April 19, 2011 - VA Eastern Shore

[Wyvern]

VA Eastern Shore / Painter VA: April 19, 2011 - Monarch seen laying eggs in a brand new milkweed patch I started on a friends family farm. The seeds only recently sprouted and are about an inch tall! There is no way the poor cats are gonna make it if those eggs end up being fertile.

Looks this year will likely mimic the the 1997 migration north. Monarchs seem to be moving faster than the milkweed is growing. Females egg dumping and cats stripping everything in sight because there are too many of them and not enough food that early in the year.

[Wyvern]

This week I went to visit my milkweed patch down on the farm. Despite the odds, a number of those eggs hatched and survived over the past 3 weeks. I collected 39 caterpillars... almost all of which were 2nd instars resting prior to molting into 3rd instar stage. Looking at the garden bed, I could see clusters/clumps of 1-2 inch high seedlings in some areas and bare spots in others. Look like the cats were mowing down the seedlings and moving on to the next and so on. With the cool weather I think the cats were somehow making 100% efficient use of the nutrition despite the milkweed being only little seedlings. A big difference between monarchs I raise in the fall who are little pigs that eat and eat and eat without much growth to show for it lol.