I came home to find 2 healthy caterpillars eating the carcasses of 2 that turned black and died while I was away.! :(. I’m guessing they will now die too so I took the healthy ones outside to new plants & isolated the 2 that ate the dead ones. What am I doing wrong???
The black coloration sounds very much like NPV, which is a virus. What have you read about how to prevent it, and what actions of prevention have you done? I can't help you know of there's something you could do differently if I'm unaware as to what you're doing to try and prevent it. I can say that it is preventable, but involves bleach treating the eggs and leaves that you take in and use. You can find how to bleach treat eggs here: th-cam.com/video/oZYzzcGiZRA/w-d-xo.html And you can find how to bleach treat leaves here: th-cam.com/video/2FE9646Z9xs/w-d-xo.html
you are so great to be doing this, I was inspired by you to help aswell. and so far they are doing Amazing! just curious, is milkweed a Perennial? like does it come back every year or do you have to replant it every YEAR? thanks
Oh yes, it comes back every year. In fact, it will also have a root system that spreads out, and springs up new stalks. They may look like separate plants, when in fact, they are part of the same plant.
Great! when do you think the monarchs would be out in the southern part of CANADA? I only found 4 eggs so far and I am not sure if it is too early or too late. any Idea? thanks
Canada, similar to the latitude I'm at, is experiencing the emerging of 2nd generation adults, currently laying 3rd generation eggs. The numbers aren't large yet (not that you can ever really say "large" with the current population status). My normal indicator for when it "gets good" is the first week in July. I've found so far 3 caterpillars (2nd generation) and 2 eggs (3rd generation) up to this point, if that helps put it in a limited perspective.
that would make sense. so the ones here laying eggs are the ones that hatched in Mexico or where they migrate Right? so they would take some time to get here and find a mate and lay eggs. out of the 4 eggs I found 3 hatched, one caterpillar died, and 2 grew very fast. I think they are at there third or fourth in star. thanks so much for your help.
Not exactly. Those that overwinter in Mexico are 4th generation from the previous year. I don't know exactly when they mate, be it before winter or after, but, as they start to migrate north, they lay eggs along the way. Those eggs are 1st generation of the new year, and they make it to the southern US States. These 1st gen that hatch, they continue to migrate, mate, and lay as they go. These make it and spread throughout the Eastern US, and even some to Southern Canada. These lay 2nd generation eggs, and those are currently at the caterpillar/chrysalis stage, and a few of the early ones are emerging as adults now. Eggs that we find at this point are highly likely then, 3rd generation eggs. Throughout the next few weeks, especially the first two weeks of July, eggs found are most likely 3rd generation eggs. They will then be the ones to emerge in late July/early August, and will be laying the August eggs which will be 4th generation. And, as you may have already picked up on, these 4th generation Monarchs will be the ones which migrate to Mexico come fall.
Awesome!! I am going to try this next summer. Today I was gathering Milkweed leaves for my very hungry caterpillars (sorry, Eric Carle) and found 7 more eggs.
In many years, I only have gone on an "egg hunt" once or twice. After that, in just finding food for the ones I'm raising, I find more than enough eggs to take in for the season. (And thus, have to leave some be and not take them all in. Don't want the quality to suffer in exchange for quantity.)
That was great they all were fertile! Of the 72 eggs I found in a two day period in September, about half hatched. I may try your idea. It is a lot of work to have that many at one time, but so worth it....I really miss them and can't wait for their return!
hey if you see this, have you worked out an efficient method of collecting eggs from the surface of the milkweed pod? it's mid- August in the Chicago area and I'm sitting here watching mama deposit eggs all over our maturing seed pods. I know from experience how sticky these things are when they're cut into but would really like to get these guys into containers since they'll definitely be the ones headed south in a few weeks. we've had lots of good success with the "teeny square method"you showed in your video about harvesting eggs from leaves but I haven't tried bringing them in off the pod yet. thanks!
If we hope to preserve the pod, while I haven't done this before, I know what I'd try: Using a free razor, I'd try to slice off just enough of the outside of the pod to remove the piece of pod skin the egg is on. Certainly, this is more a procedure for some steady adult hands. As this was 2 days ago, I'm not sure if you tried something different. Sorry I didn't get back to this sooner. School is gearing up to start, and I've been a bit busy.
Hey again, thanks for getting back to us in the midst of back-to-school madness...it certainly is a busy time! For future reference, I thought I'd let you know that I did use a craft (exact-o) knife to cut around the egg. I found that cutting a slightly wider area than I normally would have left on a leaf was important to keep from getting the milky sap all over it. (I use my thumbnail to clip the leaves very close, thanks to your good advice about avoiding the dry leaf curling over.) Since I'm relying on these pods for next year's seed, I didn't want to do any damage that would halt the maturing of the seeds, but if so, I figured there are enough other sources of pods and the main thing was to get a good number of fourth gen eggs going. The knife left quite a hole, but I wasn't able to get a shallower layer from the husk of the pod. It's very fiddly and sticky!
I would expect, though, the seeds should be fine. The coating is protective, primarily. It shouldn't hurt the development too much. Won't know till you test them out, though. But, I've found damaged pods before that had seeds that worked just fine for me.
For Oregon this would almost be too late. Yours will be adults at the end of Aug, how good will the MW be? I just released a couple of wild caught from our garden but our MW leaves are getting stiff and pods are almost ready to open.
Hi I have monarch eggs on my butterfly weed and I've been trying to raise them for a while. They will hatch out of their eggs but once they're out of the egg the caterpillars just don't move at all and die. They are on fresh leaves and I don't know what's wrong
That's rough, Morgan. About how many eggs have done this? I've gotta say, I have no idea what might be causing that. I haven't experienced this before. Occasionally, I've had a caterpillar here or there over the past 6 years (this is my 7th) that has stopped eating during 1st instar and just "gave up" on being alive, but it's only been a few times. I'm not sure what would be causing many of yours to consistently do this. I hope this doesn't discourage you too much. Keep trying...it has to change, right?
MrLundScience I've kept 5 eggs and they've all done this. I don't know if it's the plant or what. I use butterfly weed. I've tried to see how the eggs do in nature but I haven't found any caterpillars at all on my plant so I assume they are dead too.
Both Monarchs and Queen butterflies can eat it as caterpillars, so it *shouldn't* be a problem. Still, if you can find some, perhaps try a different milkweed species. That's the only thing I can think of. I wish you much luck!
Is it possible to buy a few and get one pair to lay eyes. Then after I let them go, I will be able to take care of the new eggs. As there are no butterflies over here.
The reason I asked about the cucumbers was that I "beat" the Geckos to what I though were about 10-15 Monarch eggs on my milkweed plants. At present I have 43 caterpillars in 3 different stages of development eating me out of house and home. But the lady at the nursery likes me. I live in the middle of Florida. Is it normal to have Monarchs here at this time of year? Also, would you please name the type of expanding glue you used to repair your damaged chrysalides. Thank you for the reply to my earlier question.
The type of glue used in the video is Gorilla Glue, but *I am not doing any product placement*, as there are other expansive glues that can operate just as good. (Sorry, I have to make myself constantly very clear about that. TH-cam can be pretty picky about whether or not you are endorsing commercial products with your vids.) As for Monarchs in Florida, the previous owner of my house and I stay in touch. Totally coincidentally, he has raised Monarchs as well over the years (ha!) and he's in Florida now. He was raising them all throughout the winter. The season has larger numbers in the summer for him, but never really ends.
I try my hardest not to let a comment that has a question in it sit without a reply for more than 24 hours. If people have taken the effort to watch the videos and even post a comment and question, then I feel very much I owe them the respect of acknowledging their comment in a timely manner. I appreciate you guys, after all.
Not doing so well Rich. I haven't seen any cats in a couple weeks but, today I rounded up four. All just over a half inch. No Monarchs that I have seen in my area for weeks. Up until today that is! I watched a female for about 20 minutes laying eggs on several weed's. Hopefully lots of eggs. I do know what they look like now as I went and looked under a few plants. Spent part of the day watering. My weeds aren't doing so well. That is it for now Rich. Hopefully things are going better for you on your end.
In Michigan, I don't have enough sources to really make the call, but with the limited info I have, it's sounding like a tough season. I'm only at 13 cats, and I was well past 180 at this time last year. It's rough. Even more important to ensure the ones that we do find make it. I'm dreading the numbers that will come in this winter, and hate that we'll be waiting what will feel like a very long time from now until they come out around February. Great job with your continued and even more important efforts!
Some other things to include is check the mom for OE first, treat the eggs as needed, I personally would not leave the mama butterfly in the net for as long to reduce maybe the large quantity of eggs of the same genetic makeup and if possible another butterfly and repeat the process so there's more genetic diversity. This video is awesome very many good key points
I am just getting into this, and it is late in the summer here, so about done for the year. I will be collecting milkweed pods and seeds this fall, and storing them for the winter. Can I store them outside so they get the freeze naturally? Is the rubber banding a good idea and just leave them outside as is? Here is an idea I want to try next year. I have a couple of the butterfly enclosures like you have this year, and I am thinking of starting my milkweed in small pots and then transplanting them, but keeping some in pots to put into the butterfly enclosures alive! I can plant the milkweed in stages so as to have a variety of sizes for my enclosure needs. Would this be an idea of where to put a female for her to lay her eggs on viable milkweed? I only move the cats by using two leaves and transferring them to one before relocating. But I will have multiple stages of plants and I hope to just relocate them to a new plant when the old is eater! How does this sound for an idea? Love your vids and your style.
Greetings David. First, yep, you can certainly leave the seeds outside and let nature take it's freezing course. I don't know that freezing is necessary, though. I know that many sites recommend this, but I've also had what seems to be equal success from seeds that were not cold stratified, so...I suppose I don't know for sure. This is something I plan on testing out this year, and really seeing if there's a statistical difference. As for the rest of what you describe, I don't have any immediate reasons to think that won't work. One thing to point out, though, is if you keep a female in the enclosure to lay eggs, I wouldn't do it for very long. I did NOT expect the 90+ eggs that were laid in this video! I've done this twice since, and both times, I checked every half hour to make sure it wasn't getting out of hand. In both cases, after about 1 hour, roughly 20 eggs had been laid, which was much more manageable. Good luck in your efforts, and thank you so much for taking an interest in helping out the Monarchs!
I'm not sure what you mean by beat, but if you refer to when they seem to tap in different places, I speculate that they are searching for an optimal spot where they receive near instant gratification. When it comes to flowers, they may miss on the first strike, so it might be part of their instinct to stab at whatever they are attempting to eat from until they get an instant reward. However, this is all speculation on my part and nothing I'd be able to call a tested theory!
I saw a large caterpillar on the plant that you put the laying Monarch on- it didn't look good, but that could be the video quality. I was concerned that the plant/ caterpillar had been infected..?
I live in Camp Hill,Pa. I have been raising monarchs for the last 13 years..released over 1000. I have 3 came out today , but l will not be able to release them due to terrible rain outside. This is the first time lm facing a dilemma of how to keep them in the fish tank for at least 15 hrs. I have some flowers from the butterfly bushes right now that they are on. I hope they will get fed on these flowers for the next day or so.. Any other ideas to help these Monarchs will be g
Happy New Year Rich! Hope everything is well with you! I’m still raising butterflies since the time I wrote to you. At the end of the year, I received ten eggs deposited on my milkweed plant by a Monarch randomly flew by. It was a big surprise because I thought I wouldn’t have any eggs until early Spring. Nine of them are female, and one is male. I was tempting to let all of them go a week ago, but it was raining every day until last Sunday. However, on Sunday after came back from Church, for the very first time, I saw the male and the female butterflies mated each other. So, I don’t know how to handle the female now, especially I have 9 of them, and I’m not so sure which one is pregnant. How long does it take from the time the butterflies mated until she lays eggs? Regarding milkweed plant, should I put it inside of the big net tent so she can lay eggs in there? Thank you so very much for your help!
Greetings Viviane, and Happy New Year to you as well! Plenty in here to comment on, and some of the answers might depend upon where you are geographically, and whether Monarchs are mating naturally in that area or not. I would first say that if you have milkweed still, and you have Monarchs from nature laying eggs on them, that's a pretty good indicator that it's definitely occurring in nature, right? But at the same time, that still seems fairly out of season. I do know that there are areas in Florida where mating/breeding happens essentially the entire year. If that's where you are, then this wouldn't be out of the norm. But in other areas of the US, at least, I don't know that any mating/breeding is happening, as far as we'd expect. Most have migrated to where they reside in the winter in a diapause state, which, short version, doesn't give them much of a mating drive. So, if you're not in that area of Florida, the eggs that were laid for you seem like they are out of season and an anomaly. Now, on top of that, we don't 100% know this all, and perhaps the Monarch does things science doesn't fully know. Maybe they do mate somewhat, just naturally anyway, but it's rare, and science doesn't really know about it. I'm not sure. And it's all of that which I'd need to have more information on to guide you as to whether you'd give her milkweed to lay eggs on. What I suppose I'd have to offer is that it's probably not a good idea to give her milkweed to lay on. Ten eggs from a flyby is manageable, but if you offer a plant for her to lay on, understand that she will not be counting as she lays, and just has the instinct to lay, lay, lay. That plant could very quickly have way more eggs on it than there are food supplies to support them. Once she's mated, while fresh milkweed can trigger that impulse to lay, if it is not presented, the fertilized eggs in her just sit and wait on deck. It doesn't cause her pain or discomfort (to my knowledge) to hold onto them until the season's food sources are more available. Another area of concern, though, would be (and again, this is if you're not in Florida) is that if she mated, that's a pretty good signal that she's not in diapause, and probably should be. Diapause, leaving out some details here, but it's a state of lower physiology, and allows the Monarchs to live much longer, using much less energy during the winter months. So normally, they migrate, and are in diapause during that time, waiting out the winter. If the mom that did the 10 egg fly by was to be in diapause and accidentally wasn't, now she's produced offspring that you've cared for that also aren't in diapause, and should be. If that is the case, most who study Monarchs and their migration wouldn't want them bred further. It can cause complications with the genetics of who they eventually mate with once returned to nature. It's still not fully understood if the generation that "knows" to migrate does this because of what generation they are, what pheromones are present at the time (and whether those are linked to genetics as well), what exact environmental triggers occur at that time of the year, and if those environmental ques require physiology to be happening that is generational dependent. It's still somewhat of a lesser known area, but that's also why they would have concerns about breeding out of season, and Monarchs out of season being released. I don't think that if these 10 are released, that means major disruption would be a problem, but, already if one sister has mated with one brother, I'd release when possible and let it end at that, preventing further breeding/mating in the meantime. Does all that make sense? Don't be shy to ask further questions if it doesn't!
