When Butterflies Cross the Sky: The Monarch Butterfly Migration. Soar alongside one particular monarch butterfly, and discover why its migration is one of the world's most extraordinary. Realistic illustrations illuminate the journey, while the narrative excites and educates. The Amazing Life Cycle of Butterflies. Introduce children to the natural world with this fresh, bold, and bright nonfiction book From moth to chrysalis to beautiful butterfly, learn about a butterfly's life. Children have lots of questions about the world around them, and this book helps them discover many amazing and wonderful scientific facts about butterflies.
The charming collage-effect illustrations are inspired by farms and scenery that the illustrator sees around her home in New Hampshire. Lively texts engage children and make this book a favorite to return to again and again. There are also Notes to Parents and Teachers at the end to encourage further exploration and learning.
Explore My World Butterflies. The engaging Explore My World picture books invite kids to take their first big steps toward understanding the world around them and are just the thing for parents and kids to curl up with and read aloud. In Explore My World Butterflies, curious kids ages 3 to 7 will be excited to learn about the magical world of butterflies: Busy as a Bee. Everyone has heard the phrase "busy as a bee," and in this book young readers get to see exactly what those bees are up to. From pollinating flowers and collecting nectar to beecommunication, life in the hive, making honey, and the role of the queen, Kingfisher Readers L1: Busy as a Bee by Louise P.
Caroll covers every aspect of bee life in stunning up-close detail. Unfamiliar words like 'hive' are introduced throughout the text with subtle highlighting and the beautiful photography and text work together seamlessly to draw readers forward for a successful early reading experience. This colorful pre-reader uses simple vocabulary and fun pictures to capture the interest and help develop the skills of beginning readers. The fun, informative facts about one of kids' favorite creatures make this new reading experience a treat. A Butterfly's Life Cycle. The process of a new life starting is fascinating Watch a butterfly grow from an egg to an insect.
Young readers will learn about the stages in a butterfly's life. They are now hanging on twigs in the jar, which I keep in my kitchen on a small table where they can get light — and even now we are having high humidity and still finding fresh milkweed, which is no longer needed. The caterpillars are to emerge about 4 days, if all goes well. We are almost devoid of flowers outside now.. I am concerned about releasing these two Monarchs in late September into an area with little to offer for food.
The daytime t emps are still around 60 — 70 degrees and night temps around 50 — 60 degrees. How can I make certain that these butterflies survive at this time of year? And if they are the 9th generation, will they have time to migrate to their so uthern destination? This is my first time at raising Monarchs inside the house. PS we do have a species of predatory w asp, which is very tiny, that ate the caterpillars that hatched in my garden the year before What can I do to keep them away next year?
I definitely cannot use pesticides of any kind! Hi Mary, congrats on a successful season. Your butterflies will be fine for release. Thank you so much, Tony, for your reply to my first comment.
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Just wanted to let you know that my two Monarchs both remerged from their chrysalis earl y this morning. Both are drying their wings at this point, and hopefully I will be able to release them this afternoon. I have decided to release them onto a potted blooming plant that is still putting out flowers, which will be placed close to a bed of red petunias, which is also putting out flowers and lots of pollen. The only competition may be hummingbirds that are migrating in large numbers, but which do not eat insects to my knowledge like large butterflies. Our weather is supposed to be warm all of next week, so hopefully the Monarchs will do well.
If so, I may try tagging them with my initials and the year to see if t hey return. If they do ret urn, will I possibly find them somewhere in my yard later,, assuming that they come back to where they hatched. Do they do this, like the birds do? It started to pupate about 7 days ago.
I noticed that the chrysalis is very small. Did I do something wrong? Like not feeding it enough milkweed? I had it inside a large glass jar during its fifth instar. Kept a good supply of fresh milkweed leaves from my garden. This would be my first attempt at raising a monarch indoors. Hi Ed, check out this post about chrysalis problems and normal development. The chrysalis starts to turn transparent about 24 hours before the butterfly emerges.
