Finally this year I have milkweed plants in my gardens (planted seed last year but plants didn't thrive; this year they're popping up everywhere!) and now I've got either monarch or queen cats. I want to bring some inside to raise in a crate. I've had great luck with BST's, not so much with GF's, so I'm nervous about these little guys! I'm noticing that the sprig of milkweed I put them in the crate on a half hour ago is already wilting. How do ya'll do it? I've got a plastic container with the wet floral foam in it, and a piece of wax paper stretched over the top and held with an elastic band. The sprig of milkweed is inserted in a hole thru the wax paper, into the floral foam. Is there a better way to keep the leaves fresh?
Keeping milkweed leaves fresh in Monarch cat crate
I don't use sprigs, I give them two or three leaves at a time and lay them in the cage, and when those are gone I give them more. It helps if you rinse the leaves before you give them to the cats, that way they have a little moisture on them and they stay fresh until they are eaten.
Also this way you don't hurt your plants as much, just take leaves here and there, without stripping the plants.
Josephine.
I have small containers with water inside and slightly flexible lids. I put a little hole in the lid for the stems. Guess I'm picky about fresh leaves.
I bought and emptied out baby food jars. Poked holes in the lids and placed the plants in the jars.
Thanks everyone. I rinsed the leaves like you said, Josephine, and lay them down for the cats. But then later on, on a website about raising monarchs, it said they should be dry! But it did seem like the leaves stayed fresh longer having been moistened.
So I took a plastic box and put paper towel on the bottom, and lay the leaves and the cats down inside. It all looks nice and comfy. But when I got home from the shelter just now and checked on them, three of the cats had left the leaves and were wandering around on the inside top of the container! Do they usually walk away from their food source, or are they trying to tell me they need fresh leaves? The ones in the box were just picked this morning at 7:30 and they still look good.
They do move around, they may be trying to molt or if they are big enough may be looking for a place to pupate.
Don't worry about them moving in the container, they will go back to the leaves when they are ready to eat again.
Josephine.
Thanks Josephine, they ARE worrying me! They're not ready to pupate, they're very young, but they MAY be ready for a molt. They sure are cute little things!!!
If they're going to molt, they will stop moving and be still.
Just curious...you mentioned using wet floral foam - did you let it soak up water? That works great at keeping the cuttings fresh. In our south Texas heat that dries out quickly - must add water daily.
The wrapping of the wet floral foam with saran or wax paper helps keep the block damp. Also helps with keeping the block of foam frass-free.
You might try using bigger sprigs of milkweed - often times the end shoots wilt because they are still tender and herbaceous. Or as the others have mentioned - just toss a bunch of leaves into a cage - monarchs are voracious eaters and should eat the leaves quick enough :o)
The caterpillars can crawl on and off the wet floral foam without you having to worry about them. Some folks use containers filled with water then covered with saran wrap or foil - a caterpillar could still find it's way into the water and drown.
When the cats have eaten the sprigs pullou the nubs and brush off any frash. Add more water and stick in fresh sprigs. If the wet floral foam gets too dirty I toss it out and get a new piece.
Here's a photo of a piece of wet floral foam with Forbes Silkmoth caterpillars feeding from the ash tree cuttings..
~ Cat
This message was edited Jun 29, 2009 10:13 PM
Hi Cat: The cats were a little more hungry today, they stayed mostly on the fresh leaves I gave them, except for one guy who just wants to cling to the side of the box.
For my BST cats, I use small plastic food storage boxes; I fit the foam in, and I've made holes in the tops with a skewer to stick the sprigs of parsley, dill and fennel in. The next day I freshen up their food and move them to a clean box and clean out the cage and wash the old box. I thought I could do the same with the monarch cats, but I don't have enough milkweed to cut sprigs, especially since this is my first year doing monarchs and I don't want to bring TOO many in, in case I'm not successful in raising them! I'm seeing more cats out there every day! So bringing in individual leaves is going to be my best option, I think, and I just lay them down on the paper towel in the box.