@@MrLundScience Thanks so much for your reply! Sorry, I had bronchitis and was very sick until couple days ago, and I didn't check my youtube. Whew... it's complicated! First, I don't live in Florida. I live in Santa Monica, California. I let 7 of them go 3 days after I wrote to you, and 3 of them the next day which included the pregnant female. After I put the potted milkweed plant into a big tent, she immediately went and laid eggs. The 1st day, she laid 7 eggs, then the next day she laid 6 eggs, and the 3rd day she laid 21 eggs. I knew I couldn't handle that much eggs, so I let her go the 4th day in the morning after I fed her. Right now, I keep the eggs and the caterpillars in all different sizes on the milkweed plant on my porch with morning sun inside the tent to prevent predators from harming them. I don't know what they will be, healthy or sick, but I pray for the best for them. I definitely will do the test once they become butterflies at the early stage. If they are not healthy, I will euthanize them by putting them in the envelope and put them in the freezer as you taught. I totally understood what you are saying. I didn't do much out of the ordinary, but I do know 1 thing for sure is that Southern California weather is always good. We are don't have a cold weather, even now the norm is about 55 degree F - 65 degree F during the day time, and at night between 40 F - 49 F. I live on the Westside of Los Angeles, very close to the ocean (5 min exact). Thank you so much Rich for your thorough explanation and concerns. That is the main reason I love to reach out to you! You are very knowledgeable in raising Monarchs! And, you are my great Teacher! I'm thankful and grateful to know you! Your thoughtfulness and your gift of time reflect just how much of a beautiful kind soul you are! My heartfelt thanks to you, Rich! I will contact you and let you know about these soon in few more weeks. Take care, Viv
That all sounds detailed and excellent. The level of detail in your reply demonstrates that they are certainly in good hands. And I'm certainly happy to teach what I can, if I can. If I don't know the answer, I certainly admit it, and sorta enjoy that, as it shows me something that I don't know yet and have a chance to research and learn. During the Science Olympiad season (which goes until the end of April for me), time isn't an easily to get resource, so my apologies for not getting back sooner. I hope all is working out well. Nice weather description, by the way. I've only been to California once (well, twice, but too young the first time to develop memories) and it was San Francisco. A very beautiful state from what I was able to experience. I see why so many wish to move out there. Someday, I hope to go back and see more of it (though I'm pretty sure I'll always be a Michigan boy as far as residency).
Hello Mr Lund, I just got 11 cat's in the mail but not sure if stage 3 or 4 or 5? Any way to tell for sure?. And since I have them inside in a cage but they don't always move so much, they remain immobile alot.
This website gives a good image and description of the instars. That might help. blog.nwf.org/2014/09/a-visual-journey-through-the-monarch-life-cycle/ Good luck with your 11!
Hi Mr.Lund! I’m worried, I have 55 chrysalis! I’ve hung them , as you did, because of overcrowding. They should be eclosing by now, it’s been two weeks for many of them. What could be wrong? They all look good, can’t figure it out! Help!!
I'm sorry, Mary, but if they look good still, but haven't emerged, I don't know if I know any better than you on this one. If there's no visible signs of something going wrong, I know I wouldn't give up yet. You commented six days ago, though. What has happened since?
MrLundScience Evening Mr.Lund! Thank you so much for responding! I can only imagine how busy you are!! So here’s the good news! My first group have all eclosed and many of the second group too! Thank the Lord for your TH-cam vids! Our weather has been cold and rainy so I’m feeding them until tomorrow. The temps should be good for the next few days. I had no idea that there was so much work to this but I’ve grown to love these little sweeties! Thanks again for all the help! Mary
Very pleased to hear that they have eclosed and are eclosing. You're definitely correct about me being busy. It's currently my coaching season for Science Olympiad...and it's a six month season. November through April. Still, as long as people can be cool with that, I'll definitely get to the comments when I have a chance to. If you're watching the videos and taking the time to comment, I think it's only respectful to address questions that are asked. Thanks for helping out the Monarchs in the ways you've been able to. Thanks for being a part of this.
Just three days? Okay, normally I'd say to chrysalis issues that you gotta give them that chance, but if it's dark three days in, that's not good. Does the outside still feel "hard" and mostly firm? When I've had a chrysalis go past the point of hope, it has felt very easily wrinkled when the outside material is pressed upon. As if, the chrysalis had no pressure, and you could feel how very fluid it was inside. Softer, in fact, than when the caterpillar skin first comes off, before it hardens. If this has happened, yeah, I think that one is probably a goner.
How is gathering Monarch eggs helping the critters survive to adulthood? I've attempted documenting via video the life cycle of Monarch and Swallowtail Butterflies. Much to my horror, only about 50% of the emerged butterflies survived the emerging process. Some had damaged wings, Others failed to inflate their wings prior to drying, and others just fell off their chrysalis. Some never emerged at all. I did this in souther and Central Florida.
The first way I'd answer this is that bleach treating is optional for those raising Monarchs, but, if you're taking in more than around 20 Monarchs, it probably should happen. 90+, like what I "milked" in this video, yes, I should have done so. The second part to mention, though, is that the reason I didn't is that in the making of this video, I wasn't even aware that OE existed. I've learned much more since then!
Wow, you certainly have...to the knowledge and benefit of many other people and surely to the Monarchs as well. One last thing if I might...I was wondering what the ideal temperature and humidity parameters are for a developing chrysalis? It's been hot and muggy here in the Hudson Valley. We have AC in some rooms but the chrysalis is in an area without it. I didn't want to bring it into the ac for obvious reasons. Again, many thanks for your help!
To answer your question, I'd have to first know how you are defining "ideal". If we deem "ideal" just means the temperature that it can successfully develop, then there's a large range of ideal temperatures. Monarchs experience a range of temperatures in nature, and while most experience high 70's to 90's in nature, they can successfully develop just fine in 60's and up to 110's. The lower the temperature, though, the slower the chemistry, and the longer it will take them to reach the adult status. The higher the temperature, the opposite is true and the chemistry runs faster, causing them to reach adulthood sooner. So, "ideal" might mean the temperatures at which it will take only 25 or 26 days to get them from egg to adult, in which case, it'd be in the 80's, near the high end. Or, if you want more time with them (to not go through food as fast) and want it to take 30 or 31 days, then the low 70's would be "ideal". Though they can experience it in nature, I'd keep them out of the 60's, and if it's really hot outside, going past 100, I'd bring them in where it's cooler. Other than that, they handle the temperatures seemingly just fine. (Disclaimer for any reading this: All temperatures mentioned in this post are degrees Fahrenheit.)
Thanks again for the information. Going through the process for the first time has been enlightening, thrilling with some anxiety thrown in. all in all, it's miraculous! Best to you for all you do!
Time has erased that from my memory, but I do see them in virtually every pet store I walk into, and if you type "small animal terrarium" into Google, options do come up.
Hi Mr. Lund, My daughter and I have thoroughly enjoyed your tutorials. We've found both eggs and caterpillars and the progress with both has been good. However, our largest caterpillar crawled up onto the lid of the container last night and is still there. My question for you is: What size should the caterpillar be before it J hangs? At this time it is only 2.5 cm long and a little less than .5 cm wide. Thanks!
Charlene G Greetings Charlene! Great to hear that not only you're helping the monarchs, but that your daughter is involved as well. Give her some thanks for me! The size at which they decide to J-Hang varies. When food is short, they may do it early, but even if food is plentiful, the size is still a variable. I've had some caterpillars the size you describe start the hang. In fact, 2.5cm doesn't sound abnormal to me at all. I wouldn't be concerned. Also, though, as I have learned, the caterpillars are instinctively looking for places to hide away from their frass. Frass apparently attracts some predators, so if it's building up, or even just somewhat about, they make look to get away for a spell. Also, as they molt, they like to find a place they feel is a secure spot to do it, as they are more vulnerable during that process. Any of these could be what your caterpillar is doing, rather than J-hanging. Keep us posted, if you like. It will be interesting to hear how things turn out!
hey man. hope the south is treating you well. I am trying a swallowtail with your method, I have it in the mesh with a lemon tree I grew from seed, as well as a rotting apple In cap of water as well as purple thistle and Lantana cut stems in water, I'll find out tonight if it works. would you recommend giving the butterfly a food source in the containment? or does that take away it's it stint drive to survive instead of strictly jut lay eggs, you input?
The butterfly should be fine for a few hours without food, so I'd let it only focus on laying. Think about a stormy day. Butterflies tend to just find shelter and wait it out, and that's an entire day. Thus, I don't feel too guilty keeping one from food for just a few hours. So how did it go? Did she lay?
+MrLundScience no man, I was so bummed. nothing. assuming fertility, what could it be? darnit! she was alive and well though. tonight I'll try again with a different one.
Not being much of an egg layer myself, I have no idea. (Ha!) But you said it was a lemon tree. What species of Swallowtail are you dealing with? Is it confirmed that they prefer lemon trees?
I have been watching all your monarch videos. I've recently discovered some common milkweed on my property and am hoping to find some eggs. I did have a monarch visit my flower bed recently so I know there's at least one in the area. My question is...when is the best time to look for eggs? I am located in SW Pennsylvania. I plan on collecting some seeds this fall and am going to try to winter sow them to see if I can get some more milkweed growing in my yard. Great video series!!!!!!
Katrina Majoros The best time is NOW! For me, here in Michigan, according to my journals for the past five years, the earliest I have found eggs has been June 29th, and the latest I have found eggs is August 10th. Now, I definitely know you can find eggs earlier and later than those dates. However, that can give you a feel for how abundant they are. I have looked for eggs very thoroughly prior to and after those dates, and still haven't found eggs. The peak" of the egg laying season for me in Michigan seems to be this last week of July that happened, and this first week of August. Those two weeks are when I've found the most. Currently, I've still been finding eggs daily. So get out there! Good luck in your quest!
Mr Lund Did you ever have one not emerge from chrysalis? I have one that is way past due! It turned clear and then I noticed it looked like a white wing inside - or maybe air bubble and it did not come out. But I did not see it trying to split open. Out of my first batch of 15 it is my last one. Is it dead as it is close to a week and a half over time and not looking good? It would be nice to know because I have 20 new ones eating like crazy and getting ready to J-hang and if it is something I could do to help please advise.
+Adel Partlo If it was that late, but still looked as it should, I would still wait. However, if yours is that late and looks significantly different, I would remove it from there as soon as you can. If it is infected with OE bacteria or NPV virus, you don't want to have it open and spread the infection. I would also sanitize that location as best you can, using bleach water and other disinfectants. Sorry to hear of the loss!
Just found your videos. I will be following you to get more information. this is only my 3rd year with Butterflies. Also received a mantis egg case, ootheca, I believe. My first time seeing mantis being born! Are they a threat to my monarch eggs or cats? Right now they are in different parts of the garden from the Milkweed, but I want to be safe. Mrlundscience.
It is indeed an ootheca (I have two right now!) and they are pretty darn awesome. As for a threat to your Monarchs, I don't think that they would go for eggs, but I could be quite wrong with that. As for the cats, I'm pretty sure that yes, the mantids will snag a caterpillar if given the chance.
Thanks. I will try to keep the matids away. As much as I can with nets and distance. I was fascinated watching the mantid casing hatch!! Awesome to see so many tiny babies.
