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Again we are keeping our monarchs in the guest room. On the left are the older monarchs. The lids have holes. Last year we had 1st and 2nd instars escape from the holes. So this year we are keeping the eggs and little tikes in Chinese food containers (white container) and plastic shoe box containers (far right), which have no holes. The pink/lavender net hamper is what we are keeping the adults before releasing them. I have sewn a piece of plastic screen to the top and left a flap to be closed with safety pins. While we are gathering monarchs from various locations, we are only monitoring our yard. We are not recording the amount of days between each stage as we did last year, as we are satisfied with last year's findings.
As in 2008, before each butterfly is released, we are checking it for Oe using a Celestron 44340 microscope. We are using the tape method as shown on the Testing page of the Monarch Parasite website. I afix the monarch tape print to a glass slide.
I keep all of our data on spreadsheets. As each monarch is released or dies (a summary of these results is shown at the bottom of this page), I enter the data on the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP) website, which is one of a handful of monitoring projects that monarch enthusiasts can be involved in to aid research.
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6/2/09 Trying to Grow Weeds I noticed that one of our 2 common milkweed plants from last year is finally growing. Surprizingly, it has been hard to start this variety of milkweed from seed. I planted some directly in the ground last fall and some in seeding trays, but that only yielded 1 plant. So I am trying a new approach. Since milkweed is a perennial, there are other ways to propagate it. I have read that cuttings have been successful. I took tender cuttings from the tops of healthy milkweed plants, cut the stems under water and dipped them in rooting homone solution (available at your garden center - follow the directions on the package). Then I planted them put in a seeding tray with light potting soil, watered it and covered it. It's sitting on my front porch. In about 4-6 weeks the cuttings should have roots. |
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Since it is hard to dig out the deep tap root, the second way I'm trying to root cuttings, is to pull out very small new plants of 12" or less and put them in vases on my kitchen window sill. The extra rooting solution was divided between 3 vases and I used water to fill them the rest of the way. I also cut about an inch off the stems under water, leaving some white stem. We will see which way is quicker to root cuttings. Not only do we want to lure monarchs to our yard, but we also want to have enough milkweed to sustain them. Since the other types of milkweed are also perennial, I will try to take cuttings in the fall from the butterfly weed and tropical milkweed and root them over the winter in my basement. |
6/14/09 We are down to 8 milkweed on the window sill and 9 in the tray. A fugus hit some of the ones in the tray.
6/20/09 The milkweed on the window sill didn't make it. Since the rooting solution I used was old and I used all of it, I picked up some Rootone® rooting hormone and fungicide powder for the cuttings in the tray. I treated the ones in the tray as well as some new ones. I am not using the cover on the tray. It says the cuttings should root in 3-5 weeks.
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6/26/09 If at first you don't succeed . . . The first batch wasn't doing so well, so I started over. This time I took longer cuttings (2-6" stems can be used), made sure to cut them just below a leaf node under water, and put each one in its own cup of soil. |
7/24/09 Well, this project isn't going so well. I still have 5 that might root. I may give up on the common milkweed and try rooting some of the swamp and tropical milkweed. Tropical (which is an annual in Pennsylvania) is easy to grow from seed, but cuttings would give me larger plants to start with next year. I could also try digging them up and keeping them over the winter.
8/11/09 For now I've given up on this project. In October I'll bring some cuttings indoors for the winter.
8/21/09 I have noticed that milkweed responds very well to pinching. I'll have to remember that come spring. The plants won’t bloom as soon, but they will be nice and bushy.
9/3/09 Since common milkweed has decided not to co-operate via cuttings, I have purchased milkweed seed to grow over the winter. I also chose prairie milkweed and eastern purple milkweed for their size and beauty. My tropical milkweed seed pods have started to open, so I am collecting those to also start early. Some of the tropical milkweed that I started from seed in March is blooming and others are still small, so I want to make sure I start them early enough to have blooming plants next summer. Since the swamp milkweed, tropical milkweed and butterfly weed all like to root in water, I will gather some more cuttings before frost hits. I think I will move some plants around in my flower beds to accomodate more milkweed in certain areas. I especially want to have more milkweed in the rose garden.
