sightings in reno,nv

[shareno]

Three days ago, there was a pair of monarchs (male and female) feeding in my butterfly bush. This is the first time that I have ever seen a monarch in my yard. I didn't see them again until today when I spotted a female feeding off the same bush. I planted five butterfly bushes three years ago and this is the first summer that I noticed them attracting butterflies.

[Mona Miller]

Now, plant some milkweed. The tropical would probably grow year round in NV. If you plant it, they will come.

[shareno]

I have milkweeds coming...some in pots...hopefully I can get them planted before the nights turn too cold. This is the first time I have seen a monarch in Reno and I've lived here 33 years. So I am really excited about this. Back east (I'm originally from RI) I'd see a bunch of different ones. Three years ago, I planted the butterfly bushes and this is the first time I've actually seen monarch butterflies on them! I was thinking that maybe the nights were too cool here We have very cool nights, even in the summer. Right now our night's lows are normally around 55 degrees. Days warm up into the 90's, though. This one monarch has shown up everday this week, usually around 11 in the morning and then stays around all day long. She even chased a swallowtail butterfly away from the bush yesterday. I guess that must be her bush now. :-) I'm wondering if I can raise them inside through the winter and then let them go in the spring. Will they keep breeding through the winter? And how warm do the nights have to be to release them in the spring. As I said, I am really excited about this because it has been so long since I'd seen one and I was beginning to think that they didn't come around here.

sharon

[Mona Miller]

As long as you don't get hard frost, they are good to go. If the day temps go down below 50 degrees or 10 C, then they will start to go into diapause. If you really plan to let them breed, you will need to plant more milkweed.

In the area in Mexico where they winter over, the night temp average is 40 degrees and the day temp average is 60 degrees. They can withstand colder temps if they are not wet for prolong periods. Matter-of-fact temps below 25 are tolerated, if not wet.

[shareno]

Thank you for the info! They won't get too wet in this area. We don't see rain for months at a time.
sharon

[Mona Miller]

They are in Mexico during their dry season. When they leave Mexico in late February, early to mid-March they are usually have severe droughts. They take dew in the morning and are surround by fog in the 11,000 above sea level elevation. There are also streams that they can take water.

[Paul Cherubini]

Prior to the 1990's monarchs were common in Reno, but that was back before urban and suburban development crowded out the irrigated alfalfa fields and irrigated horse /cattle pastures where milkweed used to be abundant. Now monarchs are fairly rare, but can still occassionally be seen in parts of the city where there is still some wild milkweed. Example: in southwest Reno, one can still find Asclepias fasicularis and speciosa milkweeds growing along roadsides and in irrigated horse / cattle pastures:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/renob.jpg
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/renoa.jpg
In August and early September monarchs could most likely be seen flying around blooming patches of fasicularis milkweed. In June and early July they can most likely be seen flying around the blooming patches of the speciosa milkweed.

Most of the monarchs that emerge from their chrysalids in Reno from early Sept to early Nov. are in reproductive diapause and don't breed. Instead, they migrate to the California coast where they spend the winter.

[Mona Miller]

Does your winter actually get down below 60 degrees? That is what it would take to keep them in diapause.

[Paul Cherubini]

Wild overwintering monarchs do not usually become reproductively active despite exposure to warm weather. Along the central and southern California coast, for example, it's rather routine for warm spells to occur Nov. - Feb. when daytime temperatures climb into the 80's, yet few of the overwintering butterflies become reproductively active until late February and early March.

Likewise when the wild migrants in diapause depart northern Minnesota in early August, it's routine for them to encounter daytime temps in the 85-100 degree range between Aug. 5 - Oct. 20 while en route to Mexico, yet few of the migrants become reproductive.

Captive fall migrant and overwintering monarchs, however, will become reproductively active if exposed to artificial light for about 15 hours a day for 7-10 days and continuous temperatures in the 70-90 degree range.

Reno, Nevada is far too cold to grow tropical milkweed since subfreezing overnight temperatures are common from October to April (and sub zero temps are common in mid-winter)

[Mona Miller]

http://www.weather.com/outlook/homeandg ... omnav_home
The average temp in Reno looks like it could go down below freezing at times. Wonder why they do not winter over there.

According to Dr. Taylor at the University of Kansas a 3-5 day period of high temperature will break diapause. He said light was not a factor.

[shareno]

I did find little patches of milkweed in my yard but I haven't seen any eggs or cats on them. I didn't realize it was milkweed because it didn't look like the milkweed I was use to in Rhode Island. The is the narrow leaf milkweed here and the way I found out it was milkweed...was I had justed planted some milkweed in peat pots. Then I went outside to do some garden work when I saw these pods that had openned up and they had this silky stuff coming out of them and at the end of these were seeds that looked like the seeds I had justed planted indoors :-)

[shareno]

Reno, Nevada is far too cold to grow tropical milkweed since subfreezing overnight temperatures are common from October to April (and sub zero temps are common in mid-winter)[/quote]

