911 Milkweed Emergency + Raising Tips for Large Monarch Caterpillars

ByTony Gomez

Raising Big Cats and Milkweed Emergencies

Care for Large Monarch Caterpillars + 911 Milkweed Emergencies- Raise The Migration 2019

Your caterpillars will grow in size roughly 2000% from the day they hatch until the time they form their chrysalides…from 2mm to almost 2 inches!

To accommodate this rapid growth, they need to shed their skin (molt) 5 times, with the final molt revealing their emerald green chrysalises.

Each of these molts grows the monarch caterpillar to its next instar (period of development): Caterpillar Life Cycle Instar Info and Photos <<< click link

Caring for Large Monarch Caterpillars- Raise The Migration

Before they molt, your cats might crawl to find the perfect molting spot. Top molting destinations under milkweed plant leaves, cage walls, floral tubes, and under the rim of container plants.

Don’t be alarmed if they stay there for 24-48 hours.

This is normal behavior and they will usually molt (and return to fresh milkweed) without any assistance. If you’re worried they’re lost in space, position milkweed close to the molting spot and have leaves touching a mesh wall so it’s easier to find when they start crawling again.

After a molt, they will often feast on their shedded, nutrition-laced skins, leaving behind just the face cap.

Here is what a molting caterpillar looks like in action:

Monarch Caterpillar Molting Videos

Monarch cateprillars often position themselves on a cage wall facing the floor to shed their skin, which they do 4 times before forming a chrysalis. More info on growing monarch caterpillars...
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

911 MILKWEED EMERGENCY

Large Monarch Caterpillars and Milkweed Emergencies- Raise The Migration

The most important thing to keep in mind about larger caterpillars (instar 3 to instar 5) is that they can eat you out of garden and home.

Instar 3 caterpillars measure up to a half-inch in length.

The first time I ran out of milkweed I was shocked at how much those little pigerpillars had scarfed down in just 12 short hours.🐽

Many seasoned raisers remember what it’s like running out of milkweed for the first time…the sheer panic that sets in when you’re not sure where your caterpillars’ next meal will come from.

Relax, take a deep breath, and consider these 9 options:

  1. Do you grow other species of milkweed? Caterpillars can easily switch between milkweed varieties. The only problems I’ve heard reported are when people try to switch caterpillars to Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed). We regularly switch between common, swamp, and tropical.
  2. Do your neighbors grow milkweed for monarchs?
  3. Is there a local park where milkweed grows wild?
  4. Does a local nursery sell milkweed? (If yes, make sure no pesticides were used on the plant or it will kill your caterpillars!)
  5. Call a local university with an entomology or wildlife biology program for guidance.
  6. Post in a facebook group to see if you can find someone in your area with spare milkweed.
  7. Secret Stash? Milkweed leaves can be preserved for future use by storing them in plastic bags or food containers inside the refrigerator.
  8. Check out our suggested milkweed stores to see if a vendor has plants they can ship quickly.
  9. Instar 4-5 caterpillars (over a half-inch long) have been reported to eat pieces of butternut squash, delicata squash, pumpkin, crunchy cucumber, and watermelon slices. I have seen/heard people have the most success with the squash varieties.

Keep in mind, feeding caterpillars with alternative foods could have unknown consequences for their development, and should be used as a last resort.

If your milkweed supply isn’t an issue, having more inside the cage is always better. As long as you keep large cats fed and their habitat clean, things usually turn out fine.

Stick to raising limits and you’re also less likely to be faced with caterpillar death and disease. 🐛☠️ ☹️

However, this is the period when diseases can start to rear their ugly heads, so keep a close eye on your caterpillar cage guests.

Please read through the comments below for more info about Large Monarch Caterpillars & Milkweed Emergencies. For further assistance raising healthy butterflies, a ✬✬✬✬✬ rated PDF download on How To Raise More Monarchs, with Less Effort is available for purchase HERE

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  1. A friend in Florida feed her cats pumpkin when she ran out of milkweed and they all died.

    1. If the caterpillars were instar 5, the pumpkin might have been treated with BT, which is organic but kills caterpillars. If they were smaller, that is the reason they didn’t survive.

  3. I am running out of fresh leaves. I have a large butterfly weed plant that the butterflies have ignored, maybe because it has some powdery mildew on parts of it. Is this harmful to feed to cats if needed?

    1. Hi Geri, at this point in the season, I would use the best leaves you can find and, of course, rinse them thoroughly…good luck!

  4. I have started a butterfly garden for the monarchs and I have a tall sprinkler that comes off of our sprinkler system in that garden ….is it OK for the monarch caterpillars and if I have any chrysalis ? Should I shut that sprinkler off and water by hand ? It’s sprinkles Thursdays and Sundays for about an hour

    1. if it’s sprinkling overhead, they should be fine. If it’s coming from the side, it could launch them off.

  5. I use cucumbers for 5th instars when needed. The frass will be light green & runny but it will get them through to their last molt.

  6. I discovered many Monarch caterpillars on my butterfly plants. I didn’t know they eat these so it was quite a surprise. I’m OK with them eating them but there are so many I’m not sure there is enough plant there to feed them all until the go to chrysalis. I always look at the local milkweed for cats, but never see them, so I’m not sure if our local variety is a favorite to move them if it comes to that.

  7. I have a tip to share that might help others. I have been using blue painters when transferring caterpillars to a new fresher leaf. I take small scissors and carefully cut around the caterpillar on the piece of leaf they are on, leaving a little extra tab of leaf and then very carefully tape it to the fresh leaf or stem cutting with a tiny piece of the blue painters tape. They eventually crawl off onto the new leaf on their own and then it is very easy to remove the old piece of leaf with the tape. This works like a charm and it avoids handling them, which is safer. They are so fragile. Make sure you stick the tape down firmly so they can’t crawl under it. I also have been using a piece of wadded up plastic wrap stuffed into a cup of water to keep the leaf fresh and yet the caterpillar can’t fall into the water. This has also worked well for me. I am from the Buffalo New York area. There have been a ton of Monarch butterflies in my area this year. More than I have seen in recent years. The weather has been hot and dry all summer and I have lots of thing planted in my garden that butterflies like including lots of butterfly bushes which helps attract them. However there are hardly any Black Swallowtails this year for some reason. We did see quite a few of the yellow Tiger Swallowtails though.