Just make sure they always have fresh milkweed beforehand:. I, too, had a seemingly small chrysalis. I brought in a 5th instar caterpillar a couple weeks ago for my kids to watch. It was smaller than others I had seen, but was the last one on my milkweed. I had to handle the cat, and it curled up into a protective circle, like a grub for a couple hours.
It pupated hours later into a smallish chrysalis. Like you, I was concerned, and thought the handling may have disrupted the feeding. This morning, a large female monarch emerged. So, even if the chrysalis seems too small for a large butterfly to develop, all may not be lost. They use that small space very efficiently! Today when my husband mowed the lawn, it fell. I plan on taking it outside shortly before it hatches and retieing it to a tree branch. Hi Amanda, I would let the butterfly dry for a couple hours before tasking it back outside.
Otherwise, it will be vulnerable to predators. The lucky two I managed to recover were lured home via a simple method: I set out fresh milkweed surrounding their probable location. Then, get some mesh net fabric from a craft store. Make sure the holes are big enough for your escapee to crawl through! Simply put the milkweed in the snack container, rubber-band the fabric on top, and set out your trap, checking it every couple hours. Hopefully, the caterpillar will crawl back and hang around long enough for you to find him or her.
Thank you for having this very informative site. I discovered 2 monarch caterpillars last weekend on a small narrow leaf milkweed plant that I have growing in a pot in the backyard. The were already in their 5th instar! Very plump and healthy looking. To protect them from predators or any danger, we covered the entire plant with the caterpillars with a soft fine mesh fabric that let in air and light, tucking the fabric under the plant pot.
The only issue were the little pesky aphids that were on some of the leaves. The caterpillars morphed into chrysalises within a few days, smaller than the chrysalises of monarch caterpillars I raised to butterflies about 10 years ago. It was easy to relocate them because, since the caterpillars had attached themselves to the mesh fabric over the plant, we simply cut large pieces out of the fabric around the chrysalises, then clipped the top edge of the fabric pieces to the inside of the top edge of the mesh hamper. So the chrysalises had minimum disturbance, and are hanging in the same vertical position.
My question for you: It gets filtered light all day because the front door there is made of glass panes in a wooden frame. It also gets good air circulation because air comes in through the space between the door and the floor. We turn on the lobby light at night for security reasons, so at night we cover the top of the mesh hamper, and most of the sides, except where it faces the wall with a black cotton sheet, to keep it darker in there for the chrysalises. Is it possibly because they are female? They certainly had a good food supply of fresh growing milkweed. Hi Elizabeth, the chrysalises should be fine with a little light at night.
Some chrysalises are just smaller, but small chrysalides are also common with tachinid fly parasites. I hope yours are well…. Great news — our chrysalises eclosed today! Before I left for work I checked the chrysalises and saw that that they were almost black, with the distinctive monarch colors showing through. I knew that today would be the day. Since I was going to be gone until evening I cut a small slice of watermelon and put it on a paper towel at the bottom of the mesh hamper, and clipped two fresh zinnia flowers with long stalks to hang diagonally in the hamper.
Now and then they flexed their wings. I boiled some sugar water, like I do for our hummingbird feeder and will soak some cotton balls in the nectar for the monarchs tomorrow morning. Then I hope to release them in the backyard near our zinnia plants once the sun is out, probably late morning. Thank you so much for your site! The Beautiful Monarch good luck! Last fall I ordered some milkweed. They did horribly, died…and a few came back with sparse leaves.
That all being said, two weeks ago I saw a little larvae on one of my few leaves. I was shocked and happy…brought him inside and read everything I could on raising them. The cat was probably Instar 2. Again neither plant could sustain a cat for long, hardly any leaves. So I went and bought 4 new plants, but they are a different variety, Asclepia 1…. Do you have to feed it the exact same milkweed, it definitely seems to prefer the one I found it on….
