I was out 'checking out' the Milkweed plants...Monarch eggs!
Look what I found!
And even better...teensy, tiny caterpillars!
How exciting!
We await a progress report in the future & in the meantime happy observing & thanks for sharing the image
Very nice! Your are so lucky to have Monarch eggs & cats. Ours are still overwintering on the coast of California. Won't be for another 4-5 months before I see any. Thanks for sharing.
Stacey, do you think the first pic, the egg has already changed? i always thought their eggs were yellow, have seen them on my milkweed for years.
Hi Arlene, I think it's getting ready to hatch, then again I only assumed it was a Monarch egg with the tiny cats and all. I watched a butterfly laying eggs the other day too...I have to ask Mandy if I need to bring those little cats in if it gets to cold. I have several milkweed in pots.
NorCal...no butterflys for months?? We'll keep putting in pictures
fringedweller, you bet I'll keep a sharp camera on them and show progress and changes
Hi Floridan, Our Monarchs migrate to the coastal areas around Monterey, Ca. for the winter. I'm lucky however, I live in the San Joaquin valley which they pass though on there way north up to Canada. Then they return back though the valley to the coastal areas to overwinter and start the trip over again. So when they do arrive I get them going & coming back from there journey north. Earliest I seen them around here is late march-april then July though October. I miss my little orange & black friends. It is really a joy to see them in your pictures. NorCalSal
Oh BOy! A photo journal starting right at the beginning. Can't wait to see them step by step. This is gonna be fun!
The egg in the picture hatched...I found a tiny cat on the leaf yesterday afternoon. I also brought 3 plants in...at least 4 more eggs and 3 caterpillars came in on them. I'll put them back outside when it warms back up.
Stacey, so glad you brought those little guys in. I was hoping you would have. I rescued three from my garden a couple of days ago. I watched two go into chrysalis today. I'd forgotten how amazing that process was. The third one is in about the 4th instar (monarchs go through 5 instars--that second picture you posted was the first instar). He'll have another molt and a lot of growing to do before he pupates. In two weeks I should have two Monarchs here. Hopefully photogenic ones :)
Wow, monarchs everywhere....
I figured I'd err on the side of caution and bring them in...had to dig up a couple of plants, I only found one in a pot...guess I planted the others. The ones that got left outside seem to be okay too. I even found a tiny Gulf Frit cat yesterday evening on a passion vine. I wouldn't have thought they could take that much cold. Mother Natures provides for her critters! By the way...I will have probably 10 milkweed plants - A currasavica to trade out in the spring if any of you want them. Not quite sure of the number yet, nor do I know how well they transplant.
We had frost here two mornings ago. I walked out this morning and found a newly hatched monarch caterpillar. There was a monarch here recently that must've been very busy laying eggs. ALmost every single plant out there has at least two or three eggs on it. I had to pick some to feed to my hungry caterpillars inside, so some were eaten. THe one outside survived freezing temps. I think the larger caterpillars crawl down into the mulch and leaves for warmth and protection from the cold. They manage to survive.
They're getting bigger!
Watching and waiting right along with you.
My last monarch that I "saved" from the frost is going into chrysalis now. He climbed out of his hatchery yesterday, the little bugger. I had to pull him off my swag and put him back in his house. He's hanging upside down now but he's not transformed into a chrysalis yet. It takes about 36 hours before the skin splits to reveal the chrysalis. They wiggle and squirm out of their old skin. I always thought they spun it around them, but it forms under the skin. These are amazing little critters to watch! How's your little guy doing now, Stacey? I'm sure he's geting big and about to eat you out of house and milkweed :)
All you guys in the south are so lucky to get to see and help the Monarchs. I don't think they come this far north. For the past couple of years I have planted two or three different kinds of milkweed for the Monarchs, but never saw any. Actually we don't have a whole lot of butterflies here in this area. Probably too dry, especially last couple of years. rutholive, (Donna)
Donna:
I'm lookin' at a distribution map for the Monarch butterfly and it goes almost up to Alaska on the west coast. This is in Stokes Butterfly Book. Just milkweeds alone won't necessarily draw in the b'flies. You will be most successful if you have a good mix of both nectar and larval foods. You need the nectar plants to draw the b'flies in to feed and the larval plants to get the gravid females to lay their eggs. Here are some good links with some basic information (the first one is from a Monarch website):
http://www.monarchwatch.org/garden/
http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/horticulture/g1183.htm
http://www.butterflyhouse.org/gardening.html
http://www.biospherenursery.com/pages/birdsandbutterflies.html
http://www.biospherenursery.com/pdf/birdsandbutterfliesbrochure.pdf
Hope this increases your success!
Hi, I have one chrysalis that has not hatched yet, but will any day now; I had 3 cats in my tiny greenhouse when it got real cold, and when they hatched and flew away, but it was warm. But now this week we are supposed to freeze and I am afraid the last butterfly(Monarch) will not survive in this cold; even though we will warm up during the day; any thoughts on this?? I do have blooming plants for it to eat; but my milkweeds are just now making new leaves. So I guess it will just head for Mexico, I hope and survive!
Still growing...this milkweed has about had it. You can see the last molt on an upper leaf.
Here's the cat moving onto a clean fresh milkweed plant. I can only find 2 of the caterpillars now but I have lots of plants in the sunroom...I guess the missing one could be anywhere.
Rosepetals, I think maybe they'll be okay. After two hard freezes this week I had butterflies today! Cloudless Sulphers and a Gulf Fritillary. There's still hope for yours!