  8. I have honey vine or vining milkweed growing in my yard. I used to pull it all up but have let it grow in some places to help the monarchs. I just wanted to make sure they actually eat the vining variety.

    1. it’s not typically a favored host plant but, yes, the do eat it

      1. I raise lots of them on honeyvine, sand vine….. However, this year, despite everything I’ve tried, the aphids have ruined everything – common, swamp, tropical and even the honey vine. I have to search elsewhere for uninfested honey vine. So discouraging. I have hosed, squished, and spread ladybugs. Nothing can overcome the aphid infestation. Well, maybe Malathion, but we know that can’t be used!

        1. Malathion kills honeybees!! And any other types of pollinator. Don’t ever use it.!!!

        2. I used very successful a one quart spray bottle mixture of white vinegar one to 3 parts water and 3 table spoons of dish soap liquid. In hours or next day they are black dead start to fall off. Also good for many other insect pests, including spiders. I’m in Boca Raton Florida with no issues of leaving it in the yard. The cats will go on the leaves once it drys and had no affect on the cats. Note, after the aphids and other pests have died I rinse those leaves, stems with clean filtered water. Once a week I’m doing this for 6 large potted milkweeds. After this treatment aphids, white flies and company dont return. The cats soon after seem to know when they can go back to feast. My biggest problem are the lizards, frogs and certain birds picking them off before the last molt. I’m really thinking about bringing a few in for home raising. Comments are welcome for new tips raising indoors…

      2. Last year my cats would only eat the honey vine (it’s what they hatched on)

  9. When my family scheduled a vacation in NC this past July, I was taking care of about 150 ?. Needless to say, no one wanted to watch them, so I packed them up and took them with me, along with what I thought would be enough milkweed. Sure enough I ran out and was unsuccessful in finding any. I had heard of the cucumber substitution and thankfully it worked! It kept my big guys alive until we got to Virginia and was able to stop along the road and pick some. Crazy, right???

    1. Crazy? Well maybe, but you have company. I did the same thing with about the same amount of cats and chrysalis. Three adults one 7 year old in a 22ft RV! Driving in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota I was able to find plenty of common mw. Granddaughter was a great help, she loved releasing them!

      1. Glad to here there are others who take raising ?as seriously as I do. I have released over 200 ? so far and have about 170 chrysalis to go. Will be ready for a break soon.

  10. I found cats on my milkweed for the 1st in the 2 years since I planted it. Last year, I found several crysilis on the front of our house but most turned black and shriveled up. Today, I found 2 hanging from a fake cactus in my husband’s office. I am not set up for raising butterflies. Is it best to put the fake plant outside near the milkweed?

    1. Hi Dawne, you can put it outside in a protected area, but no reason to put it near milkweed.

  11. Help! I’ve got dozens of caterpillars in various stages and a potential impending hurricane! Should I be making plans to move as many of them inside as I can sustain? I would say many of these cats are instar 4-5 (this is all new to me), so I’m also concerned about the chrysalis handling hours of strong winds. 🙁

    Any ideas to help these beautiful little creatures is greatly appreciated!

    1. Hi Laura, if you have a habitat, you can certainly bring them inside to keep them safe from extreme weather. I’m not sure how much wind they can sustain, but they are survivors. If you’re not getting the brunt of the storm, they should be ok…stay safe.

    2. Hi, appreciate all of the info you share! Been raising Monarchs for four years. One emerged yesterday and appears not to have a proboscis aka tongue? Or could it be delayed in showing up? All other functions seem normal. This could be a life or death birth defect. Nearby Minnetonka MN

  12. Todays’ Date: 09/08/2018 at 10:06 PM.

    Hello, I have a question. I have 10 Caterpillars that turned into pupas about 18 hours ago. They all look fine, but the 1. It has a black spot on it and from that black spot came a maggot. The maggot hung by a single strand then dropped to the bottom of my cage. I immediately removed the maggot from the cage and euthanized it. Anyway, what I wanted to know IS will the pupa be fine and eventually turn into a beautiful butterfly OR do I need to do the humane thing and euthanize the pupa?

  13. I have seen several suggestions to use floral tubes for milkweed cuttings but even though I cut it and quickly pop it into the floral tube, my cuttings always wilt quickly. The cats don’t seem very interested in the wilted leaves. I have also tried wrapping stems in wet towels and using sugar water or hummingbird nectar in the tubes to feed the leaves. Sometimes the wet towel works and rarely the floral tubes work. Do you know why this works so intermittently? I have tropical milkweed both in containers and in the flowerbeds, and it doesn’t seem to matter which I use.

    2. When you cut your cutting bring a tub of water with you .When you make the actual cutting it has to be cut under water.
      Don’t know why for sure , but if you don’t .They wilt.
      No matter how quickly you put it in the floral tube

      1. How could I cut them under water if my 4 – 5 stem plants are in a 5 gal pale.

    3. Karyn, I’ve found I have the best luck if I harvest very early in the morning or later in the evening when the temps are a bit cooler. Try to avoid harvesting in the late morning or afternoon. Hope this helps!

    4. After you bring your cuttings in snip a little bit of the stem, twice, under cool water. Its like it seals the end of the Stem and it stays fresher longer.