Greetings Gaylene. The eggs are found on milkweed plants. You left a comment on the Part 1 video which is all about how to find the eggs. So, I'm not sure if you fully watched that video, but that video contains the detailed answer to your question. Here's a link to it again: th-cam.com/video/_I5F4AHyQHs/w-d-xo.html
I thought I was off for the Winter but I was mistaken. I had rooted 4 Milkweed plants from cuttings and had them outside under a bush. They were growing nicely. Yesterday while watering tomato plants I noticed that one plant had a few leaves with holes . Then I saw that another plant was completely devoid of all leaves. I mean strippped bare, not a leaf to be found. On closer inspection I found 1 cat about 3 inches long clinging to one of the remaining stems. I brought the cat inside and put it in a jar with some Milkweed leaves. This morning I looked and it was J hooking from the top of the jar. But I did not think one cat could eat all those leaves and so this morning I went out and looked at the other plants and on one I found a Chrysalis which I believe came from the stripped plant hanging from the edge of the planting pot. I also found 5 egggs on some of the leaves. So I brought the pot into the house for safety as the Anoles are out in force here at this time of year and I believe they got the rest of the caterpillars and eggs. This afternoon one of the eggs hatched. I could only see the black spec prior to hatching with a magnifying glass. Hopefully they will all hatch. Time will tell. Update. Female with withered wing is still alive and eats sugar water twice a day. Will miss her when she is gone. Happy hunting
MrLundScience,,, my wife and I love your videos on the Monarch's. We're trying to raise just a handful from one of my wife's butterfly milkweed plants. We started out with a small container. I felt like it would be to cramped. So I purchased a mesh butterfly cage. They seem to be dieing after they form their "J". They start out in the "J" and then go limp and hang straight and body fluids start leaking out. We are feeding them common milk we'd that grows in the pastures around our house. When my wife opens the flap via a zipper it wiggles the ones hanging I'm wondering if we need a more rigged cage like the one you use ? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks I'm advance,,
Does it wiggle them more than the wind would? If no, I wouldn't worry too much about it. The one exception would be to first check and see if any aren't hung properly by the caterpillars. They sometimes don't spin as successful a silk hold before J-hanging as we'd expect them to. Why they don't, I'm not sure. But, it happens. I'd be checking that each time, and of course opening it each time quite carefully. But in the end, if the wiggling is less than they'd experience in nature, I don't know that it's a change that would need to be made. To be honest, though I'm always careful, even when taking the lid off of my large containers, they wiggle a bit too.
@@MrLundScience Thanks,,, I told my wife the same thing. That that surely get wiggled around outdoors by the wind and such. We're have been very careful not to shake/wiggle the cage while opening the zippered entry flap. Thanks for your quick reply. We've only got 2 chrysalis. Just trying to get a better understanding for next year to hopefully raise more and be successful and not a hindrance to them.
I had 75 eggs.
Now I have 75 caterpillars
I'm overwhelmed with feeding
It's a full time job!!
Loving every second!!
3 born now
3 released!!:)
lorena rossi Awe🥺❤️🦋
lorena rossi nice job!
they love butternut squash it saved me
You are so lucky 🥰...I just started doing it... wish me luck 🤞.
@@cindyw4442 THANKS for that tip!
I would cut the bottom out of the green net so as not to scrape the milkweed leaves when removing it potentially knocking off eggs in the process. I think you could keep it tight enough to the ground so the female couldn't escape, I am raising my first 14 Monarchs they just started coming out of metamorphosis. 3 so far 1 with a damaged wing an 11 chrysalisalide hanging. Released 2 today and 1 hanging. These videos have been amazing and have set me on a serious Monarch farming adventure. You really feel the power of life when you do this.
Oh my gosh 93 and they all hatched!!!! How amazing!!!!! Youre doing so much for monarchs 😍
We've been raising wild-caught monarch cats for many years, supplying them to teachers at an elementary school, and then helping the kids tag the new adults. This video had us running to the store to get the pop up laundry basket. Two days later a female monarch was on our coneflowers, and wham! Placed her in the basket over a milkweed plant (we have a few hundred in our "yard"), and next day when we released her, we had 112 eggs! Dug up the whole plant and potted it to bring inside. The eggs are 36-48 hours old now. Can't wait to see if they hatch!
Sharon Mohney That is awesome! Sounds like those cats are in good hands! I know that with this method, it will save me plenty of time. I hope it works out well for you. Keep us all posted!
Inspired by your work and learned enough from your videos that I'm starting to help save the Monarchs. Funny store... all day yesterday my son and I were looking for milkweed plants in every Nursery in our area. After hours and hours I gave up and ordered plants online. After spending an obscene amount of money to make sure I had enough grown plants.. I came to work today and realized the parking lot is FULL of milkweed! I'm ready to get started and so excited to enjoy the process and help the Monarchs!
Yeah, once you get an eye for the plant, you'll notice it much more often. I've had great luck sometimes with checking the random isolated plant growing by a stop sign or alley dumpster, finding eggs on lonely plants such as these. Great to hear you feel ready! It's a very rewarding experience.
Hello Rich. Yesterday was my last hatch, I am now up to 20 Monarchs. I have seen no cats in at least a week. And no Monarchs except for my own. In my area anyway. Checking the weeds daily for eggs. Spotted several of what I think are eggs just waiting to be sure. I have made up a poster and set it up outside the rock shop by my milkweeds and made up a bunch of flyer's to give out to customers. Save The Milkweeds Save The Monarchs!!!
Then I put in your site so whomever is interested can go and see for themselves. I will keep you posted 👍
Hey, that's awesome. These videos were certainly made to try to help any who want the info be able to get it. Thanks for helping to spread the word.
I went on a road trip to St. Joseph, MI, then down along the west side of the state further south. I checked much milkweed, but found nothing. I'm still at a grand tally of zero eggs this summer... Really hope this changes and I can at least get some 4th generation eggs/cats/adults and send them off with my students.
You're doing a great job by helping these beautiful animals. You deserve a lot more views than you get :)
I appreciate that for sure. I would have replied to you sooner, but there has been a bug with specifically your comment for some reason, and I never could have replied until strangely now. Thanks for the kind words!
Greetings to you. I'm not quite sure about pomegranate plants and how tasty they are to the caterpillars. Monarchs will almost exclusively lay eggs only on milkweed species. I have not heard of them laying on much else, nor have I heard of caterpillars eating pomegranate leaves. I can say, usually if there is evidence of leaves being eaten, if it is indeed Monarch caterpillars, they should still be around to find. I don't think you'll find them though. It's just not known to be their diet. Again, I could be wrong, and would be interested to hear if you do find them. I'd search and try to positively identify what has been eating your leaves. Good luck!
Hey I am from deep south texas close to the southern mexican border and no doubt that many of the beautiful monarchs i am seeing here are from your batch....u r doing a great job.
A few points:
1. make sure to check the plants for predators (spiders, assassin bugs, lacewing, ladybug, and hoverfly larvae, etc.)
2. during the day, mist the cage with water, the butterflies need water
3. give the container some shade so the butterfly will not overheat
4. I usually hand feed the butterfly before collecting eggs
Lol comment above. Don't think butterflies get overheated. They thrive in sunshine. My friend does this + she has butterflies flying in her house. Awesome...
Excellent points !
@@marsharevis2937k
Mr. Lund! Warm weather in So California this week has led to Monarch sightings and....(drum roll please!) EGGS! I harvested about 25 eggs this afternoon. Monarch Season 2017 - is GAME ON!
Awesome! The season begins! (I'll be waiting til June, however...)
Good luck with your new batch!
Tracee Theisen-Henny 👍
It’s wonderful witnessing the possibility of an increase to the Monarchs population! Rock Music as the background music for the gracefulness of a butterfly, interesting combo. Learned something new today. Keep up the good work.
Hey, I think Monarchs rock...so why not, right?
Hi Rick.. In the Summer of 2014, (with a friend who showed me how) I raised \ released 14 Monarchs into the wild. Had never done this before. I found it to be a bitter\sweet accomplishment, as I knew only a small number (if any) would ever make it to Mexico and return for the 2015 season. I did not see one Monarch for 2015.... How sad!!! After watching your entire series on Monarchs and Milkweed; I am renewed!! And will continue the fight to save these majestic butterflies. Thank-You for your time and efforts, in publishing your videos.
So pleased to hear that your passion is back! More Monarch videos are coming this summer, amidst some other ones too. I'm hoping those who are here for the Monarchs will also enjoy some "at home" science from my Indy Labs vids, along with some science raps in the form of "Atomic Hip Hop". If you haven't checked out those videos on the channel, I'd be thrilled if you did and found something to your liking.
In the meantime, I'm here to answer questions all summer long, and if I don't know the answer, well, that definitely gives me a reason to research it and find out!
Good luck with your efforts!
That was fast!! Thanks for the RE:.. I wish I could do more; but at the ripe, young age of 67, more days than not are not as good as they could be.. I have enough Milkweed in my yard to support the feeding of 25 - 30 "worms" (I hope that term doesn't offend you). Some of my neighbors have threatened to turn me in to the town for allowing these "weeds" to grow. I've tried to explain the dire need for the Milkweed, but seems to fall on deaf ears. So far; I have not had any visitors from the town. Perhaps I'm being humored or maybe there are folks whom are aware of the situation with the Monarch and refuse to take action... So I will continue on.
I have some seed pods from 2014. Will see if I can get some sprouts growing. I know it's a bit late, but there is still a lot Summer left here in So. Eastern CT.
Take Care,
Worms does not offend me. I call them cats, sometimes, and they definitely aren't mammals.
As for your neighbors, best you can do is try to educate them on the reasons behind it. Other than that, if it's on your property and no laws forbid it, plant yourself like a tree and don't move from your belief of what's right to do. You could, however, attempt to get the word out to non-neighbors. The more people in your immediate area who understand the problem, the better.
Another option, too, is if your neighbors disagree with it, you could still educate them on the plight of the Monarch, and perhaps propose where an area in neighborhood could be devoted to milkweed, like in a nearby part or otherwise. Putting the milkweed somewhere visible, with added information signs can help efforts too.
Either way, you're already helping, so congrats on your efforts!
Hi Rick, Just had a fantastic idea... What if we were to create a "National Monarch Rescue Station" site that would propagate future generations of the Monarch. We could do a National map of where every Rescue Station is located with the total number of butterflies raised and released for each Summer season. This could give us a pretty good idea of where the concentrations were located through-out the Country.
We could add links where folks could buy Monarch eggs if they have not had any natural success with finding them. (I have seen these.. One that comes to mind is Amazon). Haven't checked it out.
We could post some simple cage designs with basic instructions on how to build a cage. You have already done the major steps with your videos. I do not own a video camera (as of yet) but I suppose I could eat hot-dogs for a few weeks if I were to buy one to demonstrate cage building. I am pretty good at making drawings in MS Word as well.
Your thoughts are more than welcome.. I have built a few web pages; but it was a number of years ago before all of this "meta" stuff came into play. I must admit; a lot of the new web design technology is probably beyond my comprehension. (I'll leave it at that)
Happy Egg Hunting..
I gotta say, I get the biggest kick out of seeing your t-shirts. This has to be one of my favorites so far.
Dude! You are totally amazing! Once I get set up with an abundance of milkweed, I am absolutely giving this a try! Thank you for all that you do and sharing it with us!! YOU ROCK!!
Times when I've done it, it makes it easier to take in the numbers I hope to take in, without burning countless hours in the field. I do this still when seasons are late or running low. No need to do it this year!
To answer your question: Yes, butterflies can indeed lay unfertilised eggs.
I had a Papilio Polytes laying unfertilised eggs on a citrus plant in my conservatory. I knew they were infertile cause they never mated- the male died a few hours after hatching (Spider attack).
Momma Monarch left me 14 eggs and I have three caterpillars. She had been watching my plants which are very small swamp milkweed. What a blessing.
Hello Rich. I have 8 chrysalis and a doz cats. first monarch was around the first week in June. Only 4 all month. This month none so far. Got to be here but just not seeing them. I work inside but have a great view of well over three hundred milkweeds. I bring in the cats and take care of them in my shop. Doing pretty much the same things you are doing to take care of them. I really appreciated your videos. Some Awesome info!!!. Don't know if I have enough time to start with eggs but may try a few. I met your colleague a couple days as he and his family were visiting benzie county. He directed me to you and your videos. You keep filming and I'll keep watching. Thanks again!! Dean
That's awesome, Dean. Which colleague? Are we talking Miller?
You mention that they must be here, and you're just not seeing them...
Well, I checked my journal, and by this time last year, I was up to 15 eggs. So far, I've found zero eggs. I found one caterpillar at the Detroit Zoo about 4 weeks ago, which has since emerged as an adult and has been released. But since then, I've found nothing. My usual spots have produced eggs by now, and they aren't.
I'm keeping the fingers crossed, so to speak, and hoping that the Mexican winter storm they faced in March just slowed the process for a few days, and they are just a bit behind schedule. I have a full on egg hunt planned for tomorrow. We'll see!
i know this is an old video and im not sure you still look at comments, but i just wanted to thank you for all your videos! theres not a lot of milkweed in my area but ive successfully raised one monarch so far! i hope to plant tons of milkweed in the fall so there will be more next year :)
Omgosh! Amazing! I have been raising monarchs from eggs for 4 years now and was thinking this year I am not finding as many eggs as last year. They all hatched and lucky you! It can be alot of work...but if u can find the milkweed plants to feed them all.. hey... awesome!!
U are right this isnt for everyone.
But it IS FOR ME! THANK U FOR ALL YOUR VIDS! I am called the butterfly whisperer by my neighbors..🐛🦋
The Monarch is Illinois' state butterfly!! Shout out from a suburb in northern Illinois!
Why not keep the cage over the milkweed plants and let the eggs hatch on the plants. Then bring the plants inside and put them in water containers inside a butterfly cage to rear the caterpillars.
I am in the UK - I am fascinated by the Monarch butterly - sometimes they accidentally migrate here too - I have two well maintained Milkweed containers in my garden that I always check for eggs! I also plant Coneflowers too!
That truly amazes me. I've never heard of that before, but investigated it based upon your comment and yep, they do at times head to the United Kingdom. I seriously had no idea about that! Part of what I love about doing this videos is how much those commenting teach me things. So cool.
I hope you get the chance to rear some eggs! To be honest, if I were in your shoes, I'd be terribly tempted to capture a few to try and breed them so I could experience raising some. Keep us posted if you happen to get some little Monarch surprises!