Yah, the milkweed tree came and I discovered that ;-(. They said that one could grow it as a house plant so that's what I am doing right now. Funny thing, I noticed that some of the leaves had holes in them and when I looked there is a monarch cat on it. That was about 4 days ago. It's gotten a lot bigger since then. I would say that maybe he is between the 3rd or 4th instar but I really don't know what I'm doing so....:-) And I'm really not sure about "frass". I put the plant in a six inch pot. Do I have to worry about frass if it's falling in the dirt? I don't even know what frass looks like. If you have any good sites or info about that I would really appreciate it :-)

s

[shareno]

I was in a rush before...thank you for the pictures. I hope to have a bunch of different types growing next year. You must have taken a trip to Reno? Do you think that I will have more monarchs show up in the next month? That female is still sticking around in the back yard. It's been over a week now. I really do enjoy watching and photographing her :-)

[quote="Paul Cherubini"]Prior to the 1990's monarchs were common in Reno, but that was back before urban and suburban development crowded out the irrigated alfalfa fields and irrigated horse /cattle pastures where milkweed used to be abundant. Now monarchs are fairly rare, but can still occassionally be seen in parts of the city where there is still some wild milkweed. Example: in southwest Reno, one can still find Asclepias fasicularis and speciosa milkweeds growing along roadsides and in irrigated horse / cattle pastures:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/renob.jpg
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/renoa.jpg
In August and early September monarchs could most likely be seen flying around blooming patches of fasicularis milkweed. In June and early July they can most likely be seen flying around the blooming patches of the speciosa milkweed.

Most of the monarchs that emerge from their chrysalids in Reno from early Sept to early Nov. are in reproductive diapause and don't breed. Instead, they migrate to the California coast where they spend the winter.[/quote]

[Mona Miller]

I think that Pyle talks about how they migrate through western states in his book called "Chasing Monarchs". Very good book.

http://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Monarchs- ... 0395828201
"Chasing Monarchs" by Robert Michael Pyle

[Mona Miller]

http://bp0.blogger.com/_tZy2ZsznNhY/RqN ... ox+adj.jpg
See the little black dots in this photo, they get larger as the caterpillar gets larger.

http://www.mymonarchguide.com/2007/07/u ... arvae.html
This person has some great advice on rearing larvae.

[shareno]

Thank you, Mona! I'm going to have read that book!

[quote="Mona Miller"]I think that Pyle talks about how they migrate through western states in his book called "Chasing Monarchs". Very good book.

http://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Monarchs- ... 0395828201
"Chasing Monarchs" by Robert Michael Pyle[/quote]

[shareno]

Thank you! I enjoyed these sites. How does one clean frass on a live plant that is in a six inch pot? I don't even see any frass yet and I'm wondering if it is falling off the leaves and into the dirt. Is it ok if the frass is in the dirt at the bottom of the plant? It looks like it might be between the 3rd and 4th instar. It's eating well so I'm sure it's pooping well also :-)

[quote="Mona Miller"]http://bp0.blogger.com/_tZy2ZsznNhY/RqN9RnY9xrI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/2oyi6b_KEx0/s1600-h/cats+in+a+box+adj.jpg
See the little black dots in this photo, they get larger as the caterpillar gets larger.

http://www.mymonarchguide.com/2007/07/u ... arvae.html
This person has some great advice on rearing larvae.[/quote]

[Mona Miller]

As long as the caterpillar is out of the frass, I think it is okay. I often used potted plants to feed them and the frass drops into the soil. Did you say you have netting over the plant to contain the caterpillar? If you don't, you might want to do that. They will start roaming when it is time for them to pupate.

[shareno]

Yes, I got one of those butterfly tents. It came yesterday. You said that you often "used" (as in past tense) potted plants. Is there a reason why you don't use them now? Is it not a good thing to do?

[quote="Mona Miller"]As long as the caterpillar is out of the frass, I think it is okay. I often used potted plants to feed them and the frass drops into the soil. Did you say you have netting over the plant to contain the caterpillar? If you don't, you might want to do that. They will start roaming when it is time for them to pupate.[/quote]

[Mona Miller]

I run out of potted plants is the reason I don't use them all the time. I have had to wrangle milkweed from the side of the road again this summer. I use gallon spring water jugs to keep the large common milkweed stems fresh. I just saw where someone recommended splitting the end of the milkweed stem into four parts so that it would take up water better. I usually split my tree limbs that I feed to moths (river birch, cherry, sweet gum). I also stuff a wet paper towel into the top to prevent caterpillars from getting down into the water. Make sure you get about 60% shade for your tent. In 90 to 100 degree weather caterpillars and butterflies can fry in those tents.

[shareno]

It's actually in my back bedroom under a grow light. We are so high up and our humidity is so low that the sun IS a killer here. Do they really eat so much that they go through a potted plant like that? :-)

[quote="Mona Miller"]I run out of potted plants is the reason I don't use them all the time. I have had to wrangle milkweed from the side of the road again this summer. I use gallon spring water jugs to keep the large common milkweed stems fresh. I just saw where someone recommended splitting the end of the milkweed stem into four parts so that it would take up water better. I usually split my tree limbs that I feed to moths (river birch, cherry, sweet gum). I also stuff a wet paper towel into the top to prevent caterpillars from getting down into the water. Make sure you get about 60% shade for your tent. In 90 to 100 degree weather caterpillars and butterflies can fry in those tents.[/quote]

[Mona Miller]

You will see. I am raising hundreds for conservation. I've probably released about 300 this year so far. 300 go through tons of plants.