I brought this one inside also.. Should I worry about getting new plants. Hi Cin, congrats on finding two caterpillars. Good Morning, thank you for this great site. I will be releasing my first butterfly today. Though it came out of its chrysalis on Friday it was 55 here in San Diego yesterday. He has not shown any interest in the flowers or melon that I put in his enclosure, so I am a little concerned. I do have a butterfly bush but there are no blooms at the moment…the only thing I have in bloom is milkweed so I am hoping he will feed well on it before he takes off today.
I have two more crysalis, I am hoping for a male and female…I am so wanting more caterpillars! Or is that naive being that we are in early January? This is such an interesting and rewarding hobby. They have loads of milkweed plants and other butterfly plants in their nursery, they are just off the 15 and very nice people here is their site: For your two remaining butterflies, if they are from the same mother, I would not try to encourage inbreeding because there can be potential health issues. So when do I prune them back?
My question is, will the ones I release actually migrate to the coast or will they just hang around here? Hi Rosie, maybe you could cut back plants at different times so you can cut them back without starving the monarchs, and eventually get all your plants cut back. Good luck with all your monarchs! Hi Tony — Another South Cal question. My monarch was eclosing this cold and windy afternoon after being a chrysalis for almost a month. It was getting dark 4: It fell from the large leaf after I did that but most of it is still in the clear chrysalis.
Anything I can do? Seems gravity is not in its favor. I brought a 1 gallon Asclepias bush in from the deck and put it under the laundry basket and its sitting on it drying out and tomorrow I will move it outside to start the cycle all over again. Wonderful things these monarchs. I did not realize how one butterfly weed bush would attract so many cats. I go out and watch them in the morning to see who has moved on and who has moved in.
Do you think I should become more proactive and help them emerge into butterflies sheltering them inside or should I let nature take its course. Hi Josephine, happy to hear your monarch tale had a happy ending. I always bring large caterpillars inside to pupate, and have actually never found a chrysalis in our yard.
I would bring it in if I did, because of all the predators lurking about. If you plan to raise monarchs in the future, check out my raising guide or search for specific topics on the website.
Flight of the Butterflies
We live in Southern California, Los Angeles to be exact. Our milkweed plant from last year came back to life in early November bringing us 14 monarch butterfly eggs. Two butterflies successfully emerged although we brought the last one inside because it was raining and we noticed it was having difficulty drying its wings. She seems to get antsy every once in a while and tries to fly inside the cage which worries me.
I have those safely netted in our garden with a makeshift roof over their heads. Love watching the transformation process…magical! Hi Thea, glad to hear you are finally getting some rain in California…good luck with your butterfly releases! Newby Monarch raiser here. Will they still migrate when they are ready to release in a couple weeks? Also, should I tag them? If you have tags, I would tag them so you can potentially help with research. I have a late bloomer! Just this morning emerged. Before this cold front comes in I have only two 60 degree days to release. Winds are not favorable out of the south.
In looking at the long term forecast it appears, if it holds true, that warmer temps will return last week of November. The furthest south in Canada that I can get it is Pelee Island accessible by ferry, getting it closer to Sandusky , Ohio. If the weather does not cooperate, I have a nearby butterfly conservatory or….
Hi Darlene, so sorry for this late reply…I just found your two comments in my spam folder. Personally, I would have opted for the butterfly conservatory if they were willing to help. I hope this worked out for you! A couple of weeks ago, I brought in a chrysalis that I found in my garden because of frost warnings. To my surprise, it emerged today — November 6th — in Maine. I could find it a ride as far south as NY in a few days. Any advise for feeding, caring for and transporting a monarch? The easiest thing to feed monarchs is cotton balls that have been soaked in sugar water.
Make sure your butterfly has at least one good meal before release. I would transfer the butterfly in a small mesh cage. Otherwise you could also try a mesh laundry hamper like this:. So glad I found your site. I wanted to relate to you what has happened this year followed by a question. I live in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Towards the middle to end of September, I found nineteen Monarch caterpillars at various stages of growth. I brought all of them in to raise. Nine were victims of the tachinid fly. This was a first for me to see the fatal damage they cause. The other nine eclosed within this past week.
