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.

http://blog.hmns.org/2014/09/it-takes-a-village-a-milkweed-village/

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,

http://www.amazon.com/Enlarged-Updated-Second-Milkweed-Monarchs/dp/0965747239/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1441300744&sr=1-1&keywords=monarch+milkweed+and+more

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. 5^th at 6:30pm at the Oak View center at 110^th 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!

September 19 Update

I am sure most of have wished your last monarchs Good Luck!

The pictures coming from different parts of the country of the migration are beautiful!

The migration has been sighted in the Indiana Dunes this week,

The Pelle Point, Ontario and Cleveland Ohio last weekend were impressive!

There has been a large group sighted in Missouri too.

It is so exciting to see all the pictures and videos on the monarch facebook pages.

People have been posting  mostly from the Great Lakes region this week.
If you would like to join any of these pages look for
The Beautiful Monarch, Monarchs and Milkweed and Butterfly Gardening

People are sharing lots of great photos.

Either everyone is looking more for the migration groups or there are definitely more butterflies.

The update on the migration can be seen daily at Journey North online

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/fall2015/monarch-butterfly-migration091715.html

Please share you sightings with Journey North, this info is important to gage the migration population.

Collecting Seeds: Now is the time to be looking for mw seeds at home. They are ripening now.
Tuberosa may be finished, Swamp is coming in and Common will be ready in the next few weeks, Tropical is ripening too.
Remember that the seed pods ripen from the bottom of the plant to the top. So the lowest pods are ripe first.
Seeds are not ripe unless they are coco brown so if you cannot easily pop the pod open, then it is probably not ready.

Check back in a day or so.
Take a brown paper bag out with you when you collect, a marker and clippers. Don’t tear the pods off, you will get a hand full of sap.

Don’t get the white sap in your mouth or eyes and remember: nothing smaller than your elbow in your ear! Hahahhaha! Sorry, I digress.

Putting your seeds in paper ensures they will have lots of air circulation to dry. There is a video on my blog showing how to clean the fluff from the seeds after a couple of weeks of drying.
Mw seeds are all very similar in appearance so mark the bag with your marker.
After cleaning, weigh your seeds if you can and put it in your notes for this year. Then share them with as many people as possible.
Maybe send them into Bring Back the Monarchs Campaign. Here is the link. http://monarchwatch.org/bring-back-the-monarchs/milkweed/seed-collecting-processing/

Or, if you like, Monarch Mommas and Poppas can send in a large group collected amount of seed. I can do that if you want.

Monday I will be presenting a lecture at the Oak Lawn Park Dist. 6:30 at the Oak View Center at 110^th and Kilpatrick in Oak Lawn.

I will be presenting the Benefits of Biodiversity, join me in a lecture and discussion on the importance of planting for pollinators. Registration is $5, come a little early to register in the office.

Don’t forget that on October 5^th I will be hosting a Monarch Season Wrap-up at 6:30 at the Oak View Center at 110^th and Kilpatrick in Oak Lawn. I am hoping to get as many people there that have raised monarchs this year. I am going to present a short program on how the season went according to Journey North, Monarch Watch etc. Then I would like to have a discussion on how the season went for you. Bring your totals with you, notes, photos and anything else you want to share. If you have a Monarch Waystation, bring your certificate along.
I will have milkweed seeds to share and info on butterfly gardening. In lieu of the $5 reg fee for the meeting I will have a collection jar for the Monarch Watch.
Light Refreshments will be served.

I hope to see you there! From what some of you have been telling me, this has been a great season! Let’s celebrate it!

Some news articles I have found this week…

http://globalnews.ca/news/2229166/monarch-butterfly-conservation-efforts-target-unused-green-spaces/
http://nativeplantwildlifegarden.com/help-monarchs-with-the-right-milkweeds/?utm_content=buffer85637&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

A Quick rundown on the season so far

Well what a whirlwind of a summer! After waiting through 5 tense weeks of rain, finally it has stopped. I just hope it picks up a little. Now the garden at home is too dry. Got through the rain wondering, where are all monarchs? I guess they were waiting to lay their eggs. Now it is eggapalooza!
The season started slow with only finding a few eggs to collecting 30-60 daily at work and home. I have to thank my seasonal works who are getting into the conservation thing and actively looking for eggs for me. We have milkweed at almost every park and facility where I work and so that makes collecting easy. I did this by design but also from an educational standpoint. Our facilities (park district) have kids and moms and dads going in and out all day, not to mention day camps! I want those kids visiting to say, I saw a monarch butterfly lay her eggs today at camp! We have a wonderful Naturalist that works with us and she does the bulk of the education. So anywhere I can help that out, make it more convenient.... I grow all the mw we use in the parks in our greenhouse so it is all pesticide free.
Oh and the nice garden club lady who dropped off a caterpillar, thank you. It will be well cared for by little Gwennie.
At home where I  raise these eggs into butterflies, is a little chaotic right now. We are in the tail end of a renovation project and I have no tables in the house. I can't wait to get my dining room up! I need a project space. The hatching boxes where the eggs go are literally on the kitchen floor.
When I bring eggs home, I  "process" them. By this I mean that I get a clean hatching box. I clean with bleach and make sure to rinse and dry well. I then place a paper towel in the bottom of the box and spray it with a little spray bottle. Make the paper towel a little damp.  The reason for this is too keep the eggs alive until the eggs hatch. After I get them all into the boxes, I count them,  make sure any funny looking ones get closer inspection with a jeweler's loupe.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00533VJSG/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=GRI0HJNXLA91&coliid=I143UQMWVJG2EK

