Well, I was waiting to write
to you about the official monarch count in Mexico.
However…. They have not come in yet. And I don’t know why. So we wait.
They are very fortunate that there have been no severe storms in central Mexico this winter.
There have been preliminary numbers floating around the ol’ interweb but they are not the official numbers.
Monarch Watch uses the World Wildlife Federation count in their record keeping and research.
They are very fortunate that there have been no severe storms in central Mexico this winter.
There have been preliminary numbers floating around the ol’ interweb but they are not the official numbers.
Monarch Watch uses the World Wildlife Federation count in their record keeping and research.
The California numbers are in
and they are up. This is a very good thing for the west coast
population.
http://www.westernmonarchcount.org/data/
http://www.westernmonarchcount.org/data/
They have had some help!
Inmates at Walla Walla Penitentiary have been helping Washington State Entomologist Dr. David James track the migration pattern of the monarch down the coast to the over wintering grounds in Southern Cali.
Several of their migration tags have been located in Cali in the area of Santa Cruz and Monterey.
Very exciting for all those involved. These are two nice articles and video about the program.
http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20160211/ENTERTAINMENTLIFE/160219948
Inmates at Walla Walla Penitentiary have been helping Washington State Entomologist Dr. David James track the migration pattern of the monarch down the coast to the over wintering grounds in Southern Cali.
Several of their migration tags have been located in Cali in the area of Santa Cruz and Monterey.
Very exciting for all those involved. These are two nice articles and video about the program.
http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20160211/ENTERTAINMENTLIFE/160219948
http://www.kvewtv.com/article/2013/sep/23/walla-walla-inmates-raise-and-release-monarch-butt/
http://entomologytoday.org/2013/09/24/washington-state-prisoners-raise-and-release-monarch-butterflies/
http://entomologytoday.org/2013/09/24/washington-state-prisoners-raise-and-release-monarch-butterflies/
I cannot express in words how
excited I am for this year!
I can’t wait for the monarchs to return, I am doing education in several places to get people prepared and we will be having a Monarch Fest at the Oak Lawn Park District!
I can’t wait for the monarchs to return, I am doing education in several places to get people prepared and we will be having a Monarch Fest at the Oak Lawn Park District!
Here are a few upcoming
public classes I am giving…
Winter Sowing & Seed Collecting: Oak View Center at the Oak Lawn Parks: Mon. Feb 29th 6:30pm-9:30pm.
pre registration required. http://www.olparks.com/images/ProgramGuide/2016Spring/AdultInterest.pdf
Butterfly Gardening: Griffith Indiana Library: Mon. March 21 starting at 7pm,
Easy Pruning for the Gardener: Oak View Center at the Oak Lawn Parks: Mon. Mar. 28th 6:30pm-9:30pm.
Butterfly Gardening Workshop (all three lectures in one place!): Joliet JR. College: Sat. April 9th: 9am-12pm
Here is the brochure for spring classes, reg info inside. http://www.jjc.edu/community-education/Documents/continuing-education-catalog.pdf
Winter Sowing & Seed Collecting: Oak View Center at the Oak Lawn Parks: Mon. Feb 29th 6:30pm-9:30pm.
pre registration required. http://www.olparks.com/images/ProgramGuide/2016Spring/AdultInterest.pdf
Butterfly Gardening: Griffith Indiana Library: Mon. March 21 starting at 7pm,
Easy Pruning for the Gardener: Oak View Center at the Oak Lawn Parks: Mon. Mar. 28th 6:30pm-9:30pm.