MrLundScience i know that fact beacause my friend lives in England and has rarely seen monarchs like 7 every 9 years.
Adrienne, that is a fact :D
Derek - When did your friend last see them? And where about please? I am in Yorkshire but would happily travel . . . .
Hi.Heads up on how to get more Milkweed plants. Had trimmings left over from cuttings I trimmed to feed my cats. Decided to try something different. Took a 8 ounce plastic water bottle and put 1/8 teaspoon of rooting hormone in it, filled it with water and shook it till hormone disolved. Scraped bark off cutting on opposite sides and put it into the bottle. That was 4 days ago. Look today. Looked today. Could not believe my eyes. Roots growing out of all the cutting. I believe hormone water was the trick. Easy way to get a jump on getting mature planes quicker. Do not forget to vote.
Nice tip!
And I most definitely will not forget to vote this election. Not by a long shot.
Thank you so much for your inspirational videos. I followed your lead and have just released 21 Monarchs into our SW Florida neighborhood. I discovered a great way to “ serve up “ my Giant Milk weed leaves vertically! It is like a toast rack made from tooth picks pushed into a foam base. Works great and keeps the caterpillars well fed,.
SYLVIA SHIRLEY Port Charlotte FL
Great to hear of your innovation! Sounds like a cool way to do it. Great job with your 21 so far!
Thanks for taking time to reply. I love your videos and have shared with many of my interested friends... More Monarchs for Florida!
4 Babies Born this morning. I'm so excited. I got to hold 2 of them 1 male & 1 female. Thank so much for all of you help.
Thanks for all the educational videos! It's my third year and I've learned so much. Love it
Very cool! Getting more of a feel the third year into it?
Hi. My jacked up Monarch female passed this A/M. Will miss her. I talked to her and believe it or not when she heard my voice she would turn her head in my direction. Who knows what these animals are capable of. Plant I brought in to protect Chrysalis on rim of pot had 9 eggs on it and they are starting to hatch. Fortunately I have my own supply of milkweed to feed them and a nursery close by in case I run dry that does not spray insecticide on its plants. Hopefully I will have something to release on Halloween as the orange and black colors of the Monarch do go with the holiday. Happy trick or treating.
Yes, a monarch on the 31st would be fitting in color, wouldn't it? Sorry to hear of the passing of your female, but at least she had experiences to enjoy before her time.
If you're feeling in the Halloween mood, have you seen the new Tungsten Clan song, "Who's The Monster?", which is a rap battle between The Doctor and The Creature from Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein"?
If that sounds like it's up your alley, give it a look: th-cam.com/video/wfAxzn8dA2A/w-d-xo.html
We definitely put a lot of work into this one!
Takeing care of Monarch that was born with only one working wing. Feed her honey water 3 times a day. Like takeing care of a baby The one that was born without a closed probiscus died today. Another one for the Butterfly bush. Finally gave up on last 4 that I had from the big hatch. Put them in the garbage to prevent disease. I found a Monarch cat this morning so I guess I'm back in business. Thank you for all the informative videos. They were as good or better than most professional videos on the subject. Thanks again.
That's a pretty strong compliment. Thanks! I'm just a guy, trying to help out some butterflies. I'm nowhere near professional. But I'm so glad that many find help with these videos. I have two more for this year on their way. Might take a bit of time, though, as some others non-Monarch related are scheduled before them.
Hello, Rich.
Hubby and I have been actively trying to find and raise Monarchs for several years, here in Madison, Wisconsin. Last year I discovered your extremely well-done videos, and because of them, I feel much more confident for this summer project. Thank you! I'm anxiously waiting for you to continue your 2017 series.
Although we search our yard for cats every year, we have never found more than three cats in any particular summer. Two years ago, we raised two from 3rd or 4th instar stage to adults, and one perished when the chrysalis failed to attach strongly to the top of the critter cage, and fell. I thank you for the video on Chrysalis Repair. Hopefully, we will catch that problem quickly enough to fix it if necessary.
There are at least three different types of milkweed that either grow wild or we have grown from seed and planted in several places on our 1/4 acre yard. We've grown Asclepias Tuberosa (Butterfly Weed) for many years, have a corner of the lot where we leave the common milkweed alone, have grown from seed and continue to plant more each year of Swamp Milkweed, grow from seed the annual Tropical Milkweed in pots, and recently obtained three plants of Purple Milkweed, which is not in the ground yet! Because of this and our devotion to perennial gardens of Yarrow, Bee Balm, Cone Flowers, and Black-eyed Susans, we have recently become certified as a Monarch Waystation by Monarch Watch.
Last year, we found ZERO cats here on our lot, but we're feeling much better about the plight of the Monarch this year. Although we haven't seen any adult Monarchs this year visiting our yard, or really anywhere that we've noticed, we found five 4th and/or 5th instar cats in the past 24 hours! Four of the five cats look as if they could J-hang very soon. We currently have them in random containers with window screening covering, held in place with rubber bands. Two are in a 5 qt ice cream bucket, one in a 2 qt Rubbermaid container, and the littler one is in a shallow take out food container.
After watching your video using the spiral hamper to encourage egg laying, we invested in two of them. We don't have a screened porch, but we do have a long table in the room off our deck that from late April to late May is used to aid in hardening off the dozens of tomato and pepper starts we raise for co-workers, friends, and family. We dragged our heels at putting the tables away this year, and they're very convenient for the three containers our five cats are munching and pooping in. I guess we're ready if we catch a female in the wild and are fortunate enough to get her to lay eggs on.
Questions:
[1] Do you recommend a source for buying a good quality butterfly net? [2] Critter cages?
I don't know if we are quite ready to raise 90 at once! We have plenty of milk weed plants, but I don't know if we could house the cats properly, but more so I worry about how to keep that many chrysalides sheltered. [3] Would an UNSCREENED porch (facing west) be suitable for running the string on which to mount the chrysalides?
Thank you for reading. We are big fans!
Greetings Jeri (and Hubby), and that sounds like some cool work with your Way Station.
If you do successfully "milk" a female for eggs, yeah, do it for much less time than I did. I too wasn't sure I was ready for 90 at once. I did it, and with a good success rate, but many things during that time had to go on the back burner. It was a very large time commitment.
As for the chrysalis repair, I'm happy to have made that video, but the "Eclose Without Hanging" video trumps it. Repair, it would seem, is not necessary. As long as the chrysalis is in tact, it can develop even on its side. If you haven't watched it yet, check it out, as it could save you some time next time around if it happens:
th-cam.com/video/kxCzr89Ck3E/w-d-xo.html
To answer your questions:
1) I don't have a specific company or anything, but I would say, don't get your typical store bought net. The *deeper* the net, the better (and safer) for the butterflies or whatever you are attempting to capture. If the net it turned sideways, the length of the net that is below the bottom of the opening circle should be more than the diameter of the opening. Does that make sense? Another way of saying the same thing is, the entire depth of the net should be *at least* twice the length of the diameter. That way, when you swing the net and something is captured in it, you can give it a quick 90 degree angle rotation and the net is "closed" but there's still plenty of room for the insect within the net.
2) The cages I recommend are the "to go" containers that I show in the videos for when t he caterpillars are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd instar, and when they are 4th and 5th, I recommend the plastic terrariums I show (mostly in Parts 3 and 4). I know that those containers for the 4th and 5th instar are expensive, but they also are durable enough to last for years. I've had the same for as long as I've been doing this. I like them for the easy ventilation they provide. However, cheaper tupperware containers could be used, provided enough holes are put in them for ventilation, yet not large enough for the cats to get out.
3) You absolutely could run string outside without the screened in porch. That porch was just a "bonus" already there when we bought the house. It gives me the advantage of getting to test the emerging Monarchs, though, should they emerge when I'm not home, as they don't get to go anywhere until I release them. But yeah, I understand not most people will have such a porch. It's totally NOT a necessity.
Great work with your efforts. Seriously! I'm loving the enthusiasm. Keep it up!
Thanks for writing back! The random tupperware containers and ice cream buckets are covered with window screening, so the entire top is ventilated. Today we found two more large cats, and Hubby completed the two-day training through UMinnesota's Monarch Joint Venture. We are excited and ready for the summer.
After watching your two videos on OE today, I became worried that it's a risk to encourage egg laying with the hamper. What if the mama is infected with OE?
The most important video plans for this summer is testing out a way to prevent OE, *even if* the mother had spores and deposited them on the leaves/eggs. I've heard about it, and it involves bleach solution to cleanse the eggs. If the bleach is diluted enough, it kills spores without harming the eggs (apparently). I'm excited to give it a shot, but can't really coach on it yet, as I've not done it before. Still, if you look up "bleaching monarch eggs", you'll find information that is already available on the internet that discusses the technique.
In the mean time, I wouldn't let the threat of OE discourage efforts. Whether it is from milking a female or just collecting eggs found, the chance of OE would still be present. If you do feel concerned, though, you could milk, and then test out the bleach method for yourself. (Perhaps, though, try to do it with just a few eggs first to get the hang of it.)
This was amazing that you did this. The time it will save I can only imagine. I had the problem of running out of milkweed this summer with 90 cats but was able to find some to feed them. I am now growing and starting all types and next summer will be ready,
I have done lot of research and find al of your videos to be the best and answered all my questions. Some of the other sites you have to look all over the place t find what you need to know
Thank you so much
Sue
Thanks Sue! And I'll keep 'em coming. Shot a new one today, which is currently being edited. In the meantime, if you know others into science in general, feel free to check out some of the other types of videos here. Indy Labs is meant to be some fun at home science for kids (or adults), and if you enjoy the occasional Science Hip Hop, you can find that here as well.
New Raising Monarchs soon!
Seasons Greetings everyone. Had my 3 jacked up cats in the mesh enclosure and they were doing fine. I got pneumonia and on Xmas Day went to the hospital for a week. My daughter who was visiting for the holidays with her family was place in charge of my "3 friends." She decided that because I had 2 Milkweed plants in pots outside that were flowering that they might enjoy the fresh air, sunshine and being on natural habitat. So she put ithe milkweed plant into the enclosure with them. She could not believe how animated they became. They were all over the plant jumping from flower to flower. Said she was glad that she did as they seemed to really enjoy it. A little latter on my Grandson said that he thought 2 of them were really enjoying the plant. And they were. Looked the plant over yesterday and found 8 1/2 inch Cats and a few eggs. Now we know that even deformed Monarchs can mate and keep the species alive. I now have a new argument for those who say I should " terminate cripples."I never expected to be raising cats in January. Hope my Milkweed lasts. Has anyone else ever done this? Would like to know.
That's certainly some encouraging info. While it's sad if they can't fly, I've usually gone the route of still releasing. They at least get to experience their senses and what nature has to offer, stimulating their antennae and such. Plus, birds and other predators do need to eat at least one to start learning the lesson that they taste bad and that those colors/pattern should be avoided, so even a flightless one can still contribute to the species that way. Great to hear that yours contributed in a much more successful way!
Hi. Had to get a friend to move my milkweed buckets from outside into the living room as we are going to have a freeze tonight. I do not want to get caught again.
Monarch Alert!!!! Just went out to check the weeds for cats and spotted a Monarch. Might of found two eggs. Got to get the magnifier to be sure. Still working on the I.D. aspect. I have been doing this since 2012 and started keeping track 2013. I will have some numbers for you later today. Got to get my rock saws and my tumblers going. Been into lapidary for years. Your colleagues name is Caleb. He paid a visit to the C&M Rock Shop where I work. My boss mentioned that I raised Monarchs and it went from there. Wasn't sure if I should of made that public. Good luck on your egg hunt! 👍
Caleb, a.k.a. Ghostface Millah is definitely public. Check out "Best Learn Yo Elements": th-cam.com/video/CaOHBT_vHxQ/w-d-xo.html
Hey Mr. Lund, after seeing your video I went the local nursery and they gave me a Milkweed with pods for free!! :) :) They even pulled out a root for me. So I've planted the root and hope that it will survive North East winter. I've seen your "how to get seeds and plant milkweed" video. Thanks so much :) Please make more video. You're my favorite guy right now :)
More videos are on the way and out soon. Some are Monarch related, but some deal with some other science avenues. I hope you all enjoy them!
I have enjoyed your videos! I live in Florida, purchased some milkweed to "help out" and since viewing your information have raised 15 monarchs to chrysalis! They will be emerging any day now. As a bonus, I went and checked my plants and found more eggs which are now caterpillars - 20! I believe they will fly and winter at St Mark's wildlife refuge near Tallahassee. Thank you for the information, they are a joy.
+Adel Partlo
In Michigan, we are definitely done for a while. But it's so awesome to hear this kind of news in December. I get to enjoy the process vicariously through my southern state friends! Thank you so much for not only taking up the effort, but for leaving the comment that helps testify to others that yes, this can help, and planting milkweed WILL make a difference!
(And thanks to ALL of you for commenting and telling us of your success!)
+Adel Partlo Thank you for your response! I now have 2 Monarch butterflies and the rest are well on their way. This is only possible because I followed your 5 videos on "how-to". Thank you! Surprisingly though the 2 emerged this evening right at dusk. I don't know what they will do till morning. But it is warm here and the milkweed is right next to them. I guess the surprise was they came out at night, I did not know they would do that. But again thank you. I could not of done this without your help. I have been telling my friends here they can also do it and to just watch your videos. I gave my grand daughter 2 caterpillars and a milkweed plant and they are going to watch your videos and give it a try. I think the whole family is now involved. So glad you made those videos.
