First experience with monarchs

[pennyb]

This was the first year I noticed monarchs at my home. I planted 6 butterfly bushes (4 different varieties) a few years ago and have always enjoyed the butterflies that visited them, but I never saw more than one or two monarchs. This year I had a "wild" vine start growing up around the lattice on my front porch. I didn't know what it was until late in August, when I noticed 15+ monarch cats on it. It's Sand Vine. I collected 5 cats. Two died during there last shed and one died in the pupa phase. Two emerged and I tagged them and released them Sept. 5.

Today, I found a monarch butterfly on one of my butterfly bushes with curled wing tips. At first I thought it had just emerged. We had a good hard rain overnight and it was very cool so I brought it inside. Now, several hours later, its wing tips are still curled. Is this a deformity? Does it happen very often?

[Teresa]

The curled wing tips are probably that way because they rested against something when they were hanging upside down and they dried that way and they won't straigten out either I've been searching for seeds for sandy vine. do you have any extras you can share. i'm willing to pay for it

[Mona Miller]

Somehow, I duplicated the message below. I don't know how to completely delete this.

[Mona Miller]

My first experience was collecting some caterpillars for my son's preschool teacher. She asked if I could locate some. They were right outside my fence on swamp milkweed. I have been hooked ever since. My son was 4 years old at the time. Now, he is 19.

I grow many species of butterflies and moths, but Monarchs are one of my favorites. I do butterfly walks at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. I bring Monarchs for the kids and adults to help me release them--I call it conservation, they call it fun.

http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/meadowlark/index.php
I am there every Sunday from May thru September, volunteering my time to do tours of the gardens.