A Record Day!

[dandjtaylor]

Well, I had to build two more eclosing boxes to take care of the large numbers of Chrysalis that I knew were going to be coming from all of those cats.
Today, 76 Monarchs eclosed successfully! Not a single lost, bent wing, fallen, couldn't open. This is a new record for Waystation #2638.


Tomorrow is frightening though. As of right now, there appear to be over 120 that are turning clear. Wish us luck!

[Mona Miller]

Amazing! Congratulations!

I only have 8 Monarchs. I gave away 3 caterpillars to a friend, who will raise and release them. He has an acre native plant meadow.

Currently, I am hand feeding the adults that I have and hoping that I can get them to mate and lay eggs. I will collect eggs and distribute those.

I'm feeding them about a 10% honey water solution, which I mix every day. 3 tbs. of water and 1 tsp. of honey. I'm feeding them in the morning and evening. You should see their abdomens before and after. These guys are pigs. I'll post pictures later of my feeding set up. They are allowed to eat until they retract their proboscis.

[Sueinma]

Big congrats!! Great job! I just posted to your other thread asking if any had eclosed yet...sorry I hadn't see this thread.

I can't wait until my first Monarchs of the year eclose (about 3-4 days). Only 4 to start, but the numbers are slowly increasing.

[dandjtaylor]

Holy cow! 152! Yes, 152 complete healthy (one had to have some minor wing repair, but successful) adult monarchs without any failures! I couldn't believe it when I cam e home and started checking all of the spots where tey were hanging. 228 in 2 days without a loss. Lucky!

[Mona Miller]

I second that. You know what I've noticed when I release a lot of butterflies, many of them don't stay around. They leave home to go out into the world.