Hey Monarch watchers, Journey "South's" Monarch migration goes live today. Check it out and add your reports!
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/fall2008/Update082808.html
Monarch Migration
I am a elementary school teacher who has organized and maintained a butterfly garden at our school. This is the most amazing website I have ever seen and this was the first I have ever seen it. How can I thank you enough? Many children will benefit from your sharing!!!
Most of my Monarchs haven't even turned into butterflies yet! I see a couple butterflies every day and I'm guessing they are freshly hatched and on their way south. I usually start seeing lots flying around by mid to late september. 2 years ago I found a freshly hatched one on a cold Novemeber day. He couldn't even fly I felt so bad I couldn't do anything to help him.
thanks Fairwaywoods. If you peruse that site, you will see that they do all kinds of activities for classroom, monitoring seasonal changes. Over at the birdwatching forum, we keep an active eye on the hummingbird spring migration. Everyone puts their feeders up the minute one is in the next state (it's pretty funny how excited adults can get).
This year I have only seen a few Monarchs. This time of year I start collecting cats to raise in a protected cage. So far I have only collected 2, in other years I am closer to 7 to 12.
There is a large number of Tussock moth cats on my milkweed this year. Must be a poor year for Monarchs in my area.
that's too bad. I know they were "late" this year in most areas.
This is the first year that I have seen many caterpillars but unfortunately I thought birds stayed away from them because they're toxic. Well, I was wrong and will know better next year. I have planted the swamp milkweed, I believe asclepsia, trying to attract them. I had over 15 caterpillars on one plant. Not realizing they weren't safe, that number dwindled to 2 overnight. What besides birds could have gotten them? So, know I have about 5 on another plant that I've draped some netting over. So far so good. One of them has formed a chrysalis. I've been able to watch the whole process starting with the female laying eggs. They seem to prefer the 5 foot tall pink, asclepsia that I planted this year. I have to check the spelling of that so sorry if I'm spelling the plant name incorrectly. Ladygardener, what type of cage do you use? Thanks for any info.
I have a small old aquarium, on the top I have a wire tiny mesh cap that was used to keep a pet lizard in. I put a plastic container with wet flower Oasis in it to keep milk weed fresh. When I find a cat I cut of the stalk or leaf he is on and insert it in the oasis. I pull out the wilted milkweed and replace it as needed.
You might be able to find an old aquarium at a yard sale, and buy the top at a pet store.
Picture of my set-up
Thanks! That's certainly easy enough. Do you keep the aquarium on a shaded patio? Where do the cats do their chrysalis thing? Do you keep the chrysalis in the aquarium until it opens? I'll have to work on this for next year, although I do have some small cats on the plant now.
I don't mean to hijack this thread from the migration map (sorry).
Sus, I do keep the whole thing in the shade, could get hot with the glass if kept in the sun, also protect it from rain.
The chrysalis form on the wire mesh ( but I have one that is now J-ing on one of the leaves). You can carefully remove the top to clean or change the leaves, just don't bump the chrysalis, I support it on flower pots till I'm done.
I leave them in the aquarium until the butterfly emerge and then they will climb on my finger and I carry them out of the aquarium. I have found some emerged when I came home from work and they were fine waiting for me to arrive.
Here are 2 beauties from last year.
I'm not sure your monarchs all got eaten, unless you saw evidence of that. Firstly, I've had two just die on me in the cages. Could be a virus or something. Also, if they were ready to pupate, they say they'll wander 20 feet or so!
Mrs_Ed , I think you are right about the cats wandering off. And they can be fast too! One time I spotted one, went to the garage to get the pruners to harvest the leaf, may have made a quick pit stop too, when I came out I couldn't find it.
Ha! sneaky devils! Well look around for some chrysalises! I think Merideth (or someone) found one on the underside of a hibiscis.
Yup that was me, I also found one under the eve of my shed a couple weeks ago. That one hatched into a healthy b-fly. Yesterday I found one inside a fort like thing on my DD's swingset! Unfortunately I also found one under that area of the swingset that appeared to be made into a spiders luch while in the J formation. : ( I found them while pulling spiderwebs off (and spiders).
Lady gardener, your setup looks very similar to what we do at the Museum of Science and Industry here in Tampa (I volunteer there). At home, I use a critter keeper with cheesecloth on top. Right now I have six chrysalids and four caterpillars. Monarchs don't really migrate this far South because they don't have to. But I know up in the panhandle there are Monarch festivals at some of the nature preserves.
