Late, Later, Latest

[Mona Miller]

I still have 10 pupae and one adult. Releasing when the days are not rainy and the temps get up to 60. My backyard still has many nectar sources in bloom. Yesterday was a good migration day. Good north wind, and gust up to 15 mph.

I have the pupae inside and hanging in a container from my garden window. When it is cloudy outside, I am turning on a table lamp during the day, which is about 3 feet away.

So far, we've had some light frost, but it hasn't done too much damage. I'm keeping my fingers crossed (knock on wood) that our temps will hold long enough for them to get started on their journey. Anyone traveling further south in VA, maybe these guys can hitch a ride.

The problem right now is that I have no idea how long it will take them to emerge. They were outside from the egg to larva stage so I think this prolongs the pupa stage.

[pumpkinhead]

I'm in Frederick and just had a butterfly emerge after 38 days outside on a hydrangea blossom. I thought sure it was done. I left it outside because we had terrible luck indoors this year. We had a heavy frost last week and lost a few nectar plants. Should I try to feed it something?

[Mona Miller]

If you had a heavy frost, you would have lost all your nectar plants. If there are still nectar plants in your yard, it should be able to nectar. Do you have it inside now or is it still outside?

The ones that I am releasing aren't staying around too long, they are here about a day and are then off. A good north wind comes along and they are riding it south.

[pumpkinhead]

The only thing left are some marigolds. I'm hoping this rain moves on out long enough for him to hit the road. It's 43 degrees this morning...I think I saw him shivering!

[Mona Miller]

Unless it gets down to freezing, he'll be okay. Shivering helps warm them up. They will nectar Marigolds.

[BlizzardNole]

I've been very surprised by how late they continue to dump eggs up here in MD. I have eight eclosing today -- I hope tomorrow is as nice as today is so they can be released. I also let eight go on Sunday. I still have about 20 more pupae and one last cat indoors. Outside, my half-stripped milkweeds still have many 4th-5th instar cats on them. I feel bad for 'em but I can't bring any more in.

I am going to have a much bigger garden next year -- I took down three large evergreen shrubs in the corner of my yard and plan on putting in some type of ornamental grass (like plumegrass) as the focal point in the corner, with several butterfly bushes along the fence on either side, and then planting a large mass of milkweeds in front. Also mixed in will be other nectaring plants (zinnia, verbena, coreopsis, coneflower, etc.)

Next year I'm getting the tags and also an OE testing kit.

[Mona Miller]

Where do you get OE testing kits?

The Monarch Watch store has some good seeds for hosts and nectar plants:

http://shop.monarchwatch.org/product.aspx?p=125522(base)
Monarch Waystation Seed Kit
To create a habitat for monarchs, we need to provide milkweeds for the larvae, nectar plants for the adults, and sufficient vegetation to provide shelter for the larvae, pupae and adults. This Monarch Waystation Seed Kit is designed to enable you to create a habitat suitable for monarchs within the context of a traditional garden. Included are 12 varieties of nectar and monarch host plants (individual packets of approximately 20-30 seeds) and a detailed "Creating a Monarch Waystation" guide.
For more information about Monarch Watch's Monarch Waystation Program please visit www.MonarchWatch.org/waystations
The Monarch Waystation Seed Kit includes seed packets of six milkweeds and six general nectar plants. Please note that substitutions may be made due to current seed availability.
Milkweed:
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata subsp. incarnata)
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata subsp. pulchra)
Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica)
General Nectar Plants:
Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)
Tithonia Torch, Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia)
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Zinnia, Dahlia Mix (Zinnia elegans)
Purple Horse Mint (Monarda citriodora)
Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella)
Partridge Pea (Cassia fasciculata)

[pumpkinhead]

He took flight today. Yipee!

[Mona Miller]

I still have 10 green pupae. I am trying to keep them warm inside to hurry them up.

[BlizzardNole]

[quote="Mona Miller"]Where do you get OE testing kits?

I saw something on this site: http://www.butterflybreeders.org/public ... narch.html

I'm going to search around to see if I can order something like that.

[Mona Miller]

http://www.monarchparasites.org/
That's from Project Monarch Health

http://www.uga.edu/monarchparasites/mon ... /index.htm
Apparently, they are sending out sampling kits and asking for volunteers.

[Mona Miller]

Finally we have a nice sunny day with temps 55 already. I fed the 6 adults and waited for the temperature to go up. I just released them. 4 flew up into the trees and 2 flew over my sound barrier wall, which is about 30 ft. tall. The Fairfax County Parkway is on the other side. They were heading south.

There are 4 more butterflies to release. 1 emerged this morning and 3 more are in the pupae stage. 2 look like they are starting to color up. I have them under the incandescent lamp, which is located near my bay window. I am monitoring the temperature digitally. It gets about 80 there with the light and the window. Outside our temps are below 60 and the night temps are dropping below 50. If I left them outside, most of them would probably take until Thanksgiving to emerge and then it would be too late. Also, by then we usually have had a hard frost and snow. Later this week, the forecast is calling for a low temp of 34 during the night.

[Mona Miller]

Yesterday, another Monarch emerged. She is a bit small. I am waiting until today to release her so her wings will be ready for the long journey. This morning, another butterfly emerged. He is currently drying his wings. This one is larger. Only one pupae to go. It is still green. I have them under the incandescent lamp. It went down to freezing last night and we have patchy frost this morning. I haven't ventured out, yet, to see what survived.

[Mona Miller]

So far, my backyard has been spared from the killing frost. But, tonight rain is forecast. I have one adult inside and one pupae still green, no signs of it emerging tomorrow. If it is cold and rainy, my adult will not be released. I will feed him with gatorade tomorrow and wait until the weather gets warmer before I release him. Hopefully, my pupae will emerge soon.

I let the small female go today. Our temps got up to 54 and it was sunny.

[Mona Miller]

I let one male go yesterday. My yard has been spared from the frost. I had my last pupa emerge this morning. He is drying his wings. I will let him go tomorrow. Our weekend is suppose to get up into the 60s. This year I didn't have to mail them further south in Virginia.

[Mona Miller]

I released my last Monarch today, it was another male. The temperature was 56. It is supposed to be a nice weekend. I saw another Monarch out nectaring today so the one I released yesterday must have stayed. So far, the hard frost has not found my yard and there are still flowers blooming.