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Size: ½ acre. Type: suburban gardens and lawn. 2 common milkweed, 27 tropical milkweed, 7 swamp milkweed and 26 butterfly weed plants. Milkweed Started to Grow: 5/1/09 1 common milkweed and 2 butterfly weed plants. |
This is a summary of our weekly monitoring data for Valerie's Garden. Detailed data has been submitted to the MLMP website and you can check it out under: Valerie's Garden at MLMP.
| Date | # of plants checked | Adults | Eggs | 1st Instar | 2nd Instar | 3rd Instar | 4th Instar | 5th Instar | Dead Monarchs: All Stages |
| 5/21/09 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5/31/09 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6/6/09 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6/12/09 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6/20/09 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6/26/09 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/5/09 | 60 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/10/09 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/17/09 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/20/09 | 50 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/24/09 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7/30/09 | 60 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8/4/09 | 150* | 4 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8/7/09 | 60 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8/11/09 | 60 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8/13/09 | 60 | 0 | 43 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8/16/09 | 60 | 0 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8/18/09 | 60 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8/28/09 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/4/09 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/12/09 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/18/09 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/27/09 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 1352 | 9 | 180 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
*I checked the plants 3 times throughout a 2 hour span -- the butterflies kept laying eggs!
While we did not monitoring these sites this year, we collected monarchs from them and adding the Parasitism Data to the MLMP website. We also collected milkweed from these sites to feed our voracious caterpillars since the milkweed in our yard is not mature enough.
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Pickering Road - Size: 100 square feet. Type: rural roadside. 1.5 miles from my house. Common milkweed. Pickering Road at MLMP |
Catch and release results for this site:
| Males | Females | Oe | Healthy | Tagged |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
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Merlin Road - Size: 500 square feet. Type: rural roadside. ½ miles from our house. Common milkweed. It is the closest site to our house. Merlin Road at MLMP |
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Charlestown Park - Size: 1000 square feet. Type: abandoned parking area. 1 mile from our house. Common milkweed. Charlestown at MLMP |
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Valley Forge National Historical Park - Size: several acres. Type: parkland/nature preserve. This is 5-6 miles from our house as the crow flies. Common, swamp and butterfly milkweed. We use this site to collect monarchs. For my own records, I have broken this area into 3 subsites. The data is loaded to MLMP as one site. We often link a family hike or bike ride with checking on the monarchs, since the park lends itself to these activities. Valley Forge at MLMP |
Catch and release results for this site:
| Males | Females | Oe | Healthy | Tagged |
| 6 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
Monarchs are tagged starting in August when the golden rod blooms. Apparently, the changes in temperature cause changes in their body structure and the ones born at the end of the summer are the ones that will migrate south.
The tags we used are numbered: MEG175-MEG224 and MLH350-MLH449.
| Reared and Released: Total Tagged | Catch and Release: Total Tagged |
Total Tagged |
| 141 | 8 | 149 |
This is a summary of the results of the monarchs we have raised from all locations. The table below shows the stages our monarchs were collected at:
| Eggs | 1st Instar | 2nd Instar | 3rd Instar | 4th Instar | 5th Instar | Total |
| 320 | 40 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 31 | 424 |
Below is a summary of the parasitism data that we collected and loaded at the MLMP website. More info on accidents and disease is below the table. Oe was only determined for chrysalises that develop symptoms or butterflies that are checked via microscope. Unknown is for those missing in action without a trace and cannibalism is not suspected.
| Dead: Accident | Dead: Misc Disease | Dead: Fly | Dead: Wasp | Dead: Oe | Dead: Unknown | Healthy |
| 30 | 118 | 16 | 0 | 43 | 7 | 210 |
Accident: 8 cannibalized, 6 chrysalises failed to hook into the silk pad, 7 larvae escaped, 1 larva had chemical poisoning, 8 where injured.
Disease: 14 dead eggs, 29 failed to pupate fully, 6 failed to emerge, 15 stopped eating, 17 were stuck shedding, 27 larvae/chrysalises turned black/brown, 10 butterflies were weak.
The Other Sites are broken down by site on the MLMP website:
| Site | Total Raised | Total Dead | Healthy Males | Healthy Females | Total Healthy |
| Valerie's Garden | 191 | 97 | 47 | 47 | 94 |
| Other Sites | 233 | 119 | 56 | 60 | 116 |