More eggs and a ?!

[Farfalla]

I really wanted to get a rearing kit this year.But who knew my little patch of milkweed was going to be so attractive? Another momma Monarch came to visit today. I collected 5 eggs so far. Here is a picture I took (with my less than great camera). If you look closely on the left.... You can actually see her curling her abdomen to lay the egg on the leaf . (SORRY it's so blurry!):oops:


I have a question,though.. What if this is one of the females I released with her brothers and sisters several days ago? If a bother and sister mate..what are the ramifications/complications for their offspring?

~Hope

[Gwynne]

How nice that you were able to get some eggs! I have yet to see a monarch other than mine, flying away! Cant answer about a brother and a sister mating. I have wondered if they mate right away and lay more eggs or go to the next location on their way north.

[dzyg]

How cool you saw that! I have seen the female laying eggs a couple times, it is a pretty neat thing. Not sure of the ramifications of brother/sister mating but I wouldn't worry about it really. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would find so many eggs on my milkweed patch this Spring. The plants were only about a foot tall at the time and just loaded with eggs!

One of the crysallis that I found outside hatched yesterday. It was interesting to observe it in the "wild". LOL! I found it on June 19th and it didn't hatch until July 3rd, 14 days. I had to leave and while I was gone the butterfly hatched, so it was somewhere between 10:00-11:00 that it hatched. By 1:30 it had moved off the crysallis and was fanning its wings. I went to check again at about 2:30 and it was gone. So in the "wild" they seem to get going much quicker. I am sure it probably found a nice tree to sit in and hang for the day. They are probably alot tougher than we give them credit for.

Donna

[Farfalla]

I agree about Monarchs being tougher than we think, Donna.
The first one I saw in the "wild" was right near our chain link playground fence at school. We had not noticed it at all untill one of the kids took me by the hand to show me the newly emerged butterfly right outside the fence. To think it had been there for at least 2 weeks..vulnerable to all of the kids and activity and yet there it was..beautiful and healthy! And you are right.. it was off and gone way sooner than any Monarch we had ever raised indoors. I wonder if there are studies to that effect? Maybe because so few ever make it in the wild...Only the very strongest do survive?