I am sorry that this is happening to you. I have had similar problems raising monarch butterflies in past years. If the chrysalis is infected with Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, there will be unusual dark splotches showing up on the chrysalis itself, before the butterfly emerges. But there are other pathogens that can kill these insects, both virus and bacteria. It helps to raise one caterpillar per glass jar, keeping them separate. Also, it helps to rinse off the milkweed leaves under running cold water, before feeding the leaf to the caterpillar. The leaf can be dried off with a clean paper towel. Some people are using a diluted bleach solution to soak the milkweed leaves in, but I have not resorted to that yet, so I can't say how well it works. Just know that you are not the only person dealing with this.

Does anyone know where the Monarchs pick this virus up? I had one brood that I collected as eggs. I rinsed the milkweed carefully, and collected it all from my yard, where I'm pretty sure there haven't been other Monarchs hanging around. I had three of my butterflies slip from their chrysalis and fall on the floor/ground, and I'd never had that happen before. Is the virus universally fatal? I haven't gotten to the point of checking for OE, because I figure if they were left to grow naturally, they would have a similar chance of catching the disease, if not better, in my circumstances. Oh, well, hope mine were healthy, besides the ones who fell.

Martha

Thanks for the input. Sorry Martha I will be no help. I am new to all of this. I am still trying to figure out whats going on with mine. I am not sure if I should separate the ones with the crumpled wings. I have read on a few sites that say to euthanize them, but I can't.

I have quite a few that will be emerging and I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will all be healthy. So nerve wracking.

Michelle

This post was edited by MandM55 on Wed, Aug 21, 13 at 6:28

It takes about 90 minutes for an emerging monarch butterfly to unfold and expand it's wings. The butterfly might hang around for another 30 minutes, flapping the wings a bit, before flying away. If the wings are still deformed or crumpled in some way, after two hours, it might be best to kill the butterfly by freezing. I don't see how it could possibly recover at that point.