Found 31 eggs yesterday!!

[nicewitch]

I'm in St. Catharines, Ontario (Niagara Peninsula). Merely on a whim yesterday, not expecting anything this early (May 22), I checked a tiny neighbourhood patch of less than a dozen milkweed plants. Wonder of wonders - 31 EGGS!!! All are now safely in the hatchery box in the front hall, and it's time to set up the rearing area. This will also give me a chance to put some rearing kits into a couple of local schools, and they'll be able to see the whole thing and release the Monarchs before the school year ends.

Anyone else in the area finding anything (or expecting to find anything)? This feels 'early' to me, just because I don't usually see any Monarchs flying before mid-June and, previous years, have waited for my first sighting to go out egg hunting. I haven't seen any on-the-wing yet, but with finding this first batch of eggs, have now started my daily 'rounds' of the downtown milkweed patches I know.

I'm printing up a little thank-you notecard with one of my Monarch photos. This is to leave in the mailbox of any property where I see milkweed growing, and will just thank the owners for providing for the Monarchs, give them a little info on how and why they're helping, and provide link info to MonarchWatch and my own services - I design, install and consult on wildlife-friendly gardens.

[nicewitch]

Had a few casualties from the original brood, but of the survivors, 3 went to a local school on a potted milkweed plant (1 died, 1 pupated, 1 still eating), 2 to my doctor's kids (no info), 16 are chrysalids, and 3 are still munching away as cats. I expect my first releases of the season in the last week of June.

I've only seen 1 adult female, about 10 days ago, nothing else. Eggs are few and far between, only gathered 9 in the past week. Also noticing a dearth of ladybugs - aphids are covering everything in sight.

[texas butterfly]

You inspired me to go look for eggs too on my plants and bring them in.
I had at least 10 the other day, but I'm not seeing all them now. :<(
But, I found more on another plant. The first plant has tiny holes in leaves, so something is munching on it. So, hopefully some of the eggs have already made it.

So, far I've brought one egg in and now he is a little larva munching away.
I've named him TRES. Cat #3.

My UNO and DOS are PUPA's now and I guess I have at last 8 more days before they hatch.

What'd you do to set up your hatchery?

Do you have pictures?

Texas Butterfly

[nicewitch]

No photos yet, but the set-up is very simple. The 'incubator' is a clear plastic box-with-lid that chocolates once came in, with a damp paper towel on the bottom for humidity. I cut a square of the leaf with the egg on it, and put it in the box with the lid on. When the eggs hatch, I put a whole leaf in the box, and put the squares with the hatchlings on top of it - most of them transfer themselves to the fresher food source fairly quickly. Because the box has no air holes, I open the lid for fresh air exchange about 3 times during the day. When they're second instars, I transfer each caterpillar to an individual clear plastic cup (12 oz. size) with a paper towel rubber-banded over the top, and provide a fresh leaf (whole or part, depending on the cat's size and appetite) and cup cleaning every day or as needed. The cats pupate attached to the paper towel, and the cup is big enough for them to eclose in. Many summer mornings find me on the front porch, cup of coffee in one hand, drying Monarch(s) dangling from the other, until they decide they're ready to explore the garden. I should have my first release around the 26th.

Cherril

[drexel.n@gmail]

Wow! You've inspired me to give this a try. It's not very difficult, doesn't require too much equipment, and it isn't very expensive. I have all of the materials at home (I need to double check about the clear cups. but...). I've been so nervous about this - I don't know why - but I think I'll give it a try.

Thanks so much!!

Nancy
WS3037

[nicewitch]

It's one of my favourite things to do every year, so simple and so rewarding. Good luck with yours! Post occasionally and tell us how you're doing.

Went out egg-hunting today. Not as many as I had hoped, but then I reminded myself that this is the first wave of the summer (and I suspect I have unrealistic hopes LOL). Found eggs and first instars, maybe two second instars, but I haven't done a final count yet. Saw my second adult of the season. Some of the local milkweed is blooming, and is sooooo fragrant!

Cherril

[nicewitch]

Oh, and I meant to say that last year I figured out that each egg-to-larva-to-pupa-to-adult-release worked out to a grand total of about 15 minutes' care and attention, spread out over about two weeks (not including the time spent looking for the eggs). Not a bad return on the investment of a minute or so per day for each one!