  14. hi tony i just brought in 4 monarch cats when i woke up this morning there where only 3 they where all diffrent sizes 1 fith 1 fourth and 1 third
    and i had a small second instar when i came down the leaf that he was on was missing and so was he it had been eaten by the fourth instar could he have been eaten by my fourth instar

  15. I started with two monarch cats that were oretty good sized. I was given a mesh cube. I change their psper towel bedding twice a day. I found gatheting milkweed leaves and wadhing thrm is best
    I store them in a ziplock bag in the fridge works well. When I would go to gsther mote milkweed I’d come home eith more cats. I have 7 in the chrysalis state. I mist them teice a dsy since they are inside. I was fown to 3 cats of different sizes. I put fresh leaves in the morning and evening. Tomight I went to gather more wed and found 8 small cats. I gsthered plenty of milkweed. I drivevroads and have found a good supply of milkweed. This has bern a fun activity for my grandkids too. Our first should be hatching soon. Very enjoyable to do. I foung many predators, mainly spiders that woukd have eaten them. All together we should have 15 cats hatch out. First timer here.

    1. We are in our 4th year of raising/releasing monarchs and black swallowtails. We predict we will release about 200.

  16. Looking for any possible help! My last group of cats & have come across a HUGE dilemma!!! One cat shedding from 3rd to 4th instar somehow detached & shed 1/4 way through last night. He keeps trying to push the rest off to no avail. Looks like the fist 1/4 already dried.

    1. Hi Debra, you could try spray the caterpillar with water, but typically these types of issues don’t end well.

  17. You mentioned having issues switching from swamp to butterfly weed. The caterpillar I found on my swamp milkweed, but didn’t have enough to sustain the caterpillar. I have no access to more swamp milkweed, but our local garden center had butterfly weed. I transferred the caterpillar to the butterfly weed and it’s doing ok, but what should I look out for? I’m new to monarch caterpillar experiences. This is my second one.

    1. Hi Mimi, if that’s all you have the caterpillar will have to make due. While they are fussy about switching to tuberosa (sometimes) I’ve never heard of a caterpillar starving itself to death in protest. If your caterpillar is eating the butterfly weed, you’ve cleared that hurdle.

      1. Fabulous! It’s been fascinating to watch this caterpillar compared to the previous one I had last month. I can’t get over how messy of an eater/drinker it is. The front half of it is stained green! I even had to peel the right antenna off its body because it had gotten stuck. Anyhow, it’s been eating this butterfly weed like nobody’s business. Thank you!

      2. Sadly lost the caterpillar last night. I’m wondering if it the butterfly weed might’ve been treated with a pesticide. =( It moved to the very bottom of the plant and formed the dropped “v” shape. I don’t think it’s disease since it didn’t “melt” or climb to the top of the plant. It also didn’t stink really bad. Blah. Such a bummer to have lost it. Would you suggest not planting the butterfly weed?

        1. Hi Mimi, butterfly weed is fine to plant but I’d also plant other milkweed varieties

        2. Be careful of where you obtain any milkweed to immediately feed to caterpillars. Many garden centers sell plants that have been treated with systemic insecticides. Sounds like that may be what happened to yours. Very possibly, personnel at a store will not know because the plants may have been treated at the wholesaler.

          1. I bought extra milkweed from a nursery. Three cats started oozing green. Smaller one died. The larger two were
            weak and i gave them good milkweed on the floor of the cage. They formed their js on their side, attached to the leaves i gave them. We hung them
            vertically and they hatched into healthy butterflies last week.

            So nice to have a happy ending after a mistake like that.

  18. Tony,

    When are the butterflies finished the season in Northern NY (I am on the Cornwall to Montreal Canadian border, way northern NY). I started cutting down my milkweed plants yesterday, 8/31, as my yard is literally a jungle of them. I mow very little of my 1 3/4 acre yard and let milkweed plants dominate.

    I am afraid I started too early. I tip the milkweed plants to make sure there are no chrysalis on them before mowing. Could there still be eggs? Should I leave all plants until after a frost? I do have many more still in my yard.

    Thanks so much, Paula

    1. Hi Paula, it’s too early to cut down milkweed…next year I would wait until mid-October or after a milkweed killing frost. There are probably not too many eggs eggs, but definitely caterpillars still developing. Yes, keep those milkweed plants growing in your yard. good luck!

  19. We planted milkweed this year and found 5 caterpillars a week ago! We got a potted milkweed plant to bring them inside to our covered patio to protect from predators. 1 didn’t make it, but we had 3 little guys and one that looked almost ready for a chrysalis. Yesterday before work she was at the top of the milkweed plant upside down, and I thought I’d come home to a chrysalis, but instead she’s vanished! I searched all over the room, as I read they might crawl away from the plant to find a sturdy spot, but can’t find her. How far would they crawl? They’re still spiders around so I worry she’s a goner.

    1. They can crawl a ways (20 feet or more) and typically depart the milkweed to form their chrysalis..hopefully your caterpillar found the perfect place!

  20. I HAVE 2 IN THE COCOON STAGE AND ONE ABOUT TO MOLT, ALSO A SMALLER ONE; CAN THEY ALL BE IN THE SAME NET HABITAT?

    1. yes Tracy, you can separate caterpillars by putting them on separate stem or leaf cuttings

  21. Hi Tony,
    I have my caterpillars in a butterfly cage given to me by a coworker. It has a clear, plastic top instead of mesh. There are 3 standing (upside down) on the inside of the plastic top; there is a small white spot near each, looks like a spot of silk but I’m not sure. There also appears to be tiny scratch marks in the plastic near them. Maybe I’m not seeing what I think. I don’t know what stage they are but they look large enough to pupate. Should I be worried? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

    1. Hi Stacey…sounds like they are spinning the silk pads to hang from to form their chrysalis

  22. Monarch caterpillars LOVE PARSLEY plants. I went out today to water my parsley and discovered that I had 4 caterpillars eating up all of my parsley! They can have it because we don’t use it much. Pleased to see them! Next year I will plant more for them to enjoy.

    2. How can I get my milk weed to produce more leaves after they have been ate up?

      1. Hi Phil, you can cut back stems earlier in the season but at this point in the season, the native milkweed species are pretty much done producing viable foliage.

