July 22, Drying out....

Hello Monarch Mommas and Pappas! 

I hope this drier weather is agreeable to you all. 

It seems to be agreeable to the butterflies.

I have seen many butterflies this summer at home and at work.

Not only have I seen many monarchs but I have seen many different species of butterfly.

Red Admirals and Question marks are having a really good year.

I am hoping that most of you are finding eggs and cats. now. 

The 6 weeks of rain we have had here in the Midwest (8 inches+ in IL), really hampered the monarch egg laying. I found very few. 

When the rain stopped 2 weeks ago, collection picked up. 

I am now up to 548 eggs and cats. collected. 

Do not be daunted by my big numbers, I have minions at work (my college summer workers) :)

They are getting into this too and they do a lot of the looking while we work. 

However, there just seems to be more females laying and more gorgeous milkweed than in years past. 

I really hope you are all having successes too. 

When I first started this endeavor, I raised maybe 50 in the first year. 

If you only have the opportunity to raise 5-10, just remember they wouldn't be here if not for you.

Have you all been seeing more milkweed around the area? 

There just seems to be more on the roadsides and vacant areas. 

Could it be all the rain? 

Could it be guerrilla gardeners tossing seed bombs around? 

Have you noticed no orange aphids on your milkweed? No?

I think an unexpected benefit of the excessive rain. 

Keep an eye out, though I have seen the beginnings of them.
Simply squish those colonies as soon as you see them.

You can rinse your plant off when you are finished.
Do not use insecticidal soap on your milkweed.

If you need to see what they look like refer to my blog I will have this update with pictures there.

Caterpillar Crazies!

Caterpillars shed their skin 5 times as they grow. The last time they molt is when they shed their skin and reveal the chrysalis.



Before they shed their skin they rest in the "J" state for about a day. As they are hanging they are expanding their skin in preparation for it to split.

The Butterfly Tally is 148!!!!
There are 104 Chrysalis!

On my way home from work yesterday I called Lee (dh) to say hi. He asked when I would be home because the caterpillar house was out of food and the little guys were - literally- running all over the caterpillar house looking for food. So I advised him on how to fix that. When I got home- a few were still running about and had not found the new leaves yet. They were very hungry and as soon as they got onto a leaf they started munching. I fixed up a few new stems of milkweed from my garden for them. I was also looking for two very tiny cats. that had hatched from hidden eggs previously this week. I was hoping they had not been eaten by the really huge cats. They do this sometimes in situations of overcrowding and little food. I have not witnessed any cannibalism this summer but that doesn't mean it can't happen. I did find them. As I was cleaning the house I noticed many of the largest cats. were already hanging in their "J" on the roof. I counted up those cats.-22, the number of cats just resting up there- 9- number of chrysalis'- 79! In the next two weeks I will be having large numbers of butterflies hatching. I can't wait. The tally for released butterflies is 140 as of yesterday, Lee released them before I got home.


I mentioned in my last entry that the egg laying has slowed down. I found no new eggs yesterday so that is why I cut a few stems for the cats. out of my garden. I also discovered yesterday they one of my spots where I collected stems has been mowed :( So I need to search out another area for my remaining cats.

I Found a new caterpillar today, an anise swallowtail! I found it at work where I was weeding a clump of Queen Anne's lace. So I brought it home but I had a problem, how do I keep the QAL fresh? Luckily I had one of those little water tubes used for fresh flowers. They just were not big enough to put into a vase. If you look very close you can see the caterpillar.


The other photo here is a vase I am using out in the cat. house. You need to keep the caterpillars from dropping into the water so covering the vase with plastic wrap and a rubberband works. A double works better than one. Pull the wrap taught and slice a small hole in it. When you push the stem of the milkweed plant through it will expand to the correct size. I also place a wad of wrap around the bottom of the stem to be sure.