I planted Liatris ligulastylis from seed last year based on claims that it is guaranteed to attract fall migrating Monarchs. It finally began to bloom for the first time, and within 24 hours, I arrived home from work to find a female Monarch nectaring on them! She was so engrossed thatI was able to capture her easily. I have a brood of Monarchs just beginning to eclose, and I'm hoping she'll mate with any male I might get from my brood. It's possible she is a sibling of my brood that survived in the wild, since her arrival matched the emergence of my first few so closely, and sightings of Monarchs around here are almost nil. But, we'll see.

Does anyone have a suggestion as far as how long to hang on to a couple in an effort to get more eggs? I have a vase of butterfly favorite nectar flowers inside the tent with them, so they won't starve. I also put the rest of my chrysalides in the tent to protect them as they eclose. Currently, the tent is in my living room, since the temps went down into the 40s last night and it was really windy. Of course, my cat knows there are fun toys inside and she keeps batting at the sides of the tent if the butterfly flutters. Saving the Monarchs is complicated work.

Martha