+Adel Partlo
I haven't had any emerge at night, so that surprises me as well. What time did you first notice them? I have had some come out very early in the morning, as early as 6am. I've also had some come out as late as 8pm in the summer. In both cases, the sun was always out. I started to get the impression that something internal can sense if the warmth of the day has arrived. There have also been days where a chrysalis is all translucent and looks like it'll emerge that day, but the weather hasn't been too nice. It may have been a rain storm that day, or just cloudy, cooler than usual weather. The butterflies, in those few cases, have put off emerging for a day. From the look of the chrysalis, I thought they might then come out at night, but they would hold off until the next morning.
At any rate, thanks for passing on the videos, and a definite special thanks for getting the younger generation involved and teaching them some conservation efforts! Those memories last a long time!
+MrLundScience Regarding the "2" now that emerged in the evening: It gets dark here now between 5-5:30pm. One was out around 4:40pm and then another one came out at 5:30pm to my surprise. I used a flashlight to see him on my deck (they are hanging on my chrysalis line protected under my glider swing awning - no screen porch to use). Last night the temp was in the mid 60's. Both are now warming up as the day gets warmer and they are starting to dry their wings. I expect they will continue during the day and go to the milkweed right next to them. So I guess these lil ones internal compass was off as I thought they would sleep until morning light. I was also surprised as the chrysalis looked black a day before they turned. I thought they would go from green to clear, I guess it was just the transaction of colors. Was that normal, or is it because it is getting cooler here? All my other chrysalis are doing the same thing, and they are monarchs.
Also I am encouraging my friends and family to plant milkweed. Since they are not as dedicated to raising some like I have learned, I have asked them to have the plants so passerby Monarchs can have some food on their journey!
Thank you!!!!!
+Adel Partlo Have you seen the other videos in the "Raising Monarchs" series yet? When the chrysalis is going about its normal business and turns translucent, it is mostly black, but eventually you also will see the orange pattern on the wings coming through. So, does it turn "black" or "translucent"? The better answer would be "translucent" and thus, allows you to see the mostly black body. If you see the other videos in the series, this is shown very much, especially "Raising Monarchs Part 5".
Hello Rich.. Don't know if I checked in with you last season or not. Too many comments to go through to see. My total was 76. But.... This being my ninth season has been the best ever. Amazing if I do say so myself. I raised and released 231 monarchs and tagged 25. If only one of them makes it and gets reported back to me would really make my day. My first cat was June 10 and it into chrysalis on the 19th. On 7 July I gathered up 65 cats in one day. Hadn't been back to that area for a week. All in different stages of instar. Being that early and that many cats I knew then it was going to be a stellar season. My last cat was 9/4 and I'm sure there were more around but I had to wind down my season for some issues. It was getting harder to take care of all of them at the rock shop so I bought half of them home. I had a ton of rocks to polish for customers. ( Petoskey Stones ) Busy season for sure! That's where I meet Caleb and got turned on to your videos. Which by the way are still watched over and over. And again thank you for all you do! 👍
I did some plugging for you. Handed out flyers to just about everyone that came into the shop. People were stopping by just to see the monarchs. And one my co-workers got in touch with a reporter ( much to my surprise ) who then came in to do an interview with me for the local news paper. So I mentioned you and your videos. Just wanted to spread the word. The paper is called the Betsie Current.
Lastly... Where were you on September 3rd? We were on our way home from work and started seeing monarchs everywhere. In an hour's drive we counted over 300 in the 45 minute drive to home. And when we got home we sat out in the back yard counted twice that many. Totally Amazing. Had several friends calling me up letting me know what they were seeing.
Where was I on Sept. 3rd? Can't say I totally recall. I think I was skating around the Lansing area, as it was one of the last "days of summer" to do such before being in full teacher mode.
Very cool that you're continuing to spread the message and that your local paper has taken notice! Awesome stuff. And it's great to hear that you had a successful season! It's very nice when it goes well. The year I found only about 15% of what I normally do, that was a bummer of a year. But, it can be hit or miss, and those things happen.
Great wrapping up of the season!
Hello Rich. This morning numbers 51, 2 ,3, and 4 hatched out. I have a dozen chrysalises go and one hanging. Found a cat yesterday. Last year's last cat was on the 7th of this month and hatched out the 12th of Oct. Might have to put this one on a bus to Toledo to give it a head start. Thanks for all your help, info, and input this season Rich. About a dozen less than last year. But still worth it.
I always feel that when there's less, that likely means it's even more important. I had 29 total released this year, assuming my very last one that is in chrysalis now makes it. I tested every one, and one had the OE bacteria spores and could not be released, taking my number from 30 to 29. However, that was my only loss. Again, assuming the current chrysalis makes it.
I'm still casually looking at milkweed, hoping to find as you did some that are at the tail end of the season. There's always hope of that awesome September find!
Thanks for uploading this video! I happened to find 3 young Monarch caterpillars at a friends house. I took them home and raised them up. Two have turned into butterflies, just have one chrysalis left.
Sweet! Is this your first time raising them?
Yes, I would like to help them out since hearing about their declining numbers :)
Let 4 out yesterday in A/M. 1 today. Brings total to 40. 6 to go. Some look damaged. Had male born yesterday with a probiscus that did not come together. Put him in with female with deformed wing. Hopefully love will bloom. I'm off to nursery to purchase another milkweed plant. The female with withered wing was put on a cotton ball drenched with honey water yesterday.. Had to show her how to eat from it yesterday. Not so today. Placed her near it and she jumped on it and started eating. Amazeing how quick these animal learn. Also, my Swallowtail cat is still with us. Does not move unless touched but there is still life in him.
Stupified! Ypu are so fortunate to have access to enough milkweed to do this. Just amazing. I think perhaps half the time you confined the butterfly would have been better, that way her genetics would have been spread out further on other milkweed plants. But, just my opinion.
I applaud your work in helping to save the Monarchs and wish you all the best.
+Saunie Holloway Oh, I thoroughly agree. I had no idea she'd lay that much. I thought I would get, maybe 20? I was way off!
I put my indoor plants outside to get more eggs to raise. Also got milkweed bug eggs. In order to get rid of these unwanted critters I came up with a new way of doing it without harming the Monarch eggs. I went to the dollar store and bought a jar of bubbles. Bubbles have more glycerine than dish detergent. I used a small hobby paint brush and was able to get rid of every unwanted egg without harming the Monarch eggs. Did a complete plant in about 10-15 minutes. And my wife will be happy that there are no bugs in the house. And when Mama is happy everyone is happy.
An interesting idea. What specifically did you do with the bubbles? What type of bubbles are you referring to? Like, bubble solution that kids (or fun adults) blow bubbles with?
Hi. Sorry I'm late replying. New to this. I bought childrens bubbles. For blowing bubbles. Used a artist paint brush and daubed it on the Milkweed bugs only. Allowed great control. Did this out in front of my home. Every time a neighbor drove by I started blowing bubbles. I would have loved to been able to read their minds.
We, brother & myself used to raise Cecropias ..a female was secured and placed on a live boxelder tree , a sapling , a six footer of so. ....a cheese cloth or similar tight weeve cloth was sealed \wraped around the limb to prevent escape ....the following day the " trap" was inspected and usually a male was discovered ...subsequently the female would deposit eggs and the netting would remain on the limb. Increasing in size, the grubs had to be moved to fresh limbs until finally pupating. Always keep the caterpillars protected with netting against the predator fly ..thanks...
In Iowa. Retrieved 83 eggs from a female Monarch, using your mesh clothes hamper idea!. I give many of mine away to kids and friends. Hatched 65 myself, down to 20 of my own that are just started forming chrysalis yesterday. Right now 3 are chrysalis, 8 are in J form, and the rest are still munching. My grandsons preschool has 2, should be in chrysalis by the time they leave school today. Great idea retrieving a mass of eggs at the same time. Pretty easy! Thanks!
I raised these in mason jars. I use mesh interfacing on top of jar, makes great surface for cats to form chrysalis. Since I gave so many away, I could handle the rest in jars. Need to build a few simple cages to do this again. We have plenty of milkweed, so it's been fun! My husband thinks I'm a little crazy, but he enjoys them too. Right now I need to figure how I'm going to hang the 20 chrysalis I'll have! Need to review you're other videos again. Thanks again for the GREAT tip! So much easier, and productive, than searching for eggs. Plus catch them before ant predators get to them.
These will probably heading to Mexico! Wish I had gotten tags!
Becky, that is FLAT OUT awesome! You're one of the first to tell me that they too have used this technique, and I'm thrilled that it was successful for you! I'm still at ZERO eggs this summer, which is weird. I'm easily over 100 by this time in previous years. If I find a female Monarch I'll be trying this technique again.
Good luck with your efforts, and thank you so much for helping out!
Okay -- one of the chrysalis doesn't have enough to clip to a string. I tried your glue method (which worked on another one), but I couldn't get it to work on this one. The cremaster is too short to attach. Any other ideas? Can it just stay laying down until it's time to emerge? . . . but then what?
Reply to my own question . . . It sounds like 1) A hardened chrysalis can actually emerge if you place it laying down near a mesh type surface that the butterfly can climb up and hang from. It's critical that the newly emerged butterfly has a way to hang upside down while it's wings fill out and it dries. 2) If a cat falls "before" it actually forms a chrysalis -- it can pupate (form a chrysalis) while lying down. Try to watch for it's cremaster emerging, and see if you can get it to attach to a Q-tip -- and then hang it up. You don't want the chrysalis to harden while lying down, it gets a flat spot. (I actually just lost one that came loose while it was in a "J" -- I didn't think it could live, so didn't even attempt to keep it. I wish I knew this trick yesterday . . . )
Yes. After I posted the Chrysalis Repair video, a few spoke up and corrected me. (And to any reading this, please understand, I love being corrected! Learning accurate information is WAY more important to me that ever being "right".) I had been told by some good resources that they couldn't emerge lying down. Goes to show, we all have to do our homework, as trust me, this resource has some quality information otherwise, but they were wrong about this.
Thus, I do have plans to make a video bringing up this necessary correction, and actually showing some laying down emerging. However, nature doesn't need to comply with my desires. It is July 25th, and I still have found ZERO eggs... I'm pretty bummed. I had plans for at least three more videos, but without the actual stars, it's tough to do. Can't really show how to test for OE on Monarchs without actual Monarchs, right?
Thanks for the tips, and for taking it upon yourself to add your results of your research to the comments!
Greetins one and all. I live in Florida and if you have been watching the news you will know that the weather here has been something to experience. I have 10 Milkweeed plants in buckets and knowing that we were going to get up to 150 MPH winds, and torrential rain I went out and stripped all my Milkweed plants of all Monarch eggs, Cats and Chryslises and brought them into the house for safety. All 34 of them. Once again the dining room table has been turned into a hatchery. At the height of the storm I looked out the window to check on my "food" supply. I could not believe how the Milkweed plants were "rideing "the storm. They were getting hit with tremendous wind and like Bamboo they just bent before it. No resistance to wind. Plants were bent at 90 degree angles with no damage what so ever. Went out after the storm to inspect plants. They were clean as a whistle. No sign of any kind of insect life on plants. Was amazing to me that tthe plants survived. First Monarch born last night. Female. Life goes on. Have a happy. J Costello
Great job dude... I’m just starting to attempt this in Redondo Beach, CA... it’s almost winter now and I still have caterpillars growing and changing... I wonder how long they will keep living when it gets into the 40’s at night here?
A Michigan guy like me would at first think that's crazy, but others on the West Coast have said that they too have Monarchs still in caterpillar or chrysalis stages. That's wild! I hope they do well for you.
Wow you are just amazing !! This is a big commitment we need more homeowners to plant a butterfly garden instead of those useless shrubs and plants that nurseries offer . I have a monarch caterpillar on my ice ballet milkweed do I need to do something to protect it or it’s fine on its own ? Thanks keep your good work.
Thanks for the kind words. For the caterpillar that you have out there, just be aware, nature is not a kind place for caterpillars. It's brutal. Statistically, depending upon which study you read, there's between a 3% and 10% chance of an egg making it to an adult. So, it's up to you if you wish to just root for the little bugger, or if you want to go further and take him/her into a controlled environment. But, either way, having the milkweed out there is already helping!
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Had 2 Monarchs born today. Have 2 more in Chrysalis and 1 cat in jug getting ready to J hook any day now. I am still checking Milkweed every day for eggs because I see a occasional butterfly around the flower beds in this community. Hopefully I will be able to nurture more to adulthood and to be released. 2 born today will be released tomorrow weather permitting.
Enjoy my envy! All the milkweed in my locale is dead (dormant, of course) and there won't be any monarchs anytime soon. There *will*, however, be another Raising Monarchs video soon. In the editing process now.
Thank you for what you doing to help the Monarchs.
Jesusmy Savior Absolutely. I'm happy to do it! I want these animals around when I have children myself.
I love your video & what you’re doing to help our butterfly crisis!
Do you have an updated video showing us how you went about caring for the caterpillars??? I’d love to see and learn! Thanks!
The Raising Monarchs series has a "core" to it, Parts 1 - 5. In those five, I show the entire process, from finding eggs to caring for the caterpillars, to releasing the adults. Part 3 is likely what you're looking for, on how to care for caterpillars. Here's the link: th-cam.com/video/sJU8-FpGI78/w-d-xo.html
HOLY COW. 90+ eggs? That's incredible! If I ever have so much milkweed, I'll do this for sure.
