Butterflies! Butterflies! Everywhere!!!

Well, I spoke too soon, yesterday. This morning, after releasing two more male Monarchs and one female, an early afternoon walk with my neighbor turned up four first instar Monarch cats and one egg! For sure, before we get any more rain, I need to hit the fields and collect more Monarchs!

A bonus: On a hot humid day, the butterflies like to come out to dance in the sky and nectar at flowers. And while we watched, an American Painted Lady began laying eggs on some everlasting, so we'll have another species to raise, this summer! --LKR

First Monarch Released!

What a thrill! Our first Monarch, a male, emerged from it's pupa, this morning! He was very eager to get out and experience his freedom of flight! So, off he went into the wild blue yonder!

We have 38 more Monarchs in the pupae stage, with a couple others still in the 5th instar. I have not been able to find any more Monarch eggs or caterpillars in the wild. Not sure if it's because of all the rain we've been having that's knocked them off of leaves, predators that have eaten or carried them off, because we're seeing the effects of the worst recorded deaths of overwintering Monarchs in Mexico from this past winter, or all of the above. We've personally had more Monarchs in different stages, this time of year. --LKR

How To Raise Monarchs

We've had a very high success rate raising them in baby wipe boxes with a folded napkin or paper towel at the bottom. For eggs an 1st & 2nd instars where they need more humidity, I slide the boxes into gallon-sized baggies. After that, the boxes are slipped into "tubes" of pantyhose cut to fit the boxes so they have ventilation.

When I worked at Beaver Creek Reserve in the Butterfly House, we used plastic ice cream buckets. The lids were cut out, and plastic mesh you can by in rolls at hardware stores like Menard's were cut down to size. The lids framed and held the mesh into place and worked great. It fits five older to eight younger cats at a time.

I've used the tall Starbucks cups, too, which are very accommodating for a single cat. And, yes, whichever habitat you create for your monarchs, cleanliness is of great importance! Definitely dump the frass daily, and don't over crowd. Bleaching the containers, or at the very least, using hot soap (antibacterial is super!) and water will mean healthier, happier cats and butterflies! :-) Just be sure to never, ever use Lysol which is a pesticide! --LKR