Sales from this website are PayPal verified and backed by Network Solutions:
 |
As with last year, we will be keeping the monarchs in the guest room. While we will be gathering monarchs from various locations, we will only monitor our yard.
As in 2009, 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.
Over the winter we are growing milkweed in our basement.
 |
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 will be 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 |
| To start in May | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| date | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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.
 |
Pickering Road - Size: 100 square feet. Type: rural roadside. 1.5 miles from my house. Common milkweed. Pickering Road at MLMP |
 |
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 |
 |
Charlestown Park - Size: 1000 square feet. Type: abandoned parking area. 1 mile from our house. Common milkweed. Charlestown at MLMP |
 |
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 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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: (to come)
| Reared and Released: Total Tagged | Catch and Release: Total Tagged |
Total Tagged |
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Accident: 0 cannibalized, 0 chrysalises failed to hook into the silk pad, 0 larvae escaped, 0 larva had chemical poisoning, 0 where injured.
Disease: 0 dead eggs, 0 failed to pupate fully, 0 failed to emerge, 0 stopped eating, 0 were stuck shedding, 0 larvae/chrysalises turned black/brown, 0 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Sites | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |