African Violets and Gesneriads: Propagation pictures & such, Part II, 1 by VA_Wild_Rose

VA_Wild_Rose wrote:
No Amy... the monarchs will all complete their process before fall.... this group is part of the last brood, so to speak... somehow they will know that when they emerge as butterflies, they have to stock up on nectar, and begin the long migration to Mexico. It's unbelieveably amazing that these tiny creatures can fly 3000 miles, then live there all winter, then make the 3000 mile return trip, to lay the first batch (or brood) of eggs for the new season. There are tagging groups out there that have placed stickers (tags) on the monarch burtterflies, then travelled to the wintering grounds in Mexico, and actually located their tags.

The lunas are the ones that will winter over here, in their cocoons. These cats are eating sweet gum limbs at an astonishing rate! They get bigger by the day, but their process will take some weeks yet. I'll post a photo of one of them the next time I give them fresh sweet gum.

This is a photo of the remaining four monarch cats that we are raising. We selected them of different sizes on purpose, so we could see them all go through the various stages. The only thing I haven't been able to capture with the camera, is the metamorphosis of the cat turning in to the chrysalis... the stages between the two photos above. It only takes about 30 minutes... so typically, we will turn around and they are already a chrysalis. "Fat Boy" did his while I was in Fairfax Monday.

Thanks for your interest!

Karen