Saturday, September 19, 2015

September 3 Update

I hope you are all surviving this heatwave here in the Midwest!
According to the weather history, we have not had this hot of a start to September since 1985!
Holy Smokes! I was just entering freshman year of high school…
Back to the monarchs.
I have come across a couple of really good articles that may help you at this time of the year:
this article explains all the critters that use mw as habitat and the predators that also hang out on mw.
Another great article is one that gives tips on raising monarchs with better success and less disease.
https://monarchbutterflygarden.net/common-monarch-diseases-prevention/
Things to think about next year if you continue.
There was a book written by Ba Rae and colleagues also explaining about who else uses mw. Excellent book! I encourage you to add this to your library,
I have collected very few eggs in the past 10 days, I think the cold overnight temps last week may have pushed our gravid (pregnant) females and their mates southward.
There are still caterpillars to be had. So give your mw one last look.
I have had multiple calls on sickly and deformed bflies eclosing recently….
One disease that is common on monarchs is a parasite called O.E. it is a protozoa that has evolved with the monarchs and seems to cull out the weak individuals.
At this time of the year don’t be surprised to have a few butterflies eclose form the chrysalis with deformed wings or legs. These individuals should Not be released.
As hard as it may be for you, you need to euthanize these butterflies to reduce the risk of spreading the disease to other healthy butterflies.
Simply put them in a container and slip it into the freezer. Then put the dead butterfly in the trash wrapped up in paper towel or in a plastic baggie.
These butterflies may not be able to feed, cannot fly and will never mate so their quality of life is limited. Please do the humane thing and euthanize.
I usually have a dozen or so every year that succumb to this disease. It is not uncommon and there is nothing you can do but clean your mw before you feed your cats.
This will minimize the spores.

I would love to hear about how the summer went for you, please join me for the Monarch Season Wrap Up at the Oak Lawn Park District.
I am hosting this on Oct. 5th at 6:30pm at the Oak View center at 110th and Kilpatrick in Oak Lawn (where I work).
Please preregister by calling 708-857-2200
I will have mw seeds to share with you.


Have a great Labor Day weekend!

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