They were very slow to leave and I had to bring them back into the house for one or even two days. I have one more chrysalis left. I checked it many times before going to bed and it was still lying on the bottom of the container. When I checked in the AM, it was a chrysalis. I had read not to touch a newly formed chrysalis but by this time, it was hardened. I tied dental floss around the cremaster and hung it onto a stick, realizing even then, the butterfly could possibly be deformed. Anyway, he looks ready to eclose any time now. During this whole process, I have worried constantly about the weather and having enough nectar plants for them.
We have not had a frost so far and I still have tropical milkweed and zinnias. My question is this: Would it have been better to leave them outside? I had mixed feelings on this the whole time and this situation has never happened to me before. Prior to this brood, I had only raised four out of five successfully. I will truly appreciate any and all help or information you can give me regarding this matter.
I do love my Monarchs! Hi Denise, there was a lot of late season monarch activity in northern regions this year. It could have been that there were just more monarchs, but I also get the feeling monarchs would make better weather forecasters than the ones we see on TV. We had late egg laying again this year and I worried about the weather when we had unseasonably cool weather at the beginning of October.
Well, my last monarch eclosed October 11, and we have had above average temps ever since, giving them plenty of time to migrate south. Monarch Raising Guide- How to raise more monarchs with less effort. Thank you so much for your reply. I did not listen to that advice because I have always brought them indoors and will continue to do so. One thing I have learned this year is to be more diligent looking for eggs so there is less chance of the cats being victimized by the tachinid fly.
I feel better after reading your reply that it was the right thing to do to raise them indoors.
Hurry and the Monarch by Antoine Ó Flatharta
I appreciate hearing that. I have 2 males who eclosed around noon yesterday. My dilemma is the wind. They really need to get going, so is it worth it to keep them overnight just to get an improvement of winds of only 5 mph? If conditions are more sunny you could consider releasing today…good luck! Thank you for the advice. I have a chrysalis inside that should hatch around Nov. From reading the posts, it seems that the adult can be kept until the weather is suitable, sunny and above 60 F, as long as it gets fed.
Hurry and the Monarch
Hi Chris, if the weather holds out your butterfly should have a chance. I would keep the butterfly 24 hours after hatching to insure it has strong wings. They prefer nectar over sugar water or fruit. Make sure to sprinkle your plants before placing it outdoors. Butterflies need water…good luck! Also, during normal daylight hours, if you can put the chrysalis about a foot-and-a-half away from a good light source, that might help to speed it up.
I live in Indiana and it is about 50 degrees and sprinkling. As I was outside, I saw this monarch fluttering and crash into my parked car. Is he one his way migrating and tired, or is he dying? I have him in my house now on a rolled towel in the window, and gave him a slightly warmed orange slice. He is flapping and seems to want out.
Should I let him rest a bit then release, or keep him overnight. I really want to help him. Hi Heather, try soaking a cotton ball in a glass of sugar water. The cotton balls absorb a lot of water and they like that. We got two monarch caterpillars on a hike a few weeks ago and one just turned into a butterfly this morning. What should we do? When it gets sunny and a few degrees warmer you can release.
This was my 1st year growing milkweed and raising Monarchs. I successfully raised and released 13 beautiful Monarchs! The last ones were released on October 5th. I am located in Lakeview, AR which is about 5 miles south of the Missouri border. No issues with disease or pests! I used the large pop up cage for them and it worked great. I am going to overwinter the tropical milkweed to get an earlier start on next year.
Hope all my Monarchs make it to Mexico safely. Thanks for all your great information, it really helped me along the way. Thank you so very much for all of the information and advice concerning monarchs. I live in Ohio, and have five monarchs which have eclosed within the past three days. Two chrysalides look to eclose within 48 hours.
