They're all dead!!!

[rappr]

This year my school ordered almost 60 caterpillars to work with. They came in healthy and started eating and growing like normal. Then within four days the majority had died. A few had gotten big by then, but they quit eating and lost weight. Many died hanging on the side of the cage, turned black and shriveled up overnight. No strings or parasites like I had seen before. At first we thought it was the heat, because our rooms were reaching up to 95 by the afternoon, but more died the next week when it cooled off. Finally this week, our very last "store bought" caterpillar died. It hadn't eaten for a while and at almost four weeks old was only 1cm long. WE got our milkweed from all different places and we always washed and dried it, so I don't think it was chemicals. WE gave them fresh milkweed everyday, but they hardly ate anything.

Anyone experience something similar?

I have washed all the cages with bleach incase it was a disease.

So sad for me and the kids!

Rappr

[Mona Miller]

When something like this happens, you need to go back to the person that you got them from and tell them what happened. The person who sold them to you may be now having the same problems. If farmers don't get input back from their customers they may not know what results you are getting with their stock.

The problem too is even if you washed the milkweed, if you were getting it along the road and in fields it could have had some type of pesticide or herbicide that doesn't wash off.

A good plan for next year is to work on starting a school garden so you know that your milkweed is safe. If you start tropical milkweed in the summer, by the time school starts you will have plenty and it is really easy to grow.

[Mona Miller]

Here are two good sources for tropical milkweeds:

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/sear ... =asclepias
Johnny's Select Seeds

http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_s ... 0609.15414
Main Catalog for Richters Herbs in Canada. They have loads of other herbs that are good nectar sources.

Put "Asclepias syriaca" into the search.
$1.60/pkt
Bulk Seeds $10.00/10g, $68.00/100g

Put "Asclepias curassavica" into the search.
$1.60/pkt
Bulk Seeds $11.00/10g, $80.00/100g