      2. Hi, I have 63 cats at all different Instar and they wiped out 6 full size plants. I bought new ones through E*#y and I took my 6 plants trimmer/broken stems off, put them where they get a 3-4 hour break from burning sun and water them everyday, sometimes twice a day. In the last two days I already have several,leaves sprouting out. Mine are kept in containers. I have the tropical MW and I’m in NJ. I should get one more round out of the MW if I can keep the monarchs from laying eggs on the first buds that pop out. Good luck it’s worth a try. The MW seems to like that break from the sun a few hours a day when recovering

  23. I brought in 3 caterpillars, each in a different stage. 5th instar quickly made a chrysalis! The other two have been happily dining on milkweed brought in fresh daily. My concern is that the medium sized cat managed to go up to the ceiling above the milkweed plant. Should I redirect him back to the plant or can it attach and form a chrysalis on the ceiling?

    Jude

    1. Hi Jude, if the caterpillar has easy access to the milkweed, it should crawl back down if it still needs to feed. When forming a chrysalis caterpillars can easily attach to leaves or the cage ceiling.

  24. Last year, we lost about 20 late season cats because we ran out of food. I let the pests get out of hand and learned a hard lesson. This year, I’ve taken several preventative steps that seem to be working well:
    Rather than using large stems, I take smaller clippings, no more than 2 per plant, and rotate the plants I use each day. this has given my plants a chance to produce fresh growth and last longer. I’m using floral tubes to hold clippings.
    I’ve stopped collecting eggs for this season. I’m focusing on maintaining a healthy environment and food supple for my existing cats by keeping aphids, milkweed beetles and tussock moth caterpillars off my plants.
    so far, we’ve released 125 healthy monarchs since July 1st, with more to come. thanks for all of your great info, Tony, and happy raising, everyone!

    1. I find using a jar with florist oasis….and then fill with water and cover the top with Saran wrap you can keep the milk weed clippings for up to four days (providing they don’t eat it all). I poke the stem through the plastic wrap and put three to four stems of milk weed per jar so there is a sizable “plant” in the hatchery….enough to feed about 12 caterpillars for four days. I also do what you do and only take the top four or five leaves off a plant and they do regrow very nicely in a few weeks…I have many plants on my property so I move around. Push comes to shove I will hike around and find some. Thankfully never had a caterpillar go hungry.

    2. How are you keeping the aphids off of your plants? It’s been a huge problem for me this year?

      2. Hi, since I have too many cats on my plants and don’t want to hurt them. I bought a pack of small bottle brushes for $5.99 (various sizes) and I take the bottle brush (tiny thin one) wet it and just drag it up and down the milkweed where the aphids are. Then when I get a brush full. I shake them off in a bucket soapy water. I hope this helps

  25. I am looking to start this fall or next spring a late season blooming milkweed or a late season nectaring plant that is resistant to Japanese Beetles. I have a ton of Common MW that have nothing left to feed my Monarchs as they join the world. I live in East Central Iowa. If not for my released butterflies, those that will migrate through would enjoy a chance to fill their tanks as they fly on South. What are my options?

    2. I live just south of Chicago. I started Mexican sunflowers from seed sown directly in the ground at the beginning of May. Monarchs and other butterflies are feeding on the orange flowers right now. The flowers are a butterfly magnet! They also love my zinnias.

  26. I live in Florida and last year planted multiple milkweed plants and successfully raised and released 20 monarchs. This year I had lots and lots of milkweed and saw lots of monarchs flying around. Then the red and black milkweed bugs arrived. Everyday I picked them off and put them in a bucket of soapy water. We went away on vacation and when I came back the plants were covered with the bugs. I couldn’t keep up and the plants became nothing but stalks. The milkweed was cut to the ground and hopefully we can start fresh. Any thoughts on controlling the red and black bugs?

  27. HI Tony, this morning I went to check on the status of how many butterflies will possibly be today and I’m a little concerned about one of my chrysalis. It has a couple of black spots at the bottom of it . Does that mean it”s infected with something? It’s scary because such a big cage and of course there are so many that made their chrysalis right around it now. I have them all in a white mesh hamper so it’s hard to get them off.

    Thank you,
    Paula

  28. Looking for any possible help! My last group of cats & have come across a HUGE dilemma!!! One cat shedding from 3rd to 4th instar somehow detached & shed 1/4 way through last night. He keeps trying to push the rest off to no avail. Looks like the fist 1/4 already dried. I moved him into a clean piece of wood & disinfected a needle to attach a small portion of his loose skin to try and help him and am also lightly dampening the unshed skin with a Qtip. Any advice would be very appreciated ??

  29. Tony,

    Sorry if this has been asked before, but I just found 4 cats outside on my meager milkweed plants. I live in a townhouse in Northern Virginia, so only have a few plants. I noticed in a lot of your comments that they eat a lot. How much is a lot?? I’m very excited to hopefully see these guys go to chrysalis and become beautiful Monarchs, but I’m afraid they’ll Run out of milkweed before that happens. I also read somewhere that they might eat each other if food is scarce? Is it best to let these guys do what nature does, or should I intervene? Thanks for any advice you can share!

    1. Hi Laura, depending on the size of your plants, just 2 monarch caterpillars could devour an entire plant. If you can’t find pesticide-free milkweed locally, a last resort is using alternatives like the butternut squash listed in this post…

    2. My cats ignored the squash. And ate tge cucumber. I scrubbed it well and skewered on wood skewers and all ate well and emerged healthy and strong.

    3. Hi, I discovered today that all Instar will eat butternut squash or and FRESH cucumber. I ran out of MW while waiting for my rushed order of new plants. I found some roadside MW washed it and also put out some butternut squash and cucumber. I have photos and video of different Instar eating the squash and cucumber. When looking for wild MW. Look in sandy hot dry places. I had great luck with those places. I found mine at a construction site in burning dry sun and sandish clay. Please be careful when taking wild MW. There were several caterpillars depending on the wild supply. I only took a few to keep my cats alive and fed. When collecting the MW make sure you have gloves on, container, cool water in the container and immediately put it in the water or it will die. It wilts a little but will bounce back. And please check there are no hidden tiny cats when you make the cut or they’ll drown in the container when they drop off from movement. Good luck

  30. i cut down all my milkweed today and found caterpillars! this was obviously a big mistake. i saved one stalk for two caterpillars, they are pretty big, will they be OK?