Common Sense says
As with previous posters, I have been very concerned about releasing in the cooler, rainy weather which we have been having. Because of your wonderful information, I feel so much better about releasing them today. I certainly want to send them on their way under the best possible conditions. Your website contains such a wealth of information. It is so much appreciated! If they are strong, healthy monarchs and have had sufficient time to dry, they will be just fine.
I will be releasing our last Minnesota butterflies this weekend. Good luck with your releases…. Two weeks ago I realized there were 16 caterpillars on my milkweed plant. Later the same day I saw a wasp attacking one. I had a roll of screen in my garage because earlier in the year April I read a newspaper article that described a screened box someone built to protect caterpillars from wasps.
I realized that wasps were probably responsible for the disappearance of the caterpillars on my young milkweed plant in April and purchased a roll of screen intending to build a similar contraption. Never the built the box, but did use the screening to wrap the plant after seeing the wasp attack two weeks ago. I now have 12 chrysalises. Two caterpillars found their way out of the screening; one pupated on a fence post, the other on the roof eave. Eight hung from the screen and two from plant leaves. I expect the one on the fence may eclose tomorrow.
Because it is out in the open, I am not sure there is anything special I can or should do? The 10 I removed from the screened plant are hanging in a large plastic box located on my back porch that has three walled sides. Will simply opening the lid a couple of hours after one emerges to let it fly away be okay? Not sure I really have too many options at this point, but am worried after reading all extensive steps people seemed to have taken. Hi Carol, glad to hear wrapping your plants worked to protect the monarchs. As for your plastic box, if they receive sun inside they should probably fly out.
These are the cages I use…in the summer, I just hang the mesh cage outside on a sheperds hook after they eclose and let them sun dry in the cage. Someone I know who has been raising butterflies for many years told me that butterflies can overheat, so if you put them in the sun in a closed mesh cage, they should have a shady spot accessible to them in case they need to cool off. Maybe putting something over the top of one half of the cage to create a shady spot inside would be adequate. Hi Tara, they should only be in the cage in the morning hours while their wings are drying, and then released.
Also, I turn the clear plastic side away from the sun. I have just had a Monarch hatch indoors about two hours ago. Temps in high 60s, but very breezy. Thought about tomorrow, but windier yet and cooler. If your butterfly can get a few hours in the sun, releasing today should be fine…good luck! I just figured since it was so late in the season, I had the migratory batch last month. Thanks to you and your website, I will be better prepared next year. We had a cool front hit Fri and Sat and the high was 78 today, with warmer temps next week.
The one who had a lot of females? I was just outside refilling my hummingbird feeders and happened to take a look at my tropical milkweed. Lo and behold, I saw a caterpillar! A nice sized one. Upon further inspection in another flower bed, I found another one! My swamp milkweed and common milkweed are looking pretty rough now.
See a Problem?
Thank goodness I had sanitized all the cages last month in preparation for next year and now they are safely in their own cages. What does this mean? I thought I was raising the migratory monarchs last month. Is that not the case? These caterpillars are your TRUE migrators, though some from your last batch could have migrated too. It depends on whether or not they went into sexual diapause or mated. The migration is a little behind schedule this season because of a long period of south winds but this is not a huge deal.
Enjoy your bonus butterflies and the migration as it comes through! I live North of Chicago. There have been some flurries. The weather forecast is calling for the temp. Can I feed them and hold them for that long a time considering the time of year? This unseasonable weather is too cold for release. Releasing next week will give them their best chance to reach their migration destiny.
I have had the most success feeding mine by soaking cotton balls in hummingbird nectar. They will when they get hungry… I offer them food once a day in the morning. Thank you for your quick reply. I greatly appreciated it. I have a few more questions. Will they feed on their own? They seem to remain at the top of their cage. Taking them down, unfurling their proboscis and dipping it in honey water. One butterfly will feed on the honey water for minutes. The other butterfly only for minutes. The honey water is on soaked cotton balls but the butterfly walked on top of the soaked cotton balls and his wings dragged across.
