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Monarch madness

Liz
9 years ago

The whole summer went by and I have only had one egg to raise, a black swallowtail. And that one looks like it may not eclose until next year!

Until today, that is. My husband saw a monarch in our yard, hanging out by the tropical milkweed. He then went around and checked the butterfly weed. Eggs on both. LOTS of eggs.

The problem is what to do now. I counted 17 eggs on the tropical milkweed and 25 on the butterflyweed. Unfortunately, I didn't raise any tropical this year, just had a couple of volunteers, only one of which is a decent size. As for the butterfly weed, these are first year plants I grew from seed last winter. Only one of them is any size at all. The other plants are maybe 6 inches tall, not having been planted in the best spot. I understand that it is difficult to switch from one kind of milkweed to another. There is certainly not enough tropical for 17 cats. The situation with the butterfly weed is even worse, but there is a lot of it growing around so I might be able to scrounge up some decent leaves for the babies. What do I do?

I don't even know if it is possible to raise a batch of monarchs this late in the season and have them survive in time to make it to Mexico.(I'm in New Jersey, zone 7a.) Should I just let nature take it's course?
Liz

This post was edited by dr.liz on Wed, Aug 27, 14 at 21:30

Comments (7)

  • docmom_gw
    9 years ago

    Only you know how busy you are, so you need to decide for yourself if you can take on the challenge of raising them. But, if you have a park or roadside patch of milkweed, you can gather leaves around town and bring them home to feed your little ones. Just keep a bucket half-filled with water in your car, and hop out where ever you see healthy-appearing milkweed and snip off the top half of a few plants. I take it home, rinse in the sink and feed. Any extra can be kept in a plastic sandwich bag in the fridge for a number of days. Though mine always got eaten more quickly than it took to go bad. I think you would enjoy seeing them grow up and fly off to Mexico. Good luck.

    Martha

  • Liz
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Can I switch them from tropical to swamp? That is probably the best bet around here for decent leaves this time of year, though I haven't looked lately. There may be some butterfly weed around too that is in decent condition.

    How many cats can I feed on one stalk of milkweed?
    Liz

  • bernergrrl
    9 years ago

    You can switch them; try offering both at the same time so as to "wean" them.

    Your caterpillars can still make it to Mexico. I've had them flying here in northern IL in October.

  • KC Clark - Zone 2012-6a OH
    9 years ago

    My monarchs have been getting a variety of milkweed this year based on which family member gathers the leaves. None of the caterpillars have complained.

    Reminder that common milkweed leaves do just fine sitting in Ziploc bags in the fridge. Find a source and stock up.

  • docmom_gw
    9 years ago

    How many you can feed depends on what stage they are at. When they are just hatched, they can last for several days on leaf. But, once they are 4th and 5th instars, they will eat several large leaves each day. I keep the small ones in Tupperware containers without any air holes. That helps keep the leaves fresh.

    Martha

  • Liz
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I just took a drive around and scouted out the local milkweed supply. It's not looking great. The butterfly weed has all gone to seed and is starting to turn yellow. There are some green leaves left on the common milkweed, but boy are they tough. I haven't had the chance to check the best location for swamp milkweed, so maybe things are better there. It looks like raising all of them would be difficult. For now, I brought in 13 eggs on the tropical milkweed leaves and put them in a sealed plastic container. If I can't find a good supply of food somewhere, I think I will leave it at that. Better to raise 13 and bring them to adulthood than to try to raise them all and have them all starve. But I will do my best. 42 would be an awful lot for me to raise!
    Liz

  • docmom_gw
    9 years ago

    Excellent compromise.

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