    1. Hi Katy, if they are close to forming their chrysalis they should be fine…otherwise, you will need to find an alternative milkweed source.

  31. I have five monarch cats. One is much larger than the others and will go in chrysalis first. Do I need to separate it into a different cage when it gets large so it is on it’s own to form a chrysalis?
    Thank you. This is my first year and thanks to your detailed help all five cats are doing very well.

      1. Hi Tony – follow up question from a novice – why do they have to be chrysalides before the butterfly emerges? Thanks.

  32. You are right! The big cats are eating so much I cut the whole plant down and brought it in the house. There were some pods on this plant which I pulled off and threw on the ground. Now, several days later these pods have burst and dark brown seeds are emerging. Will these seeds be good to plant?

    1. If the seeds are mature, they will be good to plant. It’s better to wait for the seam of the pod to start opening before removing the pods

  33. I have been fortunate to find six Monarch Caterpillars on my milkweed plants this summer. Two are still eating away. My question is, why do some of the leaves of the milkweed have sticky,glossy “film” on the leaves about mid-way from the ground. What’s up? How late will the caterpillars survive in Mid-Michigan? When is it safe to remove the milkweed plant for the winter? How difficult is it to get milkweed seeds to survive?
    Thank you.
    Louise U.

    1. Hi Louise, aphids (milkweed pest) secrete a sticky honeydew substance on leaves and ants actually ‘milk them’ for this substance. You can let the wind blow milkweed seeds, or harvest them and plant a few this fall:

      Harvest Milkweed Seeds

  34. Hi Tony! My son and I were so excited to find that the milkweed we let grow wild and HUGE in our front landscaping (completely obstructing our sidewalk – sorry, UPS/FedEx/USPS) was housing 16 tiny caterpillars! I believe there were more that did not hatch or did not survive, or got eaten. We had space to bring four in and raise, but we let the others stay and munch on the plants. Our four in the house are well into their green chrysalis. The fat cats outside were also within a day or two – and then…. they VANISHED! There are still some milkweed leaves left, and a few of the smaller cats left…but….what happened to our others that were there yesterday, and even hours ago?! Did they go somewhere else to hang? I had provided them lots of poles/cross poles and sturdy things to hang on. Did something EAT them? Did they leave because they thought they were almost out of leaves? We are very sad thinking something has happened to them when they were thriving yesterday. I knew we’d be close on mlikweed (we didn’t even think we’d get ANYthing!)…but, now we have some work to do, I believe, to do this next year.

    1. Hi Angela, predators get the majority of monarchs outdoors and less than 5% survive to adulthood, though your largest caterpillars could have crawled off to form their chrysalides. Here’s more info on predation and what you can do to help more monarchs:

      13 Monarch Predators

  35. Hi Tony
    This is my first year raising caterpillars indoors! And I started doing so because at the beginning I had at least a dozen caterpillars on my milkweed plants in my yard, I was trying to track them and find all of them everyday and every day more and more would disappear. So I took four caterpillars inside and used the tips from your website and they have all gone to chrysalis. There is one Chrysalis left outside and it’s hanging from a milkweed Leaf… it did not leave the host plant. I was worried because it’s been more than 3 weeks and still hasn’t come out. But today I noticed a big change it has become clear and I can visibly see the Monarch inside! Here’s my question I’m pretty sure this Monarch will hatch tomorrow and we have a forecast of 90% chance of rain all day long. I am thinking this will prevent the butterfly from being able to dry its wings and fly… so should I bring it inside once it comes out of the chrysalis?? If I do bring it inside what doI do ?! where do I put it?! Your Insight would be greatly appreciated thank you for all your help this season!
    Mallory

    1. Hi Mallory, we let butterflies hang from the roof of a mesh cage to dry, or during inclement weather . If you don’t have one available, it could hang from the branch of a potted plant…

  36. Hola from Laguna Beach California,

    I have many milkweeed plants sprouting all over the yard. My problem are the little pesky parasites are overwhelming the plants. I spent several hours cleaning off the aphids but they came back with a vengeance. Any suggestions.

  37. Tony this past month has been amazing I brought in eggs I found on my milkweed and raised them indoors before I knew it my population had grown to 88! Some eggs failed to hatch due to our hot weather a couple of the cats I found outside evidently had been infected the parasiticfly and died in chrysalid phase I did have to purchase 13 more 4″ pots of milkweed to supplement my other plants, I have been diligent about cleaning their habitats and keeping the floral tubes filled with fresh water they look healthy and plump I anticpate in the next week or two they will all emerge and be on their migratory way. I am resisting the urge to look for more eggs until all are gone? For 30 days they are my babies! Never gets old!

    1. nice job Elia! I know ‘setting limits’ is difficult, but it will ultimately make this hobby more enjoyable and successful for you and the monarchs…good luck!

  38. Hi Tony ,

    I have ra out of milkweed and this year planted 3 times the amount and still, my milkweed has deteriorated from insects and aphids, i drive around and look for milkweed, and I have spotted some on the sides of country roads and have been able to get get some. i also noticed that the most sheltered milkweed that was in partial shade grew the best. So next year I am going to plant some new milkweed on the shady side of the house. Most of my milkweed on the sunny side matured so fast, even before the monarchs started to arrive. Thanks for all of your help. I hope you are going to restock the baby cages , I love that cage. <3

    Elaine

  39. This was my first year raising Monarchs and all are mine are in Chrysalis right now. The eggs were laid on my Tropical, then I had to switch to Common and lastly had to go to Butterfly weed. They ate them all with no problem, thank goodness!

  40. I live in Florida. I see monarchs laying eggs and holes follow but I don’t see any caterpillars. Are the black and red bugs or the lizards eating them?