Melanie
Mrs._Ed, I didn't see any evidence of birds getting them but the cats were various lengths, from 1/2 inch to 2 inches. I could see the larger ones wandering off but I didn't think the smaller ones would. I just don't know how 15 cats could disappear all at once.I do have many wrens around the yard and they're always looking for grubs or mealworms. But, I did purchase an aquarium with a screen top today so I'm on my way to having a safe place for the cats in the future. I need to get some oasis for the milkweed. Hopefully the two cats that are on the milkweed bush will be there when I have my set up complete. I've found one chrysalis on a tree peony and there was one on another milkweed plant but that butterfly left last week.
Well here's hoping you find some of them. If you have lots of juvenile birds, they might have tried to eat them and spit them out. That's how they learn, I guess.
Sus, Now you'r kooked, LOL. Nothing like being a monarch parent, it is such an uplifting feeling seeing them take to flight after they sit on your finger for a while to look at the big wide world.
Another nice little tool that comes in handy, I bought a little brush and dustpan that is sold in the camping section in Walmart, comes in handy to clean out the bottom of the aquarium.
And make sure there is no open standing water in the aquarium that the new butterfly can get their wings wet, that can be a disaster.
Still not finding more, just the 2, but I keep looking.
Great news to see so many of you helping our BFs! They will wander away very quickly when looking for a place to pupate. I had taken a trip out of state earlier this year when they were headed north and couldn't bring the cats in. When I returned and checked my plants, there was one missing. I brought in the others and never thought much about it after that. A few days later, my DH noticed a chrysalis hanging over the door of his shop.
lady g.... I don't have large cages because if one had a virius, it could wipe out all of them. But when I did have, I used a paper towel to catch frass in the bottom and it made for easy clean-up.
Yup, we lay newspaper on the bottom of the aquariums at the museum.
You know, I seem to have the opposite problem in that every time I go to pick milkweed I find more caterpillars that I didn't know were there - even though I swear I turned over every leaf yesterday! Tonight I found two more and they're pretty big - like fourth instar size. How do I miss them and where are they hiding? Just when I think I've got a break, more turn up!
Melanie
Well this post answers my question on why my monarch cats leave the plant? I tried to put them back but finally, I talked myself to allow nature to takes it corse, I figure they leave for a reason. I did not know they wonder for 20 feet, everything makes sense now. I was afraid because I had found one cat dead off the plant earlier in the month. Now the search for the chrysalises. Any tips to where to look, it probably can be anywhere right?
I would suppose! Shelia's was on the workshop, Merideth's on a hibisicis. I had a BST get out of the cage on the covered patio, wander all the way into the garage, in between two pieces of styrofoam!That was about 20 feet too.
I generally bring all of my Monarch cats inside, but I obviously missed one. Today, I was checking out my wisteria (the native kind, "Amethyst Falls" hybrid) and I found this empty Monarch chrysalis on it! The milkweed grows on the other side of the oak tree this vine is growing on so he did wander several feet away. Glad to know it made it out safe!
Three years ago I had a couple of milkweeds in pots sitting in a flowerbed in a sheltered area until I got time to plant them out. When I finally got ready to plant, I discovered about 15-20 monarch cats happily stripping all the leaves. I left them and several days later couldn't find them. Some time later, I spotted a monarch that had just emerged and there were several more chrysalises--all hanging in a row under the eave of our house. I kept a close eye on them and all of the bf's made it. They seemed to know that they'd be out of the sight of all the local birds up under the eaves.
Thats a great story, NatureLover. Wish I could find 15 to 20, I'd be in heaven ☺
Thought I would update on this post. I have posted in other threads that as of right now I have 37 Monarch cats in the cage growing up as we speak. I still have eggs out on my milkweed. This is very unusual because last year I did not get any Monarch cats until the migration in mid October and then I only had 13.
The past couple of days I have seen a lot of butterflies floating by, not stopping, just flying by. These are not Monarchs but smaller butterflies. Not sure what they are but they sure look to be migrating. Now today I have seen four Monarchs already flying by. I am seriously thinking they are coming in really early this year, perhaps meaning an early winter???? That would explain why so many eggs, they must be from more than one mother as I saw the mom lay the first eggs. Those have all hatched and then some and I still have eggs.
Anyway, wanted to bring everyone up to date that they are really starting to come through Texas, it looks like on their way to Mexico. Crazy.