Butterfly Gardening Workshop (all three lectures in one place!): Joliet JR. College: Sat. April 9th: 9am-12pm
Here is the brochure for spring classes, reg info inside. http://www.jjc.edu/community-education/Documents/continuing-education-catalog.pdf
Butterfly Gardening
Workshop (all three lectures in one
place): Oak Lawn Park District: Mon. April 18th 6pm-9pm at the Oak
View Center,
pre registration required. http://www.olparks.com/images/ProgramGuide/2016Spring/AdultInterest.pdf
Succulent Social Hour: Bring a friend! Plant a pot of adorable little plants! Have a few snax! Friday May 13th 7-9pm at the Oak View Center
Openhouse at Dolly’s home, Late June- Date TBA
Butterfly Gardening and Demo: Internatl’ Friendship gardens in Michigan City: Sun, Aug 21 2:00pm- a great event! All outdoors, demo, conversation and plant sale.
Monarch Fest in Oak Lawn: at the Oak View Center: Sat. Sept 17th 2-5pm free educational and family fun event including monarch tagging, plant sale and kids activities (shhh! It’s a secret but the kids will be doing something super fun with our Artist in Residence!!!!)
Monarch Season Wrap Party: Early October date TBA
Seed Cleaning and Storage: November at the Oak Lawn Parks…date TBA
pre registration required. http://www.olparks.com/images/ProgramGuide/2016Spring/AdultInterest.pdf
Succulent Social Hour: Bring a friend! Plant a pot of adorable little plants! Have a few snax! Friday May 13th 7-9pm at the Oak View Center
Openhouse at Dolly’s home, Late June- Date TBA
Butterfly Gardening and Demo: Internatl’ Friendship gardens in Michigan City: Sun, Aug 21 2:00pm- a great event! All outdoors, demo, conversation and plant sale.
Monarch Fest in Oak Lawn: at the Oak View Center: Sat. Sept 17th 2-5pm free educational and family fun event including monarch tagging, plant sale and kids activities (shhh! It’s a secret but the kids will be doing something super fun with our Artist in Residence!!!!)
Monarch Season Wrap Party: Early October date TBA
Seed Cleaning and Storage: November at the Oak Lawn Parks…date TBA
I
hope to see you all sometime this year. It is always nice to put names a
faces together.
Getting prepared for this
year rearing season….
Now is a good time to Winter Sow your milkweed seeds. If you need seeds send me a SASE and I will send you a few.
Come to my WS lecture to learn how to grow seeds at home outside in winter! Yes you can!
Now is a good time to Winter Sow your milkweed seeds. If you need seeds send me a SASE and I will send you a few.
Come to my WS lecture to learn how to grow seeds at home outside in winter! Yes you can!
Also a good time to go over
your supplies for taking care of your caterpillars this summer.
A few changes I will be making this year, I will be cutting a ventilation hole in my rearing boxes. Then covering the holes with parasitoid proof screening.
You can find this fabric here by the yard if you are interested. http://www.butterflyfarmingsupplies.com/rearing-popups/ultra-fine-screen-black-or-white-price-per-square-foot.html
A few changes I will be making this year, I will be cutting a ventilation hole in my rearing boxes. Then covering the holes with parasitoid proof screening.
You can find this fabric here by the yard if you are interested. http://www.butterflyfarmingsupplies.com/rearing-popups/ultra-fine-screen-black-or-white-price-per-square-foot.html
I am going to do this because
I think that airflow or lack of it, is one of my biggest problems. How do you
do this?
Cut a hole in the top or
sides of your boxes, glue the screening in and go over the edges with silicone
caulk.
A few of you have already done this, so share with me what you did with a few pictures. I will share it with the group.
Consider increasing your air flow in the containers with your cats. It will improve your survival rate.
A few of you have already done this, so share with me what you did with a few pictures. I will share it with the group.
Consider increasing your air flow in the containers with your cats. It will improve your survival rate.
Always learning and changing
this for the better is a great way to improve this hobby,
passion…obsession...what have you :p
I will be growing trop mw in
6” pots on the ledge of my deck again this year. I loved having my eggs at eye
level!
However, I won’t let those plants go to bloom or seed because they wilted, a lot.
However, I won’t let those plants go to bloom or seed because they wilted, a lot.
So I will reserve the
blooming to the very large pots. I got a little frustrated last year because I
was waiting for seeds and struggling with the pots drying out daily yada yada.