Cherril

[texas butterfly]

Awesome. That is not much time per catepillar. 15 minutes.

Time management.

I've been thinking myself, if I can bring anymore into the house due to time issues.

Also, I'm weary of having too many catepillars and not enough milk weed.

My first plants don't look so good right now.

2 PUPAs, 2 smaller catepillars is what I'm working with right now.
Names, Uno, Dos, Tres, and Cuatro.

I had a lot of eggs on plants, but don't see eggs anymore. But, holes in some of the plant leaves. If I find cats, I'll pull them in to protect them.

[drexel.n@gmail]

So Friday after work I brought in 4 eggs. One was still attached to the leaf, the other 3 I "flicked" off. By Saturday morning, I had 2 baby cats! They are so tiny! I brought each one it's own milkweed leaf, which turned out to be one too many at this point. They are eating - and pooping quite a bit - but they aren't eating much yet. The other 2 eggs did not prosper. I will check again tonite for more. I'm currently using clean, sterile lunchmeat containers with a damp paper towel folded up underneath the leaf. I found clear plastic cups to move them to once they are big enough to require their own space, but the cups are only 10 ounces. I'm wondering about just keeping them in the Reynolds or Glad containers. Any thoughts? I'll find some twigs for them, too. So far they really haven't travelled much.

This is so much fun! My 5-year-old loves it and wants to take eggs to day care. I figure I'll try it at home first and if successful, I'll talk to her teachers about bringing some in. This is also assuming I find more eggs. I didn't see any butterflies all weekend. It's been in the upper 80s with humidity over 65%.

I also wasn't expecting the milkweeds to finish blooming this early. I thought they would bloom all summer. Will the butterflies still lay their eggs on a non-blooming plant? The purple coneflower is in full bloom, the gaillardia is just opening, as is the liatris, so there is plenty of food.

Thanks!!

Nancy
WS3037

[nicewitch]

Some eggs can take a few days to hatch, so don't give up on them too soon. There've been occasions, though (more than one, I blushingly admit) when, after waiting for 10 days or more, I've had to admit that I've been carefully nurturing a little round blob of milkweed sap - I really must keep better track of the magnifying glass!

Keeping up with the milkweed supply is always a challenge for me, too. It's not yet established in my tiny garden, although I have high hopes for some I transplanted in this year. I'm starting seeds of common milkweed (A. syriaca) and butterfly weed (A. tuberosa), along with 4 or 5 others that were once native to my area, but are now pretty much extirpated in Southern Ontario. I hope to be able to offer seeds of these in the next few years to various conservation and naturalization groups, see if we can get some of these re-established. Meanwhile, feeding the current cats means repeated gathering expeditions to plots I know are safe and unsprayed. Washed leaves, stacked between damp paper towels and kept in a plastic bag or container, keep nice and fresh in the fridge for a week or so; you can pretty much count on needing around 8-10 hand-sized leaves per caterpillar, to take it from egg to pupa. Right now, I have 10 unhatched eggs, 22 first and second instars, 3 third instars, 5 fifth instars and 21 pupae (these from the first batch of eggs I found). Tomorrow will be a fairly serious milkweed gathering day!

As to containers, I started with big 1-gallon glass jars with milkweed stems in their own little vase inside, but these are a pain to keep going and keep clean. I had awful luck with 'communal' containers (a dozen or so in vented plastic boxes) - lost over 100 babies, one after the other, to who-knows-what disease or poison, despite sterilizing everything. So I've just sort of 'evolved' to the individual plastic cup arrangement I'm using at the moment, still tweaking the system. Just remember that, when the butterfly emerges, it needs room enough to hang upside down and unfurl its wings completely - I find the 12oz. cups are big enough, on the rare occasion I don't take them out on my hand or put them in a screen cage. As long as they have at least 3 inches between the bottom of the chrysalis and the bottom of the container, they seem to be fine. A twig or something for them to climb if they fall to the bottom is a good idea.