Leslie
Wow, that's good! I'm glad you finally have your Monarch babies : ) It's funny that there are a lot in TX and they are just starting to be hatching from chrysalis' in full force here. Yesterday I had 3 (maybe 4) freshly eclosed Monarchs here in the late afternoon and I watched one turn into a chrysalis. There are officially no cats on the milkweeds, although last year I remember seeing small ones just before our first frost in mid Oct., so that seems a bit early. Also maybe a sign of an early winter. : ) Not that I am complaining, it made me very sad to see caterpillars and then butterflies that would never have a chance of getting somewhere warmer for winter and have to freeze to death. : (
That concerns me too, Meredith. I have one Monarch in its chrysallis yet in the cage. And I've seen several more cats on my milkweed just a day or so ago. I left them there. The Monarchs were very late arriving in Mississippi; thus, they are probably late leaving, wouldn't you think? I hope most every Monarch in the US gets to mature and migrate before frost. And, and I pray Mexico still has good habitat left for them. It fills me with joy to see so many gardeners protecting our butterflies as of late.
Martha
You are in so much of a warmer climate there than I, I wouldn't be worried about them where you are. Not yet anyway : )
The Monarchs got here about a week later than last year, but that doesn't seem too bad. Especially since I've been hearing about other people not getting them much later than last year. I think the weather played a big part in it. Also I read from a butterfly expert that it is common for populations to decline in subsequent years after a large population burst. Due to the predators also becoming more abudant when their pray is. Not last year but the year before it seemed like the Monarchs were around in remarkable numbers. Everytime I was out driving around I'd see them flying everywhere and in my own yard there would be at least 7 at a time! I remember reading on a butterfly site that it was a record breaking year that year, so I believe this year is showing the fallout of that. I think everything will even itself out so don't be too worried. I know there is nothing we here, can do about habitat destruction in Mexico, except pray that they see the beauty of these creatures and decide to do something about helping to keep them on this planet. : )
lostintexas...you might possibly be seeing snout butterflies, as we're in the middle of a mass migration caused by snout overpopulation in the south part of Texas. For the most part, they've been headed north...running against the north to south trend of other butterflies. Although some could be heading in other directions now. Vehicles all over Texas end up with the poor little dead things smashed up on their vehicles because that species have a strange tendency of flying low over roads.
I saw my 2nd monarch yesterday! I'm certain it was a monarch and not a Viceroy. I reported it on the website mentioned in the first post. I hope to plant some butterfly weed this fall or spring so I will have more monarchs next year. They're not nearly as common around here at the swallowtails and frittelary (sp?).
You go erdooley. You will enjoy it.
And Thanks LindaTX. They did look a little like the snouts. I just never would have imagined that as this has never happened before, at least not while I was paying attention. I do wish they would fly higher up, the Monarchs too for that matter.
Interesting talking about the huge amounts two or three years ago. I remember that vividly. I could not look at the sky without at least 20 to 30 in my vision at all times. I loved it and so was looking forward to it again the next year but it did not happen. There were not nearly as many the next year. I was hoping for a lot this year again but maybe not. It is a sight to behold when all you can see are Monarchs flying straight across your sight going towards their goal and not being deterred by anything. It is just brilliant and so awe inspiring.
Leslie
Hi I've been seeing monarchs for about 4 weeks now i've seen about 5 and yesterday evening at almost dark This beauty came in my yard.
I was so excited and wanted a picture first it drank from my butterfly bush then went to my angel trumpets it finally went to my mexican sunflowers. I followed it silently from here to there and it was really enjoying the sunflowers and i got this picture.
This is the only time of year i see these here and so thankful it stopped by.
My little Monarch lady eclosed the other day (Tues.). She has been dancing in and out of the milkweed in my garden ever since, even as I write. I hope she knows to migrate! BTW, how do Monarchs know to migrate?
Martha
They don't migrate from what I hear, until the temps are around 51 degrees. Send that Philly on when she is ready, there is a big boy emerged yesterday in my yard!
Sheila,
Philly = city in PA
Filly - female horsie
I got confused there thinking, "Why does she want the butterfly to go to Pennsylvania"? LOL!!
Migration is still a mystery and one of the reasons www.monarchwatch.com tags Monarchs and tracks them.
Melanie
ROFLOL!!! Can't even blame that one on being sleepy! I may be from TX but I am not a horse person!
Here is my first group that that one came from. I think I will order a tagging kit next year.
Here is a neat picture of one of the Monarchs just as it flipped out of the chrysalis. I love digital cameras! We also finally got the action on video too!
This message was edited Sep 27, 2008 10:04 PM
Awesome picture Sheila. I cannot even get the little guys to let me watch them chrysalid much less come out. That is truly awesome. Big ol belly and little wings. Amazing how these guys work. Thanks for that it made my day.
Leslie