Do the cats ever have a problem getting stuck in the "milk" that oozes out when you pick a leaf? I worried about that, so I'm wiping off the glob that forms before I put the leaves in their box. I know how sticky it gets on MY skin!
I've never noticed any cats stuck on the gooey ooze.
Rule #1 of butterfly gardening - you can never have too much milkweed when it comes to raising Monarchs and Queens. Same concept goes for other species like Pipevines.
You might try leaving the eggs or caterpillars on the plants. Most butterflies will not lay eggs on leaves that already have eggs on them or caterpillars feeding. They 'should' fly off to find larval host plants elsewhere. Elsewise, you can try to put a sleeve around some of the branches or the whole plant :o)
Other than that I've found that they grow slower when you put them into an air-conditioned area. Like inside your home on a shelf that gets hit by the airconditioner vents. Am assuming the cold slows down their metabolism. Have also read that if you provide caterpillars with more light - like leaving the light on 24/7 makes them eat more and grow faster. Perhaps the opposite will work - allowing them less hours of sunlight or light. Might try covering the cage with a towel that blocks out the light?
At least it might work and give you time to find more milkweed or allow the plants you have to put out new growth.
~ Cat
Amen !!! To Cat's rule #1
Don
I forgot to attach a photo of my BST nursery, which is how I thought I could set up my monarch nursery, until the first attempt resulted in the milkweed wilting right away.
I'm happy I have as much milkweed as I have! We always had milkweed back in CT, so I had my sister send me seeds two years ago. Not many plants came up last summer, but this year I have quite a few. Husband wanted me to pull them out of my flower beds but I planted them specifically for the monarchs, so no way! I'm looking forward to having some in flower. When I was a kid, I loved seeing the butterflies flocking to nectar on the blooms.
I hate the wilted leaves too. I cut single leaves from the middle or lower part of the plant, unless I am feeding first or second instars. They need the small tender leaves. I use a pail of water to collect the leaves in so they have water immediately. When I get them rinsed, I blot them between paper towels briefly. If you have gathered more than was needed put them in the refrigerator in a zip loc bag.
I use the bottom 1/2" of pudding cups for a water reservoir. I cut wafers of the wet floral foam and then use the plastic cup like cookie cutters. I make a lot up and set them aside. When I need one I put it under the water and over-fill it; then cover it with Glad press n seal. It won't leak, and as it dries out you can hold it under the tap and refill it throught the holes where the leaves are put. Each time you add leaves, make NEW holes. This keeps the foam touching the stem if it is smaller than the previous one.
You will get a feel for how many leaves the cats require. Be prepared to feed twice a day minimum. At least once a day empty the frass (poo) from the cage.
One other thing I might mention is the need for a finer mesh than even tule netting. One DG person had a whole group of cats wiped out when a microscopic wasp was able to get into the cage to them.
Here is a set up of my Monarch cages. I group like sizes together and start thinning them as they increase in size. Three last instar pupate very easily in the containers.
When you get enough MW plants, grow them in gallon pots. That way you can put the whole plant in the cage. It saves wasted leaves and the cats
I tried that one year and found it to be hard to keep insects like spiders and etc. off of the plants in a pot. Outside our heat would roast them, and inside they didn't grow as well.
But as I said...we all have to find what works best for us and the cats. I save time by grouping the sizes together since the piggies eat more. Sometimes I can skip the wee ones Also that keeps from wasting leaves. They eat everyone I bring in unless they start to pupate. I then remove the leaves wash them and give them to others.
Like TPCat said above...you can never have too much milkweed. When I don't have any Monarchs around I clip the tops of lanky plants and root them to increase my plant count. If I have a lot of first instar caterpillars I will sometimes clip a tender top for them. But you have to be careful of eggs on them, Monarch and those of other insects.
Good Luck everyone.
It just amazes me, there are so many ways to feed a cat, and you don't even need tuna.
Josephine.
Too funny Josephine!!!
~ Cat
LOL!!
Yippee! We finally had a lady Monarch make a round of deposits on our 4' Milkweeds today!!!
Congrats to the Monarch baby parents!!