Not only is that a Monarch, it's two Monarchs mating!!! You have hit the jackpot. Thank-you so much for your concern for the Monarchs. Tell all your friends to do the same. Iowa is a critical state where the large farms have killed off so much of the milkweed. Again, thank-you.

Martha

I agree with Martha! JACKPOT!!!!!! Thank you so very very much for letting those milkweeds grow!! Every milkweed plant matters. Now, you can start looking for eggs and caterpillars. :o)
Angie

Congratulations! The Monarchs are thanking you right now.
Liz

WONDERFUL!!! Thanks for the responses! I'm going to repost this with the subject "Monarch's mating in NW Iowa" to try to draw more Monarch enthusiasts in. I'm going to need a lot info on what to look for as far as eggs, larva, etc. :-)

Check the tips of your milkweed. If the mama Monarchs have a choice, they will lay their eggs on the most tender growth.

When the eggs hatch, the cats are so tiny they are difficult to see. For the first few days, tender leaf or bloom growth makes it easier for them to feed. The eggs are usually laid one to a leaf and usually on the underside. Sometimes the mama Monarch doesn't have a choice and if few plants are available, she will return and lay more eggs on the same leaf. It's almost as if she knows there must be so much food available per egg for her babies to survive.

Here is my poor example of what the Monarch egg looks like. Other forum members will have better photos and perhaps they will post, too. It is difficult to really tell the size, since you don't know the size of the leaf, but that is a younger leaf from 'tropical milkweed', maybe about an inch and a half long. Once you find and see an egg on your milkweed, it will be easy to spot them in future.

{{gwi:533532}}

Mary

Congrats on the mating monarchs, and thanks for allowing the milkweed!

Sherry

I think if enough people leave a little bit of milkweed habitat for the Monarch (and the Queen, if you live in a state where it goes) and avoids the pesticide and herbicide right there, we can turn this around! Thanks for trying to help!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

These are such amazing and beautiful creatures! One thing to look for (to find a hatchling if you miss the eggs) is a very small hole in a leaf (gently turn over the leaf to look for the tiny caterpillars.) Also - I find that most of my baby Monarch hatchlings migrate towards the flowers of the plants. I often will carefully search a cluster of buds for what looks like a sprinkling of fine pepper. That is their frass (poop) and where there is frass, there is often a tiny, but very hungry, caterpillar!

I'm so excited that others are seeing the importance of helping Monarchs. I am never so happy as I am when I see one (or more) of them fluttering across my backyard. :-)

These pictures were taken two days ago. I had three Monarchs (one male and two female) flying about and nectaring, but I could never manage to get a picture of all three at the same time.

~Laura

Congrats!! Every Monarch generated is a Monarch in the right direction:) Start looking for that ELF!! She should be along very shortly:-)