In retrospect, I wouldn't have done it for as long as I did. I was able to handle 90 eggs at a time, but it was very time consuming. I took them in, though, and you know I'd see them through for sure. But since that time, I've done this twice, and only for (I think) about one hour. When that has happened, I earned 20 eggs, and the other time, only about 7. So just be careful. You wouldn't want too many eggs on your hands, causing more caterpillars than you can feed. Be conservative. And good luck!
What a great system you have. Question. How do you control aphids? They are killing, it seems, my milkweed. Any advice?
Aphids are daunting. I've spoken to MSU's botanical gardens care takers, and they discussed at length that they've tried a few different things, but ultimately, the best non-chemical way (which is probably the route to take to not harm potential Monarch eggs) is to squish them. I go into more detail with the "Pests And Predators" vid here: th-cam.com/video/aae5Tkziex4/w-d-xo.html
Have you had problems with Oleander aphids infesting your milkweed plants? I have been inundated by them. Any suggestions on how, without pesticides, to get rid of these plant suckers?
I spoke with those who maintain the botanical gardens at Michigan State University what they do about Oleanders, as they too don't wish to use pesticides other than in rare situations. They told me that truly, the most effective way to handle them is to squish them when you find them. I wish (and they wish) there was some way to easily deter them, but there doesn't seem to be to my knowledge.
MrLundScience Thank you very much. That’s what I have been doing and in a weird way, it is quite satisfying! 😜
Hey Rich Just wanted to give you a progress report. Went into work today and there were three Monarchs waiting to be released. Now up to a doz chrysalises, three cats and three hanging. Hope you did well on your egg hunt. Things are going well so far. Be nice to see more Monarchs tho.
Thanks for the update. I'm sorry to say, though, after 4 hours out there, I came up empty handed. It's quite a let down. Usually by this time of the year, my hunts produce eggs, each time. Not yet. I don't want to get worried yet...but I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm a little worried.
Hear from yourself, though, another Michigander, that definitely gives me hope!
Hi. Had my last 3 cats come out jacked up. Wings did not develope properly. Now I have 3 to feed twice daily. I find they like apple Juice. Just pore it into a colored cap [red or orange] and they will drink their fill.
That cap idea is a pretty worthy one. I'll have to get a few bottles of Mountain Dew Code Red and try this out. Thanks!
Hi. Had a birth last p/m. Female. Lower tip of right underneath wing folded at outside edge about 1/2 inch. Tried something new. Took a tooth pick and gently "milked" the wing towards the fold that I was holding extended. I was literally forceing fluid into the unfilled wing end. With this done the female started pumping the wings like mad. Will not know if it will work but was worth a try. Also, I noticed on a Milkweed plant a cluster of small eggs laid in rows. Almost a square. Does anyone know what insect laid them. Please let me know if you do. Thanks.
What color are the eggs? I found a similar cluster and they turned out to be ladybug eggs. Happy to see them because the aphids are terrible this year.
i just wanted to say awesome videos an well put together .im in the process of getting into this myself here where i live in north western ,wi. i have frog habitats here i have made out in the yard an also getting into creating these monarch habitats also i have plenty of milkweeds growing here already but will be planting more in other areas here , thank you for all the information
Sound like you keep busy, and in a good way! Welcome aboard, and good luck to all your efforts. If you have questions along the way and I'm able to answer them, I check comments daily. If I don't know the answer, I try to find out too!
MrLund, I have a weekender cabin in the Catskills NY (13788 zip) that has a small 'natural' MW patch about the size of a handball court...though I don't know what type of MW they are nor whether the type is beneficial and/or if Monarchs are conducive to feeding/breeding in that locale of the US (I've seen an occasional Monarch flit by, but not many). I have extensive (!!) areas to expand the patch or plant a different type of MW if doing so in that area would benefit the population as a whole.
I tried last season to sow some of the pod seeds (there are about 100 pods per year) but I believe I gathered the seeds too early before they were 'ripe' so to speak. Do you have any thoughts generally regarding that area of the country, if it's an area where expanding the MW patch would be beneficial - and if so what type of seeds are best to sow (species) and where maybe to get some?
I know that's a lot of questions, I simply have a ton of space that I can relatively easily convert to a MW pasture if I get some tips on the best MW to plant or if that part of the US really isn't Monarch beneficial.
TIA for thoughts you might have.
We have 2 right now! Ur videos helped me so much!!!! But the milk weed we have is only one stalk with leaves not bushy like yours was with the net over them! I found a new obsession!!!!!
Have a female with a wing that did develope properly. Curled up. Is there any way to unfold this and ger her going?
I know of no known way. Part of it isn't just that the wing gets laid out flat, but that fluids get pumped into it the correct way from the abdomen.
I've had this happen over the years twice. In those cases, I have fed the Monarch some sugar water, and then placed it on nectaring plants so that it would at least get the sensations of nature. It's possible too that a bird or other predator takes it, in which case it will learn how bad they taste, and thus, the Monarch's life was still beneficial to the population.
I’m releasing my first four monarchs today, I learned everything from your channel. Thanks, Mr. Lund!
Thank you, Ali, for doing what you can to help them!
Can someone tell me what is up with the squash-cucumber debate as food for Monarch caterpillars when you run out of milkweed?
I know that I can't, as I have had no experience with this. Has anyone who reads these comments done this and can comment on it?
Did you rear any egg-parasitoids Trichogramma from eggs of moths? I study them.
Not to my knowledge...
Are you asking if I've reared any intentionally, or unintentionally? I'm unfamiliar with them.
Do you have any experience with painted lady butterflies? I have a mated female but she won't drop eggs, I've only gotten 11 so far and I was hoping for a bit more before her release, which will be this coming week. Also, I'm trying to grow a group of milkweed in my yard for monarchs in the future but I live in California in the valley and we don't really see monarchs. I've looked for farms to buy monarch caterpillars from but none sell to the west coast, they say they have "partner farms" that supply monarchs for California but they never name them. Do you know of any of these California-approved monarch suppliers?! I would like to breed and continuously release monarchs once my milkweeds get established well.
Thank you your videos are very helpful!
Do we have to be careful that we release the males and Females a distance apart because they are siblings .
You're definitely welcome! I don't know that we need to take brothers and sisters into consideration all that much. Female Monarchs will lay eggs throughout a patch of milkweed at times. There could easily be 20 eggs, all within 10 or 20 feet from each other. And while not all are likely to survive, those that do will be forming chrysalides near each other, and emerging near each other on approximately the same day. And if we think further of it, all of the eggs that a Monarch lays in a day, well, they are all within the flight distance a female can make within a day. Thus, when whatever Monarchs that are in that day's batch make it and emerge as adults, they are all brothers and sisters that emerge within a day (or less than a day) of flight between them. In short, Monarchs have been having brothers and sisters emerge nearby each other for millions of years, and it hasn't cause a problem.
I hope that makes sense. Thank you for doing what you can to help them out!
And the beat goes on. Have found 5 cats over the last 3 days. From 1/2 inch long to 1 inch long. Thriving. Saw a Monarch flying outside near flowers so I went out to see where she would go. Went straight to a Milkweed plant and laid some eggs. I only counted 8 eggs. I covered the branch with netting to protect the eggs. Hopefully I will get more cats off this plant. I do notice that when I release them now that they head North West in the direction of the Florida Pan Handle. Mexico, here they come.
Cool finds, indeed. Seems late in the season, though.
Meanwhile, yesterday, I found a HUGE female Chinese Mantid, and she ALREADY laid a nice plump ootheca for me! Come spring, I'm not just raising monarchs...provided it's fertilized, I'll be raising a few hundred mantids!*
*And after a few days, it'll be much fewer, as the shall eat each other quite readily once hatched.
Some people have blamed them for helping the demise of the Monarch. I have never seen them do this but who knows?
They are categorized as an introduced species, but not an invasive one. Their population has taken root, but is not over-abundant. It predates on both beneficial insects, but also on pest insects, which has deemed it neutral. So, while it's certainly capable of taking out the occasional Monarch, the Chinese Mantid is certainly much less a factor than human influence. And when she turns her head to look at me, I feel the love an affection (or so I wish to believe)! Last night, she drank water off of my fingers, and it tickled a little!
Out of the 91 eggs, how many actually hatched and survived to adulthood? I know not all the eggs survive from what I raise.
I see all of them hatched but how many made it to adulthood? Curious. :-)
Of the 91, I don't know for sure. I was also raising others that were around the same stages, and once these hatched, they made it in with the rest of my batch. In other words, once hatched, I did not keep track of which cats were from the 91 and which were just normally going through my process. That year, if memory serves me correctly, I had around an 84% or 86% success rate. Around there. I'd have to look up my records to know for sure, and they are tucked away in my closet at the moment.
That's GREAT Mr. Lund!! Not bad of a success rate!! :-)
This was a very informative video. Thank you so much. I’m glad I found you. That’s way more than I could definitely handle, but still good to know.
Hi. I'm back in the Monarch busines after a 7 month respite due to illness preventing yard work. Have raised 76 Cats and 10 that were deformed. Took your advice and now put deformed ones out in the flowers so they at least get to enjoy some of Nature. I have a question. Last week I had a female born that was at least 2-3 times bigger than any other butterfly I have ever seen. What made her stand out is that she was born right next to anothher. Comparison was unreal. Has anyone ever experienced this? Would appreciate a reply. Thanks and happy hunting. J Costello
Great to have you back, and glad to hear whatever such illness has not kept you away from at least some of the things you enjoy. Are there photos somewhere that we could get a link to for your monster-sized Monarch? I'd love to see it!
No pics. I stupidly let her go without thinking. Also, you might like to know that a woman activist for Monarchs has convinced the Bloomington, Indiana Fire Dept to put planters in front of all the fire houses planted with Milkweed and flowers. Firemen have really gotten into it. Also, seeds are being given to anyone who wants them to plant. The movement is growing. J C
Have so many questions. We are looking at plotting some of our land to making a habitat for butterflies and would definitely love more info to draw them in. Any help on pointing me in the right direction to start is appreciated.
Help! My caterpillars keep turning black & dying (Black Death)! Even the ones that were living outside! I’ve done research on how to prevent but it doesn’t seem to solve the problem.
Just an hour ago, I came home to find 2 healthy caterpillars eating the carcasses of 2 that turned black and died while I was away.! :(. I’m guessing they will now die too so I took the healthy ones outside to new plants & isolated the 2 that ate the dead ones.
What am I doing wrong???
The black coloration sounds very much like NPV, which is a virus. What have you read about how to prevent it, and what actions of prevention have you done? I can't help you know of there's something you could do differently if I'm unaware as to what you're doing to try and prevent it.
I can say that it is preventable, but involves bleach treating the eggs and leaves that you take in and use. You can find how to bleach treat eggs here: th-cam.com/video/oZYzzcGiZRA/w-d-xo.html
And you can find how to bleach treat leaves here: th-cam.com/video/2FE9646Z9xs/w-d-xo.html
you are so great to be doing this, I was inspired by you to help aswell. and so far they are doing Amazing! just curious, is milkweed a Perennial? like does it come back every year or do you have to replant it every YEAR? thanks
Oh yes, it comes back every year. In fact, it will also have a root system that spreads out, and springs up new stalks. They may look like separate plants, when in fact, they are part of the same plant.
Great! when do you think the monarchs would be out in the southern part of CANADA? I only found 4 eggs so far and I am not sure if it is too early or too late. any Idea? thanks
Canada, similar to the latitude I'm at, is experiencing the emerging of 2nd generation adults, currently laying 3rd generation eggs. The numbers aren't large yet (not that you can ever really say "large" with the current population status). My normal indicator for when it "gets good" is the first week in July. I've found so far 3 caterpillars (2nd generation) and 2 eggs (3rd generation) up to this point, if that helps put it in a limited perspective.
that would make sense. so the ones here laying eggs are the ones that hatched in Mexico or where they migrate Right? so they would take some time to get here and find a mate and lay eggs. out of the 4 eggs I found 3 hatched, one caterpillar died, and 2 grew very fast. I think they are at there third or fourth in star. thanks so much for your help.
Not exactly. Those that overwinter in Mexico are 4th generation from the previous year. I don't know exactly when they mate, be it before winter or after, but, as they start to migrate north, they lay eggs along the way. Those eggs are 1st generation of the new year, and they make it to the southern US States. These 1st gen that hatch, they continue to migrate, mate, and lay as they go. These make it and spread throughout the Eastern US, and even some to Southern Canada. These lay 2nd generation eggs, and those are currently at the caterpillar/chrysalis stage, and a few of the early ones are emerging as adults now. Eggs that we find at this point are highly likely then, 3rd generation eggs. Throughout the next few weeks, especially the first two weeks of July, eggs found are most likely 3rd generation eggs. They will then be the ones to emerge in late July/early August, and will be laying the August eggs which will be 4th generation. And, as you may have already picked up on, these 4th generation Monarchs will be the ones which migrate to Mexico come fall.
Awesome!! I am going to try this next summer. Today I was gathering Milkweed leaves for my very hungry caterpillars (sorry, Eric Carle) and found 7 more eggs.
In many years, I only have gone on an "egg hunt" once or twice. After that, in just finding food for the ones I'm raising, I find more than enough eggs to take in for the season. (And thus, have to leave some be and not take them all in. Don't want the quality to suffer in exchange for quantity.)
That was great they all were fertile! Of the 72 eggs I found in a two day period in September, about half hatched. I may try your idea. It is a lot of work to have that many at one time, but so worth it....I really miss them and can't wait for their return!