    1. There are many predators in the milkweed patch! I have seen wasps fly in and lift a baby caterpillar off the plant. “Beneficial bugs” are often not beneficial to monarchs, they eat them. Spiders and praying mantids hang around milkweed plants lookin for lunch.

      1. I have planted a lot of milkweed for the monarchs, but have never seen any caterpillars or a lot of monarchs. I witnessed a wasp carrying off a young caterpillar and was horrified. That’s when I decided that I needed to learn about how to rescue eggs and raise them.

  41. Hi,

    Much of my milkweed has a powdery mildew. The plant does have several monarch caterpillars. Will they survive eating the diseased milkweed?

    1. Hi Diana, most native milkweed looks pretty scraggly by seasons end. If that’s all you have, you will have to hope for the best. I would consider fall planting more milkweed varieties, and consider some tropical milkweed for next season which is a good source to support late season monarchs. If there are no milkweed options, large instar 4-5 caterpillars can eat pieces of butternut squash. good luck!

  42. Hi Tony, I live in Topeka, KS. This is the first time I’ve planted Milkweed (MW), for Monarch Butterflys. I have 3 bushes and approx. 27 Caterpillars on them chewing away. The MW Bushes are between my chain link fence and the neighbors. So space between our fences is approx. 3 to 4 ft (where the Milkweed is). There are 3 crystals hanging on the fence. I thought of putting bird netting over my fence & stretch it over the MW Bushes onto the neighbors fence to protect all of them. Should I do this? Or, collect all the Caterpillars and put them in a container? Or do something else to protect them?

    1. Hi Shelley, you can take them in if you have a suitable cage for them, or you could try the netting outdoors which would give them some protection again flying predators like wasps or birds, but not the crawling predators that may already be inside the patch. Here’s some more info:

      21 tips for Raising Monarchs Indoors

    1. Hi Debby, butterflies can emerge at all hours of the day if they’re kept in a room that doesn’t get daylight. Otherwise, they’ll eclose between 6am-11am

  44. Hoping someone can answer this fairly quickly. I found some eggs on balloon mw. I cut the stems on an angle and put in water while outside. Then when bring indoors, wash off and nick the sides of the stems. The stems still wilt and never recover. My question is , will the cats stay on wilted mw as long as it doesn’t dry out?

    1. I always make the cut with the stem under water and immediately place it into its bottle. They do droop, but almost all of them perk up again. The Gomphocarpus physocarpus balloon milkweeds provide lots of stalks of a good length, and the caterpillars seem to accept them readily.

  45. We live in central Florida. My children and I have raised over 360 Monarchs since June. At the moment we have 75 babies. My question since my children and I are raising inside in cages where do I buy cheaply flower stem holders besides your website? And how many caterpillars can we have in a larger Kitter Cage? Thank you!

    2. go to a flower shop they have a waterthing that holds 1 flower…dont no what they call that ..its like a small plastic tube with a rubber top on it….they mind just give them to you…i paid 0.25 cents for 3 of them…hope that helps…

  46. I live in Wisconsin, so it can get cold early in the fall. How late in the season should I keep collecting the eggs? Or should I keep collecting them as long as I keep finding them. I have had a good year raising a lot of Monarchs.

    1. Hi Karen, egg laying should be finished within the next few days. In Minnesota, the latest we ever see eggs is the first few days of September. congrats on all your success.

    2. I’m not actually “looking” for more eggs this late, but I found one on September 1st on a cutting that I picked for the hungry caterpillars in the nursery, and one on the 2nd when I was showing a little neighbor kid how we look for eggs. They’re in the nursery now.

  47. The hot, dry summer took out my swamp milkweeds early this year, but I have a back up plant I can feed my cats: Climbing (Honeyvine) Milweed. The small leaves won’t keep a large cat satisfied, but feeding them to 1st and 2nd instar cats will help spare the common milkweed supply that starts to run low late in the season.

    In fact, just today I discovered Monarchs will lay eggs on Climbing Milkweed. I saw an ELF dipping into the grass !?! along side the road next to a corn field. I discovered a number of eggs that were laid on Climbing Milkweed growing back up after being mowed.

    1. Monarhs do lay eggs on climbing Milkweed (Cynanchum laeve). Once planted it seems to sprout up all around the main plant, this must be from underground runners because mine rarely goes to seed here in Massachusetts.

      1. The MW vine is where I have found the most cats and eggs in my yard! Right in the grass! It comes up everywhere, and that side of the house is shady, but my daughter kept seeing monarchs over there. I couldn’t’ figure out why, it is all hostas and weeds. I guess it honeyvine weed!

  48. I just started the cat rescue this year . we just watched our third swallowtail fly away, number four should emerge tues. The monarchs have all climbed on a potted trio of Asian lilies in our breezeway. I didn’t get a cage yet and so far this is working. Keeping doors closed but windows open for air. We have marked with masking tape each one of the cats as they go for the “sleep”, this way I have a better idea of when to look for our kids.
    We released them into our yard which is more that 50% native plantings.Trying to get pics of growth and chrysalis hatching. Such a riot to be able to promote this to my garden club which promotes natives.
    We are on number 8 of the chrysalis hanging on the plants. Looks like a holiday inn. As my cats get to the larger size I move the vases with the milkweed and cats next to the lilies and make sure the stems touch at the bottom leaves of the lilies. they crawl right up and find a bare spot.
    three cats and an un hatched egg left on the kitchen window sill.

  49. I live in northern Georgetown County in SC. Last year I had monarch pupae by the end of August. This year I have no monarchs or eggs so far. Do you think the hot weather has kept the Monarchs from coming south ? My tropical milkweed is ready and waiting.