Any bad eggs go out. I make sure there are no aphids or anything nasty on the leaves. Then I seal the box. This is important. Seal the box, make a hydration chamber so leaves live. I also open and close those boxes at least once a day to get fresh air in. You will want to see if they are hatching anyway.  And then you wait. When they start hatching, after 2-4 days,  I start putting new food in. Wash the leaves off and pat dry. I don't always transfer every tiny cat. to a new leaf. That would be too time consuming for the numbers I am taking care of. However when I had less than 100 I would definitely transfer them. I use the tip of a toothpick. Some use a paint brush.
Feed the cats and clean the boxes daily. Period. If you do not want a bacterial outbreak and cats dying, cleanliness is the most important aspect of this activity.
For my operation, when the cats get about an inch or so in length I think about taking them out to the caterpillar house. This is a structure built by my husband, Lee. It took him about 20 hours to build and believe it not, he used no plans. We deconstructed the old cat. house and there was enough wood there to reuse into the new one. He only had to buy a little bit of wood.
While out in the cat. house the cats are fed from large cuttings of common and tropical mw. They are in vases that are weighed down with marbles and the opening of the vase is covered with plastic wrap to keep cats. from falling in and drowning.
Then they just do their thing. Eat until it is time them make their chrysalids. They wander around the cat. house for a while and settle in a spot. When they eclose, I release them the same day.
So why do I do this, all of this? I definitely have enough to do over the summer. I work full time, lecture at garden clubs, but only a few in the summer. I have a large garden to take care of and other responsibilities.
I don't want to get all sanctimonious about this and say that I am going to save this species. I have genuine sympathy for the monarch and their plight. I do this because the symbolism of the metamorphosis is important for me. I think that this species is a good ambassador for all the insect world and why we should protect them. Except aphids. I don't like aphids. Oh and mosquitoes...oh well. Most insects are really cool and beautiful. And I do it because it is fun.  Although this week it is feeling like a job. :)
Next up I will address those insects that also use mw for their home.

The hatching boxes, only 20-25 in each

Out in the Garden

The "Nursery"

The large Monarch Waystation at work, cared for by devoted volunteers!

The first batch of cats. in the house

The first batch in the house

This is what I call a Family Tree!

A monarch resting before being released, this can take a few hours. And the new improved caterpillar storage system

Everyone munching on the same branch!

A lady bug doing it's job eating aphids!

*I just want to say thanks for all the sweet email & fb messages about the butterflies. I truly enjoy this, however my slightly obsesive personality has gotten a hold. If I go out to visit the caterpillar house I find that and hour or more has passed since I opened that door :). I am happy to share this with you and it makes me happy that you are all enjoying the experience too! *

Now back to regularly scheduled programing....

I was out this morning checking in with the cat. house. There were 9 butterflies yesterday and 11 today. The tally for released butterflies is 137 give or take a few, I don't have a completely accurate number for Friday the 20th. I guess I was in too much of a hurry ... But I digress. The egg laying has slowed down this week in my garden and I think it may have something to do with the yucky aphids. I blasted off all the critters with the garden hose. Not as easy as it sounds! I had to cup the tops of the plants in my hands and blasted them. now multiply that by 12 plants, some with multiple branches. I got a couple of funny looks from the nieghbor- whatever man! It did not take very long. Consequently my arm was covered in creepy crawlies- shudder- So the egg laying has stalled at 520 and the butterflies should be turning around and starting the journey to Mexico very soon. The egg laying doesn't surprise me. I did say that I would just collect until I couldn't find any more eggs, so we'll see what this week brings.

I have found that this little project for the summer takes some time to attend to. Caterpillars eat- a lot- and with eating comes the pooping...They poop a lot! As they get larger so does the poop. Sometimes I can't even see a caterpillar when they hatch from their egg, except for the little hole they eat in the leaf and the tiny dust-like poop. As they grow- so does the poop! If you don't clean the boxes you keep the cats. in before they go into the cat. house, the poop can contamiate everything and the little guys begin to die. I lost 3 cats. today because I was pretty distracted yesterday and thought everything was ok. When I opened the boxes today I found a lot of moldy leaves and I had to search for the very smallest cats. If you decide to jump into this for next summer just remember that you have germs and so do the cats. so wash your hands before nad after handling.

I watched 4 caterpillars pupate (make their chrysalis) this morning and I again missed 3 butterflies emerging. Darn! I keep missing it. That must go very quick. When the butterfly emerges its wings are wrinkled and its abdomen is very swollen. The fluid inside the abdomen is the gently pumped into the wings to expand them. The butterfly then chills out for the next few hours waiting for their wings to harden and they test them out flapping every few minutes until they are strong enough to fly.

A monarch right after it emergered from its chrysalis, note the swollen abdomen.

They will feed soon after they beging flying. During the first part of summer and spring, the butterflies will mate and females lay about 500 eggs over a couple of weeks and then live a couple more weeks after that. I did mention earlier that the monarchs butterflies emerging at this time in the summer go into a period of diapause- they put off mating until next spring when they begin the journey north and then they will die. So this generation will live about 9-10 months.