I hope things have been going well for you this season!
hey if you see this, have you worked out an efficient method of collecting eggs from the surface of the milkweed pod? it's mid- August in the Chicago area and I'm sitting here watching mama deposit eggs all over our maturing seed pods. I know from experience how sticky these things are when they're cut into but would really like to get these guys into containers since they'll definitely be the ones headed south in a few weeks. we've had lots of good success with the "teeny square method"you showed in your video about harvesting eggs from leaves but I haven't tried bringing them in off the pod yet. thanks!
If we hope to preserve the pod, while I haven't done this before, I know what I'd try: Using a free razor, I'd try to slice off just enough of the outside of the pod to remove the piece of pod skin the egg is on. Certainly, this is more a procedure for some steady adult hands. As this was 2 days ago, I'm not sure if you tried something different. Sorry I didn't get back to this sooner. School is gearing up to start, and I've been a bit busy.
Hey again, thanks for getting back to us in the midst of back-to-school madness...it certainly is a busy time! For future reference, I thought I'd let you know that I did use a craft (exact-o) knife to cut around the egg. I found that cutting a slightly wider area than I normally would have left on a leaf was important to keep from getting the milky sap all over it. (I use my thumbnail to clip the leaves very close, thanks to your good advice about avoiding the dry leaf curling over.) Since I'm relying on these pods for next year's seed, I didn't want to do any damage that would halt the maturing of the seeds, but if so, I figured there are enough other sources of pods and the main thing was to get a good number of fourth gen eggs going. The knife left quite a hole, but I wasn't able to get a shallower layer from the husk of the pod. It's very fiddly and sticky!
I would expect, though, the seeds should be fine. The coating is protective, primarily. It shouldn't hurt the development too much. Won't know till you test them out, though. But, I've found damaged pods before that had seeds that worked just fine for me.
will this work for other butterflies? I'm thinking of doing it with my 198 orchard swallowtails females and queen butterflies
Is this a possibility?
Certainly possible. Test out that hypothesis! I'd be interested to hear your results!
MrLundScience I'll try it sometime with my neighbours (the nature gang)
For Oregon this would almost be too late. Yours will be adults at the end of Aug, how good will the MW be? I just released a couple of wild caught from our garden but our MW leaves are getting stiff and pods are almost ready to open.
Hi I have monarch eggs on my butterfly weed and I've been trying to raise them for a while. They will hatch out of their eggs but once they're out of the egg the caterpillars just don't move at all and die. They are on fresh leaves and I don't know what's wrong
That's rough, Morgan.
About how many eggs have done this?
I've gotta say, I have no idea what might be causing that. I haven't experienced this before. Occasionally, I've had a caterpillar here or there over the past 6 years (this is my 7th) that has stopped eating during 1st instar and just "gave up" on being alive, but it's only been a few times. I'm not sure what would be causing many of yours to consistently do this.
I hope this doesn't discourage you too much. Keep trying...it has to change, right?
MrLundScience I've kept 5 eggs and they've all done this. I don't know if it's the plant or what. I use butterfly weed. I've tried to see how the eggs do in nature but I haven't found any caterpillars at all on my plant so I assume they are dead too.
Is butterfly weed the only option you have?
MrLundScience It's the only kind I've found. Do you think it's not the right milkweed for them?
Both Monarchs and Queen butterflies can eat it as caterpillars, so it *shouldn't* be a problem. Still, if you can find some, perhaps try a different milkweed species. That's the only thing I can think of. I wish you much luck!
Is it possible to buy a few and get one pair to lay eyes. Then after I let them go, I will be able to take care of the new eggs. As there are no butterflies over here.
The reason I asked about the cucumbers was that I "beat" the Geckos to what I though were about 10-15 Monarch eggs on my milkweed plants. At present I have 43 caterpillars in 3 different stages of development eating me out of house and home. But the lady at the nursery likes me. I live in the middle of Florida. Is it normal to have Monarchs here at this time of year? Also, would you please name the type of expanding glue you used to repair your damaged chrysalides. Thank you for the reply to my earlier question.
The type of glue used in the video is Gorilla Glue, but *I am not doing any product placement*, as there are other expansive glues that can operate just as good. (Sorry, I have to make myself constantly very clear about that. TH-cam can be pretty picky about whether or not you are endorsing commercial products with your vids.)
As for Monarchs in Florida, the previous owner of my house and I stay in touch. Totally coincidentally, he has raised Monarchs as well over the years (ha!) and he's in Florida now. He was raising them all throughout the winter. The season has larger numbers in the summer for him, but never really ends.
Thank you for the speedy reply. J Costello
I try my hardest not to let a comment that has a question in it sit without a reply for more than 24 hours. If people have taken the effort to watch the videos and even post a comment and question, then I feel very much I owe them the respect of acknowledging their comment in a timely manner. I appreciate you guys, after all.
Not doing so well Rich. I haven't seen any cats in a couple weeks but, today I rounded up four. All just over a half inch. No Monarchs that I have seen in my area for weeks. Up until today that is! I watched a female for about 20 minutes laying eggs on several weed's. Hopefully lots of eggs. I do know what they look like now as I went and looked under a few plants. Spent part of the day watering. My weeds aren't doing so well. That is it for now Rich. Hopefully things are going better for you on your end.
In Michigan, I don't have enough sources to really make the call, but with the limited info I have, it's sounding like a tough season. I'm only at 13 cats, and I was well past 180 at this time last year. It's rough. Even more important to ensure the ones that we do find make it.
I'm dreading the numbers that will come in this winter, and hate that we'll be waiting what will feel like a very long time from now until they come out around February.
Great job with your continued and even more important efforts!
Some other things to include is check the mom for OE first, treat the eggs as needed, I personally would not leave the mama butterfly in the net for as long to reduce maybe the large quantity of eggs of the same genetic makeup and if possible another butterfly and repeat the process so there's more genetic diversity. This video is awesome very many good key points
I am just getting into this, and it is late in the summer here, so about done for the year. I will be collecting milkweed pods and seeds this fall, and storing them for the winter. Can I store them outside so they get the freeze naturally? Is the rubber banding a good idea and just leave them outside as is? Here is an idea I want to try next year. I have a couple of the butterfly enclosures like you have this year, and I am thinking of starting my milkweed in small pots and then transplanting them, but keeping some in pots to put into the butterfly enclosures alive! I can plant the milkweed in stages so as to have a variety of sizes for my enclosure needs. Would this be an idea of where to put a female for her to lay her eggs on viable milkweed? I only move the cats by using two leaves and transferring them to one before relocating. But I will have multiple stages of plants and I hope to just relocate them to a new plant when the old is eater! How does this sound for an idea? Love your vids and your style.
Greetings David.
First, yep, you can certainly leave the seeds outside and let nature take it's freezing course. I don't know that freezing is necessary, though. I know that many sites recommend this, but I've also had what seems to be equal success from seeds that were not cold stratified, so...I suppose I don't know for sure. This is something I plan on testing out this year, and really seeing if there's a statistical difference.
As for the rest of what you describe, I don't have any immediate reasons to think that won't work. One thing to point out, though, is if you keep a female in the enclosure to lay eggs, I wouldn't do it for very long. I did NOT expect the 90+ eggs that were laid in this video! I've done this twice since, and both times, I checked every half hour to make sure it wasn't getting out of hand. In both cases, after about 1 hour, roughly 20 eggs had been laid, which was much more manageable.
Good luck in your efforts, and thank you so much for taking an interest in helping out the Monarchs!
Question. Does anyone have a theory as to why a Monach will beat the sugar water with their probiscus?
I'm not sure what you mean by beat, but if you refer to when they seem to tap in different places, I speculate that they are searching for an optimal spot where they receive near instant gratification. When it comes to flowers, they may miss on the first strike, so it might be part of their instinct to stab at whatever they are attempting to eat from until they get an instant reward. However, this is all speculation on my part and nothing I'd be able to call a tested theory!
John Costello Sugar water is terrible for butterflies. it clogs the proboscis. use honey water with a drop of soy sauce.
I saw a large caterpillar on the plant that you put the laying Monarch on- it didn't look good, but that could be the video quality. I was concerned that the plant/ caterpillar had been infected..?
I would love to know how many Pounds of leaves it take to raise 93 eggs to maturity.
This is awesome!!! 08/2022 are you still doing this????
I live in Camp Hill,Pa. I have been raising monarchs for the last 13 years..released over 1000. I have 3 came out today , but l will not be able to release them due to terrible rain outside. This is the first time lm facing a dilemma of how to keep them in the fish tank for at least 15 hrs. I have some flowers from the butterfly bushes right now that they are on. I hope they will get fed on these flowers for the next day or so.. Any other ideas to help these Monarchs will be g
Happy New Year Rich! Hope everything is well with you! I’m still raising butterflies since the time I wrote to you. At the end of the year, I received ten eggs deposited on my milkweed plant by a Monarch randomly flew by. It was a big surprise because I thought I wouldn’t have any eggs until early Spring. Nine of them are female, and one is male. I was tempting to let all of them go a week ago, but it was raining every day until last Sunday. However, on Sunday after came back from Church, for the very first time, I saw the male and the female butterflies mated each other. So, I don’t know how to handle the female now, especially I have 9 of them, and I’m not so sure which one is pregnant. How long does it take from the time the butterflies mated until she lays eggs? Regarding milkweed plant, should I put it inside of the big net tent so she can lay eggs in there? Thank you so very much for your help!
Greetings Viviane, and Happy New Year to you as well!
Plenty in here to comment on, and some of the answers might depend upon where you are geographically, and whether Monarchs are mating naturally in that area or not. I would first say that if you have milkweed still, and you have Monarchs from nature laying eggs on them, that's a pretty good indicator that it's definitely occurring in nature, right? But at the same time, that still seems fairly out of season. I do know that there are areas in Florida where mating/breeding happens essentially the entire year. If that's where you are, then this wouldn't be out of the norm. But in other areas of the US, at least, I don't know that any mating/breeding is happening, as far as we'd expect. Most have migrated to where they reside in the winter in a diapause state, which, short version, doesn't give them much of a mating drive. So, if you're not in that area of Florida, the eggs that were laid for you seem like they are out of season and an anomaly. Now, on top of that, we don't 100% know this all, and perhaps the Monarch does things science doesn't fully know. Maybe they do mate somewhat, just naturally anyway, but it's rare, and science doesn't really know about it. I'm not sure. And it's all of that which I'd need to have more information on to guide you as to whether you'd give her milkweed to lay eggs on.
What I suppose I'd have to offer is that it's probably not a good idea to give her milkweed to lay on. Ten eggs from a flyby is manageable, but if you offer a plant for her to lay on, understand that she will not be counting as she lays, and just has the instinct to lay, lay, lay. That plant could very quickly have way more eggs on it than there are food supplies to support them. Once she's mated, while fresh milkweed can trigger that impulse to lay, if it is not presented, the fertilized eggs in her just sit and wait on deck. It doesn't cause her pain or discomfort (to my knowledge) to hold onto them until the season's food sources are more available.
Another area of concern, though, would be (and again, this is if you're not in Florida) is that if she mated, that's a pretty good signal that she's not in diapause, and probably should be. Diapause, leaving out some details here, but it's a state of lower physiology, and allows the Monarchs to live much longer, using much less energy during the winter months. So normally, they migrate, and are in diapause during that time, waiting out the winter. If the mom that did the 10 egg fly by was to be in diapause and accidentally wasn't, now she's produced offspring that you've cared for that also aren't in diapause, and should be. If that is the case, most who study Monarchs and their migration wouldn't want them bred further. It can cause complications with the genetics of who they eventually mate with once returned to nature. It's still not fully understood if the generation that "knows" to migrate does this because of what generation they are, what pheromones are present at the time (and whether those are linked to genetics as well), what exact environmental triggers occur at that time of the year, and if those environmental ques require physiology to be happening that is generational dependent. It's still somewhat of a lesser known area, but that's also why they would have concerns about breeding out of season, and Monarchs out of season being released.
I don't think that if these 10 are released, that means major disruption would be a problem, but, already if one sister has mated with one brother, I'd release when possible and let it end at that, preventing further breeding/mating in the meantime. Does all that make sense? Don't be shy to ask further questions if it doesn't!
@@MrLundScience Thanks so much for your reply! Sorry, I had bronchitis and was very sick until couple days ago, and I didn't check my youtube.
Whew... it's complicated! First, I don't live in Florida. I live in Santa Monica, California. I let 7 of them go 3 days after I wrote to you, and 3 of them the next day which included the pregnant female. After I put the potted milkweed plant into a big tent, she immediately went and laid eggs. The 1st day, she laid 7 eggs, then the next day she laid 6 eggs, and the 3rd day she laid 21 eggs. I knew I couldn't handle that much eggs, so I let her go the 4th day in the morning after I fed her. Right now, I keep the eggs and the caterpillars in all different sizes on the milkweed plant on my porch with morning sun inside the tent to prevent predators from harming them. I don't know what they will be, healthy or sick, but I pray for the best for them. I definitely will do the test once they become butterflies at the early stage. If they are not healthy, I will euthanize them by putting them in the envelope and put them in the freezer as you taught. I totally understood what you are saying. I didn't do much out of the ordinary, but I do know 1 thing for sure is that Southern California weather is always good. We are don't have a cold weather, even now the norm is about 55 degree F - 65 degree F during the day time, and at night between 40 F - 49 F. I live on the Westside of Los Angeles, very close to the ocean (5 min exact). Thank you so much Rich for your thorough explanation and concerns. That is the main reason I love to reach out to you! You are very knowledgeable in raising Monarchs! And, you are my great Teacher! I'm thankful and grateful to know you! Your thoughtfulness and your gift of time reflect just how much of a beautiful kind soul you are! My heartfelt thanks to you, Rich! I will contact you and let you know about these soon in few more weeks. Take care, Viv
That all sounds detailed and excellent. The level of detail in your reply demonstrates that they are certainly in good hands. And I'm certainly happy to teach what I can, if I can. If I don't know the answer, I certainly admit it, and sorta enjoy that, as it shows me something that I don't know yet and have a chance to research and learn. During the Science Olympiad season (which goes until the end of April for me), time isn't an easily to get resource, so my apologies for not getting back sooner. I hope all is working out well. Nice weather description, by the way. I've only been to California once (well, twice, but too young the first time to develop memories) and it was San Francisco. A very beautiful state from what I was able to experience. I see why so many wish to move out there. Someday, I hope to go back and see more of it (though I'm pretty sure I'll always be a Michigan boy as far as residency).