  50. I have only begun raising monarch caterpillars for the past few months. Thus far, there have been 9 but I have lost three.
    The first crawled to the top of the cage and was about half way into the chrysalis when it began to twitch similar to a human having a seizure. It never completed the process.
    The second , I don’t know what caused it, had its chrysalis drop to the cage floor. It appeared that it had not fractured and no liquid was being omitted so I used the floss techniques to rehang it but when it emerged the wings were deformed and it could not fly.
    The third crawled to the top of the cage and appeared to be spreading it’s web to begin its chrysalis but he seemed to be stuck in the middle of its body instead of the end. I’m not sure what to do or even if there is a problem.
    Any advice on what might be going wrong is greatly appreciated.

  51. Tony, reporting from Bossier city La. (wish others would give their location). Our 4Th. year raising and aiding Monarchs, wish we had found your site earlier. Starting in March this year we saw our first Monarchs, fly into our yard. We have 6 established milkweed sites thru out our 1/2 area back yard, with lots of nectar plants for support. The March Monarch butterflies we release 12, we assume these migrated further north? Then July 16 we begin to see more adult monarch flying in our yard, and the female laying eggs. Thru Aug. 27, we have released 59 Monarch butterflies, have 27 chrysalises and 30 cats. in various sizes in our protection cages. My main question is where are our adult butterflies going, to late to go north, are they going south? Also are we to expect those migrating from up North, to be visiting in the next several weeks and will they be laying eggs on our plants before they continue their further Southern migration? Will those off springs from these migrating adult, will then fly towards Texas in their onward migration. I Realize this is a lot I am asking, but confused as to which direction my adults are flying. ALL SO WISH ALL THOSE WHO COMMENT ON YOUR SITE WOULD LET EVERYONE KNOW THERE LOCATION. This process is all so amazing, good to know there are so many others out there supporting the plight of the Monarchs.

    1. hi Earl & Linda, Louisiana is one of those regions where you can host monarchs year round. If your monarchs go anywhere, it will be south to Mexico. There is a need for digital tagging to answer your questions. It’s started, but haven’t heard anything about the data retrieved so far. Congratulations on all your releases!

  52. Just wanted to tell you I ordered several of the small enclosures you sell and love them. My first raising this year using the pop up laundry hampers resulted in some runaways and 2 of the hatched butterfly’s trying to crawl out and damaged their wings.

    1. Thank you Julie, I’ve raised monarchs in many enclosures over the years and the mesh butterfly enclosures have brought us the most success…glad they are working for you too!

  53. I have a caterpillar in the 3rd instar (I think) who has stopped eating. I gave her a fresh leaf yesterday and she ranged around for a while but didn’t even take a nibble. She’s definitely still alive, but hasn’t eaten anything for a full day now. Anything I can do? Thanks.

  54. Out of the 18 chrysalides only four remain. The rest went on to become great beauties. I’ m disappointed that none of these recently released Monarchs came back to lay eggs. Whenever I hear bluejays screeching nearby I cringed because all it takes is one deadly bite before the bluejay decides his dinner is unpalatable. That’s a terrible price for Monarch to pay. I’m putting peanuts 100 feet away from my yard for the bluejays to feed on, so maybe there’s another reason the Monarch haven’t laid eggs.
    The weather should be warm enough for the Monarchs until October. We have several overwintering sites here in the Bay Area, but will that hurt the migration if adaptation takes place?
    Pam

    1. Hi Pam, I don’t think blue jays are a common monarch predator. Providing alternative bird food is a great idea…congrats on all your releases and good luck!

  55. I have released Monarchs in cold, rainy weather. A few years ago, I had a couple of butterflies that were already 2 days old, and I didn’t want to lose them. I took them out to the land where I have my garden, and set them on boughs of the pine trees. They were sheltered quite well from the wind and rain, and the next day I went to check on them just as the sun was coming out. Once they got warmed up, they flew away. True survivors!

    I’ve been raising Monarchs for over 25 years. I have found your information to be invaluable! I’ve already learned a lot, and have been a subscriber for less than a week. I live in South Central Wisconsin. I got a late start this year with the butterflies, as I have limited mobility this year due to MS and a spinal cord injury. I have 2 chrysalides, 1 egg, 1 big cat who I think is a 4th instar, and 2 3rd-instar cats. I never knew that they might eat cucumbers, watermelon, pumpkin, and certain squash! I’m not out of milkweed, because I usually keep extra in a plastic bag in the fridge.

    I have 4 Black Swallowtail eggs on cuttings from my rue plants, which I put in my garden several years ago. It comes up every year and is a sturdy plant. The cuttings last quite well in a container of water indoors. I know that in an emergency, I can buy fresh parsley from my local grocery store, which the cats devour.

    I live 2 miles from my garden, and don’t have a yard. I raise my butterflies in birdcages that I cover with either tulle (bridal netting), which is fairly inexpensive, or window screen, which is more durable than the tulle. I usually sew the netting or screen to the outside of the cage, using the bars of the cage to wrap the thread around.

    I use the plastic containers from Chinese takeout for my cuttings. The plastic is quite durable. I cut the lid, leaving just a small margin of the top of it near the edges of the lid. I cut circles from the window screen, and then cut small X’s into it. I put water in the container, set the screen circle on top, and then put the lid on to secure it. I put the cuttings into the water. After a lot of trial and error, I found this to be a durable set-up. I clean the lids and containers using diluted bleach, and I use the screen circles to scrub them. That way, the screens get bleached also. The cats can’t accidentally drown, because the screen holes are too small.

    I never tire of raising butterflies. I tell people, “I can’t save the whales, but I can help conserve the butterflies.” Whenever I find an egg or caterpillar, I thank God for entrusting me with his baby butterflies!

    1. Hi Tammy, thank you so much for posting and welcome to the MBG community! It sounds like you’ll have lots of helpful tips and info to share from all your experience. I wholeheartedly agree that monarchs are often a lot ‘tougher’ than people give them credit for, but it’s hard not to hover when there are so many pitfalls to avoid with predators and disease. You are far ‘craftier’ than I with your cage set up, but I’m glad you’ve found something that works…thank you for all your monarch-supporting efforts!