He had a difficult time folding his wings back together. Would you have dipped him in water and tried to rinse the sticky liquid off? In conclusion, here are my questions below. With all your experience: I am a teacher and they are in my classroom which is not a close commute. Am I inadvertently damaging them? Just a degree but do you think, given the facts, it is better to wait until Tues. Nancy, I have had to keep some for about a week now and they are getting restless.
I have never had to keep monarchs this long before…hopefully I can release them soon. PS…I would imagine the honey could get a bit sticky. I know you can dip them in water if they appear sticky. Hi Tony, Well we know the temps here in the Twin Cities are gonna stay low for the next weeks. Do they stand a chance of migrating? Hubby and I both joked about making a run to Iowa to release them. I released 9 butterflies in our garden a few days ago and they all drank nectar before heading south with the north winds.
I hope you had a successful release too…this has been quite a season! My cats all started doing a kind of head dance today. I opened the cage and all of them started bopping their heads back all at the same time. When you have the cats in an enclosure how do you change them to another plant when they have ate all of the leaves? I have been plucking them gently off the bare branchs and putting them on the next plant. However, I typically recommend putting a new cuttings container or plant next to the old one so they can crawl over themselves.
I live about 2 hours north of Toronto Ontario. Monarch caterpillars leave my milkweed garden and use the siding of my house to become chrysalis. I still have 11 hanging on the house. Will frost kill the chrysalis? Should I bring them inside and hang them in mesh cages? Hi David, I just found 2 caterpillars outside and we had a low of 37 a few nights ago.
However, cold temperatures slow down metamorphosis. They still have time to make it migrate. Help — should I release four newly eclosed today Monarch right now at 6 PM, stopped raining and cloudy, 56 degrees, with mph wind, tonite to be 47 degrees, but no rain. They are very active inside and want out, and it tried darkness -but still wan to leave. I let one out yesterday and it is still hanging onto a flower outside. So let go now or wait to morning??? I would bring the other one back inside and let them all go tomorrow.
They will calm down and be read to migrate when you set them free tomorrow. This morning she is gone with the warm morning lite. The others are stirring so will release them soon. I have one chrysalis left who should eclose by tomorrow or next day — then I have photos and memories of a great experience. Thank you for you advise. The weather this week has not been good for releasing it in Toronto, Ontario. The weather in the next few days is supposed to get better. Is it better to wait for the best conditions?
Or after awhile is it just best to release it, even if the conditions are not good?
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Thanks for the help! Hi Krystal, with those weather conditions you are doing the right thing keeping them indoors. You can keep them indoors as long as you need to. As long as they start taking in flower nectar or other nourishment like sugar water or gatorade, they will be fine. I hope your weather improves soon!
Tony, Thanks for all of your lessons. This one helped a lot, since those of us here in southern California are still seeing mating pairs and ovipositing females. My plants are dotted with a whole lot of eggs! My question is how long should I let my plants be accessible for ovipositing? I know we have overwintering spots nearby. It would be interesting to know if the majority of California migrators are in diapause, or if they continue mating throughout the winter. I have found that if I have to keep them overnight they settle down when their cage is put in a dark room or their cage is covered.
Thanks for the great tips Tony. The kids released 3 queens and 4 monarchs. They were able to see everything from a second instar to a j and chrysalides in both monarchs and queens. It was actually fun for the kids to compare them at all stages. Second point, what is to hot for the chrysalis. CA is heading for hot temps. You mentioned in a previous post that you almost had one melt. Mine are outside in butterfly cages.
I wish I could have been at your party Shari… it sounds like a wonderful event for the kids plus it would have been exciting to see some Queens! The only time there was a problem was when the one got direct sunlight…the butterfly survived though! I released two more monarchs this morning. I was excited about these because they were two fallen chrysalides and I used your technique of rehanging and they eclosed beautifully. I had a caterpillar wrong term, I know, and it finally hung from the screening on top of the butterfly bush pot. Now it has hatched and the Monarch is hanging under the screen.