Hello Mr Lund, I just got 11 cat's in the mail but not sure if stage 3 or 4 or 5? Any way to tell for sure?. And since I have them inside in a cage but they don't always move so much, they remain immobile alot.
This website gives a good image and description of the instars. That might help.
blog.nwf.org/2014/09/a-visual-journey-through-the-monarch-life-cycle/
Good luck with your 11!
Hi Mr.Lund! I’m worried, I have 55 chrysalis! I’ve hung them , as you did, because of overcrowding. They should be eclosing by now, it’s been two weeks for many of them. What could be wrong? They all look good, can’t figure it out! Help!!
I'm sorry, Mary, but if they look good still, but haven't emerged, I don't know if I know any better than you on this one. If there's no visible signs of something going wrong, I know I wouldn't give up yet. You commented six days ago, though. What has happened since?
MrLundScience Evening Mr.Lund! Thank you so much for responding! I can only imagine how busy you are!! So here’s the good news! My first group have all eclosed and many of the second group too! Thank the Lord for your TH-cam vids! Our weather has been cold and rainy so I’m feeding them until tomorrow. The temps should be good for the next few days. I had no idea that there was so much work to this but I’ve grown to love these little sweeties! Thanks again for all the help! Mary
Very pleased to hear that they have eclosed and are eclosing. You're definitely correct about me being busy. It's currently my coaching season for Science Olympiad...and it's a six month season. November through April. Still, as long as people can be cool with that, I'll definitely get to the comments when I have a chance to. If you're watching the videos and taking the time to comment, I think it's only respectful to address questions that are asked. Thanks for helping out the Monarchs in the ways you've been able to. Thanks for being a part of this.
Mr Lund I have a Crystalis that turned dark 3 days after it went into a Crystalist. Do you think it has a chance or is it over.?
Just three days? Okay, normally I'd say to chrysalis issues that you gotta give them that chance, but if it's dark three days in, that's not good. Does the outside still feel "hard" and mostly firm? When I've had a chrysalis go past the point of hope, it has felt very easily wrinkled when the outside material is pressed upon. As if, the chrysalis had no pressure, and you could feel how very fluid it was inside. Softer, in fact, than when the caterpillar skin first comes off, before it hardens. If this has happened, yeah, I think that one is probably a goner.
How is gathering Monarch eggs helping the critters survive to adulthood?
I've attempted documenting via video the life cycle of Monarch and Swallowtail Butterflies. Much to my horror, only about 50% of the emerged butterflies survived the emerging process. Some had damaged wings, Others failed to inflate their wings prior to drying, and others just fell off their chrysalis. Some never emerged at all. I did this in souther and Central Florida.
This video is part of a larger series on how to find eggs in the wild, rear wild sourced Monarchs, and then release once adults with flight.
I noticed that you didn't bleach the eggs. Was it not necessary?
The first way I'd answer this is that bleach treating is optional for those raising Monarchs, but, if you're taking in more than around 20 Monarchs, it probably should happen. 90+, like what I "milked" in this video, yes, I should have done so.
The second part to mention, though, is that the reason I didn't is that in the making of this video, I wasn't even aware that OE existed. I've learned much more since then!
Wow, you certainly have...to the knowledge and benefit of many other people and surely to the Monarchs as well. One last thing if I might...I was wondering what the ideal temperature and humidity parameters are for a developing chrysalis? It's been hot and muggy here in the Hudson Valley. We have AC in some rooms but the chrysalis is in an area without it. I didn't want to bring it into the ac for obvious reasons. Again, many thanks for your help!
To answer your question, I'd have to first know how you are defining "ideal".
If we deem "ideal" just means the temperature that it can successfully develop, then there's a large range of ideal temperatures. Monarchs experience a range of temperatures in nature, and while most experience high 70's to 90's in nature, they can successfully develop just fine in 60's and up to 110's. The lower the temperature, though, the slower the chemistry, and the longer it will take them to reach the adult status. The higher the temperature, the opposite is true and the chemistry runs faster, causing them to reach adulthood sooner. So, "ideal" might mean the temperatures at which it will take only 25 or 26 days to get them from egg to adult, in which case, it'd be in the 80's, near the high end. Or, if you want more time with them (to not go through food as fast) and want it to take 30 or 31 days, then the low 70's would be "ideal".
Though they can experience it in nature, I'd keep them out of the 60's, and if it's really hot outside, going past 100, I'd bring them in where it's cooler. Other than that, they handle the temperatures seemingly just fine. (Disclaimer for any reading this: All temperatures mentioned in this post are degrees Fahrenheit.)
Thanks again for the information. Going through the process for the first time has been enlightening, thrilling with some anxiety thrown in. all in all, it's miraculous! Best to you for all you do!
Can you still do this at this time of year?
Rich,
Where did you find the small totes with the vented lids?
Time has erased that from my memory, but I do see them in virtually every pet store I walk into, and if you type "small animal terrarium" into Google, options do come up.
Hi Mr. Lund,
My daughter and I have thoroughly enjoyed your tutorials. We've found both eggs and caterpillars and the progress with both has been good. However, our largest caterpillar crawled up onto the lid of the container last night and is still there. My question for you is: What size should the caterpillar be before it J hangs? At this time it is only 2.5 cm long and a little less than .5 cm wide. Thanks!
Charlene G Greetings Charlene!
Great to hear that not only you're helping the monarchs, but that your daughter is involved as well. Give her some thanks for me!
The size at which they decide to J-Hang varies. When food is short, they may do it early, but even if food is plentiful, the size is still a variable. I've had some caterpillars the size you describe start the hang. In fact, 2.5cm doesn't sound abnormal to me at all. I wouldn't be concerned.
Also, though, as I have learned, the caterpillars are instinctively looking for places to hide away from their frass. Frass apparently attracts some predators, so if it's building up, or even just somewhat about, they make look to get away for a spell. Also, as they molt, they like to find a place they feel is a secure spot to do it, as they are more vulnerable during that process. Any of these could be what your caterpillar is doing, rather than J-hanging.
Keep us posted, if you like. It will be interesting to hear how things turn out!
hey man. hope the south is treating you well.
I am trying a swallowtail with your method, I have it in the mesh with a lemon tree I grew from seed, as well as a rotting apple In cap of water as well as purple thistle and Lantana cut stems in water, I'll find out tonight if it works.
would you recommend giving the butterfly a food source in the containment? or does that take away it's it stint drive to survive instead of strictly jut lay eggs, you input?
The butterfly should be fine for a few hours without food, so I'd let it only focus on laying. Think about a stormy day. Butterflies tend to just find shelter and wait it out, and that's an entire day. Thus, I don't feel too guilty keeping one from food for just a few hours.
So how did it go? Did she lay?
+MrLundScience no man, I was so bummed. nothing. assuming fertility, what could it be? darnit! she was alive and well though. tonight I'll try again with a different one.
+MrLundScience o yea, it was 24 hours she was in, 7 pm 2 days ago, till 7 pm yesterday
Not being much of an egg layer myself, I have no idea. (Ha!) But you said it was a lemon tree. What species of Swallowtail are you dealing with? Is it confirmed that they prefer lemon trees?
+MrLundScience giant swallowtail, yes the farmers in Florida call the caterpillars orange dogs as a pest, just bad luck I guess
I have been watching all your monarch videos. I've recently discovered some common milkweed on my property and am hoping to find some eggs. I did have a monarch visit my flower bed recently so I know there's at least one in the area. My question is...when is the best time to look for eggs? I am located in SW Pennsylvania. I plan on collecting some seeds this fall and am going to try to winter sow them to see if I can get some more milkweed growing in my yard. Great video series!!!!!!
Katrina Majoros The best time is NOW! For me, here in Michigan, according to my journals for the past five years, the earliest I have found eggs has been June 29th, and the latest I have found eggs is August 10th. Now, I definitely know you can find eggs earlier and later than those dates. However, that can give you a feel for how abundant they are. I have looked for eggs very thoroughly prior to and after those dates, and still haven't found eggs.
The peak" of the egg laying season for me in Michigan seems to be this last week of July that happened, and this first week of August. Those two weeks are when I've found the most. Currently, I've still been finding eggs daily.
So get out there! Good luck in your quest!
How is the "feeding" actually performed?
Mr Lund
Did you ever have one not emerge from chrysalis? I have one that is way past due! It turned clear and then I noticed it looked like a white wing inside - or maybe air bubble and it did not come out. But I did not see it trying to split open. Out of my first batch of 15 it is my last one. Is it dead as it is close to a week and a half over time and not looking good?
It would be nice to know because I have 20 new ones eating like crazy and getting ready to J-hang and if it is something I could do to help please advise.
+Adel Partlo
If it was that late, but still looked as it should, I would still wait. However, if yours is that late and looks significantly different, I would remove it from there as soon as you can. If it is infected with OE bacteria or NPV virus, you don't want to have it open and spread the infection.
I would also sanitize that location as best you can, using bleach water and other disinfectants. Sorry to hear of the loss!
Just found your videos. I will be following you to get more information. this is only my 3rd year with Butterflies. Also received a mantis egg case, ootheca, I believe. My first time seeing mantis being born! Are they a threat to my monarch eggs or cats? Right now they are in different parts of the garden from the Milkweed, but I want to be safe. Mrlundscience.
It is indeed an ootheca (I have two right now!) and they are pretty darn awesome.
As for a threat to your Monarchs, I don't think that they would go for eggs, but I could be quite wrong with that. As for the cats, I'm pretty sure that yes, the mantids will snag a caterpillar if given the chance.
Thanks. I will try to keep the matids away. As much as I can with nets and distance. I was fascinated watching the mantid casing hatch!! Awesome to see so many tiny babies.
Where do i get the eggs please help me sir i want to raise them too
Greetings Gaylene. The eggs are found on milkweed plants. You left a comment on the Part 1 video which is all about how to find the eggs. So, I'm not sure if you fully watched that video, but that video contains the detailed answer to your question. Here's a link to it again: th-cam.com/video/_I5F4AHyQHs/w-d-xo.html
I thought I was off for the Winter but I was mistaken. I had rooted 4 Milkweed plants from cuttings and had them outside under a bush. They were growing nicely. Yesterday while watering tomato plants I noticed that one plant had a few leaves with holes . Then I saw that another plant was completely devoid of all leaves. I mean strippped bare, not a leaf to be found. On closer inspection I found 1 cat about 3 inches long clinging to one of the remaining stems. I brought the cat inside and put it in a jar with some Milkweed leaves. This morning I looked and it was J hooking from the top of the jar. But I did not think one cat could eat all those leaves and so this morning I went out and looked at the other plants and on one I found a Chrysalis which I believe came from the stripped plant hanging from the edge of the planting pot. I also found 5 egggs on some of the leaves. So I brought the pot into the house for safety as the Anoles are out in force here at this time of year and I believe they got the rest of the caterpillars and eggs. This afternoon one of the eggs hatched. I could only see the black spec prior to hatching with a magnifying glass. Hopefully they will all hatch. Time will tell. Update. Female with withered wing is still alive and eats sugar water twice a day. Will miss her when she is gone. Happy hunting
Wow. That's so cool, having such a late find. Good luck with them, and glad to hear that your female is doing as best she can.
MrLundScience,,, my wife and I love your videos on the Monarch's. We're trying to raise just a handful from one of my wife's butterfly milkweed plants. We started out with a small container. I felt like it would be to cramped. So I purchased a mesh butterfly cage. They seem to be dieing after they form their "J". They start out in the "J" and then go limp and hang straight and body fluids start leaking out. We are feeding them common milk we'd that grows in the pastures around our house.
When my wife opens the flap via a zipper it wiggles the ones hanging
I'm wondering if we need a more rigged cage like the one you use ? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks I'm advance,,
Does it wiggle them more than the wind would? If no, I wouldn't worry too much about it. The one exception would be to first check and see if any aren't hung properly by the caterpillars. They sometimes don't spin as successful a silk hold before J-hanging as we'd expect them to. Why they don't, I'm not sure. But, it happens. I'd be checking that each time, and of course opening it each time quite carefully. But in the end, if the wiggling is less than they'd experience in nature, I don't know that it's a change that would need to be made. To be honest, though I'm always careful, even when taking the lid off of my large containers, they wiggle a bit too.
@@MrLundScience Thanks,,, I told my wife the same thing. That that surely get wiggled around outdoors by the wind and such. We're have been very careful not to shake/wiggle the cage while opening the zippered entry flap.
Thanks for your quick reply. We've only got 2 chrysalis. Just trying to get a better understanding for next year to hopefully raise more and be successful and not a hindrance to them.