How wonderful! Every monarch egg is important this year!

Sherry

Good luck! What a haul!

I went back out after dinner when it was cooler to see if she came back. I got four more! For a total of twenty. I have plenty of healthy milkweed for them all, but I hope others find eggs so they can enjoy the process as well. My goal is to protect as many as possible into adulthood and encourage the planting of permanent stands of native milkweeds throughout the migratory area. Everyone can help by spreading the word and planting milkweed in their own yards.

Martha

Oh how wonderful! What a great find!

I love reading these wonderful stories.. I must say I do enjoy this... My first year is a great success so far..

Thanks to all of you on this forum for the help and inspiration!

I released 9 monarchs and I have been seeing 2 come back (i believe its them, no others around here). I have found 12 eggs and 6 baby cats, must of hatched today. I went out to check on the cypress vine and the yellowing leaves on the mw and i seen tiny holes.. I looked and bam! There they were =D Made my entire week!

Congrats Martha!! How exciting for you! The one cat I had did not make it...I was crushed since I have not found anymore :(

Terrific! Congrats to you!! So exciting to find them.

NaturesFolly,
If you have time, energy and milkweed, I'd be thrilled to share some of my eggs. It might be good to spread the family out to prevent too much inbreeding. I found 4 more eggs tonight, so I'm up to 24. I don't know what your scHedule is tomorrow, but I'll be at my office near Woodland Mall in the morning for meetings. I could head further south and meet up with you, if you are available. We could also met up later in the process. I bet you'll find more of your own soon, but if not, contact me.

Martha

NF,
I can't send you an e-mail. I was going to e-mail you my phone number so you could call me to set up a meeting. I'll keep you in mind, or you cane-mail me. My e-mail is really busy for work, so I'm bad at responding, though.

Martha

Well, I have twenty four eggs, and they are all starting to hatch. There are a few duds, but I'll give them another 24 hours before I call it quits. Now I need to separate them into smaller groups so they're easier to keep track of. Unfortunately, I caught some viral bug and I can barely move. The heat index outside isn't a very good motivator, either. I want to go hunt for more eggs, but I feel too sick.

Martha

Congrats docmom! Yippeeee! And hope you feel better soon.

I know I will be happy when I finally find the first eggs. Haven't seen a single adult yet, though there are probably a few around the state somewhere.

Well, of the first 24, I think 19 hatched. I felt better today, so,went back out to the same small patch and found 9 more cats at the same stage, so probably all from the same mom. I'm finally not on call for the weekend, so I walked down the road to a large patch of common milkweed that is in a wilder area on the edge of a wetland. I didn't see a single egg or cat. There are tons of aphids, ants, milkweed bugs, spiders, etc., so I guess I can't blame a mom for not laying eggs there. Or they may just not last there. I'm so happy and amazed that the one adult found my little patch which is in the shade under tall oaks and pines sprouting from a thick bed of Lily of the Valley. Not exactly prime milkweed territory. I hope everyone else has as much luck as I have. Hope these guys continue to thrive.

Martha

Fantastic, Martha!

Sherry

Thought I'd update all of you on our progress. I've lost count, had at least two deaths. I switched all of the cats to paper bags to simplify life for my husband. He was caring for the cats while I travelled out of town earlier this week. Well, most are now hanging quietly or have pupated.

That's so awesome! Do you use grocery-type bags? Do you leave them open at the top the whole time?

I have my 11 cats split between three tomato-cage/paint strainer/pizza pan cages. I switched them from incarnata to common milkweed (just because I don't have nearly enough incarnata for all of them), but found some wild incarnata this morning that I dug and brought home.

Fingers crossed. I'm also noting where I hope to gather syriaca and incarnata pods when they're ripe, and where I can plant the seeds to help expand milkweed into new areas.

Ruth,
I only put them into paper bags a few days ago. The bags give them more room and plenty of space to choose a spot to pupate. I close the tops and clip them closed. Despite my careful efforts, I had three escapees that I know of. Two just pupated on the outside of the bag. One had gotten as far as the window, so I put it back in a container. It's acting a bit strange, so I'm sorry I moved it. We'll see.

Martha

My first two babies emerged this evening! Two females. Coincidentally, or maybe not, when I arrived home from work there was a wild female nectaring on my newly blooming liatris ligulastylis. I decided to catch her to see if she might mate with one of my yet-to-emerge males. But, I wonder if she might be a sibling whose egg I just didn't find, and she's emerging right on schedule with the rest of the brood. I decided to simply toss them all together in a tent in my living room. I'll supply them with cut flowers for nectaring and some potted Asclepias currasavica to lay eggs on if that should occur. If I leave the windows open, will I have wild males beating at my screens to get at these females? I certainly hope so.

Here's a picture from before the transfer into a little pup tent:

How wonderful!! I am sorry I did not get back to you on the eggs, I must have just not really looked at this post as close as I should have. I have plenty of milkweed, all with healthy seedpods that when ready I will move to a new planting area that is fenced in so it does not look like my entire yard is going wild :)

No worries. I had plenty of milkweed. I just wanted to share the joy. I worry a bit that this will be the last year I see Monarchs. The numbers have been so dismal, and now it's cold so early in the season.

Martha