Lee has said he will make another cat. house for me this summer. We need more room to spread the cats. out to minimize disease.
He is constantly thinking of ways to improve the design. I can’t wait to see what he has planned this year. I am hoping to bring one to the Monarch Fest.
Another new thing for this year; cleaning the cat house.
I had problems cleaning out the new cat. house last year because of the design. I could not easily rinse out the frass like I had with the previous design.
This year I will try vacuuming it out. I bought a tiny shop vac last fall thinking I could clean the fluff from my mw seeds. Hahahaha, silly me. Not enough horsepower on that one. More like pony power!
Lee has said he will make another cat. house for me this summer. We need more room to spread the cats. out to minimize disease.
He is constantly thinking of ways to improve the design. I can’t wait to see what he has planned this year. I am hoping to bring one to the Monarch Fest.
Another new thing for this year; cleaning the cat house.
I had problems cleaning out the new cat. house last year because of the design. I could not easily rinse out the frass like I had with the previous design.
This year I will try vacuuming it out. I bought a tiny shop vac last fall thinking I could clean the fluff from my mw seeds. Hahahaha, silly me. Not enough horsepower on that one. More like pony power!
So
I will use it for the frass. If you do this too, make sure you thoroughly look
for stray cats. first. I had to do that when I was washing with the hose.
Then every few days wipe down as much of the surfaces inside the cat. house with bleach water.
Then every few days wipe down as much of the surfaces inside the cat. house with bleach water.
As for cleaning the mw, I was
using Lee’s big shop vac and the dust collecting system he has attached to it
for wood working. I used it until we noticed that the floss fragments and
becomes airborne. Those bits of floss are not going to look good trapped in the
finish of our woodwork.
Since we will be using the garage for varnishing the wood work for the house….well let’s just say I have lots of floss on my tongue in my future.. I may try fire again.
Since we will be using the garage for varnishing the wood work for the house….well let’s just say I have lots of floss on my tongue in my future.. I may try fire again.
Other changes, I have
procured a bunch of small organza gift bags and will use them around my seed
pods this summer so the trop mw seeds don’t fly. I lost a lot of seed to that
last summer.
I will have these available for purchase at my lectures and Monarch Fest.
The Uof I Extension is hosting a seed exchange in Chicago next weekend. I will be there with mw seeds and native pollinator flower seeds. Here are the details:
I will have these available for purchase at my lectures and Monarch Fest.
The Uof I Extension is hosting a seed exchange in Chicago next weekend. I will be there with mw seeds and native pollinator flower seeds. Here are the details:
4th Annual Southside
Organic Gardeners Seed Swap
Saturday Feb 20, 2016 from 10
– 11:30 am
U of I Extension office, 9415
S. Western Ave, 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL
Co-hosted with Abe Lentner,
featuring guest speaker, Josh Tate who will share his methods for intensive
vertical urban farming. Bring your seeds, envelopes and a marker.
Extension will supply limited materials.
Please register for this free
event at https://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=13831
A new article on a blog about
Dr. Chip talking about planting habitats, you might enjoy it… http://www.news-star.com/article/20160210/BLOGS/302109999/-1/blogs01
The Monarch Joint Venture (
BTW the Field Museum is now a member) has made another fantastic handout for
all of us to print off and distribute.
This one deals with teaching people about the best time of the year to mow fields and meadows to benefit the monarch http://monarchjointventure.org/images/uploads/documents/MowingForMonarchs.pdf
This one deals with teaching people about the best time of the year to mow fields and meadows to benefit the monarch http://monarchjointventure.org/images/uploads/documents/MowingForMonarchs.pdf
Here is a link to their
webpage and all of the other handouts they have made. http://monarchjointventure.org/resources/publications
Check out my website, I have added some content and will add more soon. www.hort4u.net
Well enough for now, I will
be in touch next weekend.
Have a great weekend
and Happy Valentin’s Day Friends!
Regards,
Dolly Foster, Horticulturist
“Horton Ergo Sum”
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