Monarch egg laying

[blazing star]

I have noticed a marked difference in Monarch behavior this year, compared with prior years. In the past, the Monarchs would hang around for hours laying abundant eggs and not leave. This year, they show up, lay only a handful of eggs (under 5) and then leave. I'm having trouble locating enough eggs to raise any respectable number of Monarchs. Is anyone else noticing this shift?

[Mona Miller]

Also, very hard to net. They are skittish, too. A naturalist friend has also noticed an abundance of predators. The assassin bugs are out in force and so are the wasp. I have noted an increased presence of Yellow Jackets, too. I finally netted a female and collected around 90 eggs for a three day period. The caterpillars are munching away now.

[blazing star]

Only 7 eggs in my garden so far this year.

[Mona Miller]

I put my female in a round net container with swamp milkweed and also cuttings of common with blooms. I fed her every morning with Gatorade with a few drops of soy sauce (for amino acids).

http://educationalscience.com/merchant. ... tus=passed
This is the container that I used. I put the plant in first and then the butterfly. Much easier that way. It was a potted plant.

[Mona Miller]

I've actually participated in the monitoring site at Chincoteague, VA. The numbers are not always the same and there not always huge numbers of Monarchs migrating.

Stop wasting our time Paul.