The milkweed is just beginning to bloom here in Southern Ontario, and we get three 'flights' of Monarchs each year. The eggs I'm finding right now are just the first wave. The adults of these will breed the mid-summer flight (mid- to end-July), who will then breed the migratory flight which emerges end of August to mid-September. So the Monarchs here will be laying mostly on past-bloom milkweed from July onwards. I'm still learning as I go along, too - I had no idea I'd find eggs here as early as I did. Speaking of which, I must go and see if any more have hatched, or if the big guys need anything more to eat - hope to talk again soon!

Cherril

[drexel.n@gmail]

Cherril - I can't believe how quickly these cats are growing. They are just the cutest things ever! And they didn't eat at all overnight, which I assume means growing. The same thing happens with my 5-year-old. =) And I saw what could me a molt in there this morning.

I've solved my housing "dilemas". I was at a friend's house last night (the friend who got me hooked on saving tadpoles and caterpillars) and went "shopping" in her garage. She has graduated up to rearing her cats in aquariums with mesh lids. So I found her previous containers in the garage. I now have what appears to have been a lollypop or pickle jug at one time. It's maybe a gallon & a half? The lid just pops on the top insead of being screwed down. She cut the center of the lid out, so now it is just a ring. That ring holds on a piece of screen. So the cats get plenty of air, they can "J" from the screen mesh, and there is plenty of room for the butterflies to dry once they emerge. What a great solution!! I cleaned it really well and got them settled last night after we got home. They had eaten quite a lot yesterday, so I gave them 2 leaves to get through the night. But like I mentioned, they didn't take one bite of food all night. Yesterday was also the first time they climbed. I found them at the top of the lunch meat container - thankfully they didn't climb out as the lid was not on securely.

I tried taking pictures with my cell phone but they were just too blurry. I don't own a digital camera, so I will use my film camera and will post those eventually. Fun, fun, fun!!! Thanks for the encouragement and for sharing your adventure (and for listening to mine).

Nancy
Cincinnati, Ohio
WS3037

[nicewitch]

I'm so glad everything is going well for you! (little evil laugh - Hahaha - infected another one!!!) Kudos to your friend for having housing supplies available. Nothing beats the feeling of holding your first (or any other!) Monarch on your hand before its release!

Had my first releases of the season yesterday morning - 9 females, not a male to be seen, from the original egg brood found on May 22. This morning, 7 males and 1 female. Expecting 1 more to eclose today, then none until Canada Day (July 1) or a couple of days later. 30+ cats in various stages, 20+ eggs, plus a HUGE armful of milkweed to search and then refrigerate. Happy, happy, happy!

Cherril

[drexel.n@gmail]

My 2 little guys seem to be doing quite well. I can't tell if they are 4th or 5th instars, but their appetite has increased tremendously. They hatched Saturday the 20th. The jug in which they are currently living is probably a gallon & a half smooth plastic container. Will they need a twig to climb to reach the top? When they last molted over the weekend, they seemed fine on the side of the container, so I'm guessing no, but I want to make sure. If they do, can I just find one in the yard? Do I need to do anything special to clean it first? Today makes day 10, so they should pupate in the next few days. Woo hoo! I still haven't seen more eggs - nor have I seen another monarch. =( I did; however, see a frittilary on the purple coneflower all weekend. Very cool! I'm really going to miss watching the cats!

And the remaining tadpoles still have no legs. They are in no hurry to become frogs! Oy!

Nancy
Cincinnati, Ohio
WS3037

[drexel.n@gmail]

Last night when I got home, the larger of the 2 was laying horizontally along the top of the jug, but not on the mesh, more along the curve of the jug. He had begun the process of fastening himself down and by 8:30 he was a hanging "J"!! The smaller one was very active last night - not eating at all, but crawling all over the paper towel on the bottom. I was afraid she was going to fasten herself to the paper towel. But no worries - this morning, she, too had fastened and "J"ed herself to the edge of the container.

I had so hoped to watch the chrysalis form in person. Ah well. There will be more butterflies in our future I'm sure. I expect both with be chrysalids by the time we get home tonite. It's so very exciting! What an amazing process!

Nancy
Cincinnati, Ohio
WS3037

[drexel.n@gmail]

Both chrysalises are becoming translucent! We'll have butterflies soon if all continues to go well! =)

Nancy
Cincinnati, Ohio
WS3037