I put the screen there because other caterpillars have tried to climb out of the pot. And also to protect them from birds. I think this a good idea. I live in San Diego. They lay eggs in the chrysalis before it hardens. If you see a dark spot on a chrysalis, that could be the reason. Good luck with your experiment and keep us posted! I put a small pot of yellow mums in the cage, they like to sit on it. I have read that Monarchs will feed on mums, is this true? Hi Kate, butterflies will take nectar from many sources in captivity so I would definitely try mums.
However, if you recently bought them, make sure they have not been sprayed with pesticides! Garden flowers are best if they are available. You might also try try lightly misting the mums with water. I had a Monarch visit my yard 2 weeks ago that ignored all the other flowers still in bloom and went directly to a pot of yellow mums on the deck. Hi Lynne, I am sometimes baffled by what individual monarchs choose to nectar on.
I think it depends on how hungry they, what else is available in your garden, and maybe even individual taste preferences??. I have also heard other reports of monarchs on mums…. I have had them two nights now. I have orange slices and Gatorade in their cage, but they are on a plate on the floor of the cage. Will they sense the food down there, or do I have to raise the food up on something? Hi Amy, you will have to introduce them to the orange slices.
It may be easier to get them to nectar on cut flowers since they can also sit on or hang from those. The orange slices will need to be fresh. The become amazingly strong flyers after a few days of life are combined with a little nourishment. Hi Amy, you will have to introduce them to fruit. I added a video to the post showing an alternative method of picking them up.
Same with the gatorade. You can also try cut nectar flowers. Try misting the flowers lightly with water. About when to release……Monarch Watch recommends keeping them 24 hours….. Hi Judy, if you have them in the mesh cage drying in the sun, all they need before release is hours and they come out strong flyers. Tony, thanks for the excellent advice! I have 4 chrysalis, 1 about to change, and 1 still feeding. Here in Iowa a cold spell as well. My monarch eclosed this morning at I put it outside to leave at It might get some sunny in a few hours and up to 60 degrees.
I wonder if I should try a release again yet today. Congrats on your new butterfly! Hopefully there is some sun tomorrow to help it along. I saw another smaller swallowtail on the dill today too. Poor cold little dude. Thanks Derek, we are west of you in Minneapolis. Miss Betsy Monarch is off today for Mexico. She was active late this AM and with a little sunshine and some warmer weather, she left, heading south on a breeze from the north. Yes, I name my butterflies as well as number them in my journal. Betsy is 2 as Alex was 1 who left three days ago. I now have seven more to eclose and release, probably by over the weekend.
We plan on doing this again next year too, plus are going to recue our swallowtail cats that the sparrows always eat off my parsley. We will be planted some more milkweed too. Hmm crap I am sorry to hear that sparrows eat swallow tail cats; I hoped that with their active defense they might be better protected against such.
I saw a bird violently shaking one of our lilac bushes to shake off some type of green caterpillars…it worked! With todays weather, when should I release the ones I have inside the house? What is the night time low that is too cold? Monarchs can survive freezing temps, but at this point in the season there is no reason to subject them to cold weather. There is still time for most of us to hold out for warmer weather.
Yipes, I left 2 almost black, ready to hatch chrysalides outside this morning and the high is only 56 today. Derek and I had similar questions in the previous section on adult monarchs. If the nights get cold they will be fine nestled in the trees as long as they have that first day to get nectargized! In Minnesota, today and Friday are going to be frigid, but starting Saturday we have a nice stretch of milder weather.
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Okay, nobody leaves until Saturday! I was just out on a little bike ride and I found a male adult sitting in the grass on the side of the road. He might have an injured wing. At the Monarch Festival last Saturday by Lake Nokomis, there was a mesh cage with 3 butterflies inside going nuts trying to get out. It was hard to watch. I hope mine remain calm as we look forward to the nice weather on Saturday.
Terry, they were going nuts because it was sunny and warm. I got lucky for this cool spell. There is one left and it looks like it will hatch on Saturday. They planned that perfectly!