mY RESCUE MONARCHS.

[paulakcmo]

tHIS HAS BEEN QUITE A PROJECT for me. Two weeks ago I noticed my butterflies looked like they had been in a rumble, very beat up wings and tips on the container bottom. Thanks to the moderator I figured out they didn't have enough humidity and were tearing their wings on the bridal netting! Got a humidifier now and I've had great luck with my monarchs producing eggs! Looks like my midwifery will continue thru the winter. I did lose 1 beautiful big boy and 2 females so far, . I didn't have much luck building a square container for them so I bought another embroidery hoop 18"X27"X1 1/2 yds and they have done well in that cage. I placed the netting over a milkweed plant on a pedestal in a north kitchen window. I also went to Home Depot to look for full spectrum lighting. The guys said that full spectrum lighting only comes in tubes(I wanted bulbs because I couldn't rig a fixture in that area). Well, I proved them wrong and found Blues Buster Full Spectrum light BULBS at Whole Foods Market. Not only am I doing my part for the energy problem, I'm keeping me and my cats and butterflies happy. Hope you are enjoying your experiences with monarchs as am I!

[psi_chemie]

That's really cool - glad you are having success!! I am missing them now. I should have tried to keep some over winter. I was worried about generating enough milkweed indoors. How are you doing with that?

Also I found on some sites (maybe even this one, I forget), you can buy a powder/paste for your type of larvae, and feed them that way.