    2. Good afternoon & thank you Tammy for the encouraging words ! Very cool that you are so committed to the butterflies. I haven’t raised a swallowtail since 1977. Should I keep his chrysalis in the garage , or in the shed with no chance of temperature change ? We will have over 250 plus inches of snow from November through end of May. It snowed in June this year. Don’t want him hatching early ? Good luck with your butterflies ! I released 2 more today. The critters up here in Ironwood Michigan are quite resilient . Hopefully we all will be successful this year ! ?

  56. Good afternoon Tony & fellow monarch rescuers. This is my 1st year raising monarch butterflies in the far north upper Pennisula of Michigan. I have more experience with Iowa. Currently I have 19 chrysalis’s hanging, 12 caterpillars & a adorable black swallowtail caterpillar ( I rescued off parsley plant ) our nights are 55 degrees. I’ve released 22 so far but am concerned how to get theses last butterflies hatched & on their way on time. It supposed to rain the next week straight. How do I release in the rain ? I’ve kept others overnight until the rain subsided. Weather is changing quickly ! Help ! Any advice is much appreciated ! I’m hoping for a grand total of 53 releases ! Right on ! Thanks all !!! ?

    1. Hi Lesley, I would wait for a sunny window to release so they have some time to feed and find shelter from stormy weather.

  57. I am having terrible results. I have even transferred caterpillars from my church’s beautiful butterfly sanctuary to my own milkweed at home and never see them again. My neighborhood is full of stray cats. Are the cats disturbing my caterpillars? Is there anything that can be done about this? I feel terrible about bringing any more caterpillars home to perhaps meet a horrific fate.

    2. I live in the Missouri Ozarks (Springfield area), and have been raising cats for a couple of years. The best thing to do is take the little critters and put them in containers, I use 1 gallon plastic ice cream cartons, usually I put 4 or 5 in a container. The reason being, you can control the environment totally. Every day I take a fresh container and put a paper towel in the bottom. Place your milkweed leaves (enough to last 24 hrs.) on the towel, and then transfer the cats carefully over into the new container. You can then dump the frass and everything in the old container, then wash and steralize it. Your all set for tomorrow. Disease is the biggest problem. You can eliminate that by changing every day.
      Another reason to raise them this way is it prevents all pests and parasites form getting to the young cats. The is a high morality rate in the wild.
      This season I have lost count of how many I have successfully raised. I think it is well over a 100. I have only lost a few cats in the process.
      If I can be of any other help, feel free to contact me.
      Charlie Stewart

  58. I’m so excited ! Raising my cutest caterpillar 🙂 found a huge honeyvine milkweed by my bedroom window and just let it grow crazy ~ thought i could donate the pods ~ then i found my fat little guy on one of the leaves ! I’ve been keeping him comfy and feeding him plenty of fresh milkweed leaves ~ i didn’t know the pooped so much hahaha ! My kids screamed and said mommy i saw it poop it looks like a pez dispenser !!!! Hahaha !!! I’m excited tho 🙂
    JL

    1. A Pez dispenser! That’s hilarious! I’ll never look at a pooping caterpillar again without thinking of that. By the way, the technical term for caterpillar poop is “frass”, which I jokingly tell people is a contraction of “from a**”.

      1. I like your contraction! the first time I brought plants into the porch to protect them from the wasps (we live in FL) I was SHOCKED at how much they pooped What a messy crew that was. But, we had a TON of successful releases – so the frass cleanup was worth it. Now we have a cat so I can’t leave them in the porch. We’ve built a “cage” to cover clusters of milkweed that we’ve planted. 3-4 plants to a cluster fit under the screen/1×2 framed box. Don’t have to clean up after them this way. 🙂 When the milkweed starts to look a little sparse, we just move the cats to the next cluster and put the cover over that batch. It’s worked wonderfully for us for the past year. Last month we released about 35 butterflies. Can’t count how many swallowtail we’ve had – but they don’t require any extra attention here. They just munch on my pipevine and lay a TON of eggs. I don’t see anything hovering around them like the wasps do to my milkweed.

      2. I brought some black swallowtails inside to raise and we nicknamed them poo-flingers, they actually flip their backend quite aggressively to the side to maximise how far the poop will fly away from them. I imagined this would be a fine adaptation to make them harder for predators to find. They also have those amazing soft orange strongly scented horns that come out when they are feeling concerned/threatened. Flinging poop and scented retractable horns rapidly turned these into my favorite caterpillars!

  59. I returned home from vacation to find blackish coating on my plants. There was 8 days of rain while I was away but have never seen this phenomenon before. Also plants have many orange insects with black bars across their bodies. They fly similar to wasps. Have never seen them before. Perhaps there is connection?
    Not all plants have this. About 20 plants look like always.
    Should I be concerned. Some plants are losing leaves at the worst time.

  60. Tony What kind of reports are you getting from Buffao NY area re monarch sightings. I live in Niagara Falls Canada, just 30 minutes drive from Buffalo. I have seen ONE monarch so far this year. What are the reports you are receiving about the northern numbers. Ron Jones

  61. Hi Tony and Monarch fans,
    This am I encountered a large group(more than 20) of tiny first instar caterpillars (light green with dark heads) all on one leaf of a tropical milkweed plant. Any idea what they might be? They are the first cats like this I have seen on any of my milkweeds. They are clearly feeding on the leaf–it has many, many tiny new holes on it. I really don’t want to kill them but I don’t want to lose my milkweed either since I have Monarch cats to feed.

    Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you for all you and all the Monarch fans do for the butterflies.

    1. Hi again all,
      Okay, I did some more research online and and found the answer: Milkweed tussock moth, Euchaetes egle. I am going to try to move them to some wild milkweed growing in a field where I have not found any Monarch eggs. I need my milkweed for the Monarch cats I am raising. The tussock moths are apparently an important potential prey for bats. We have to be mindful of All the Native critters in the environment.

  63. Thanks for your help. I have a neighbor who has a huge field of Milkweed! IF I had a Milkweed Emergency they would let me have all I needed. I would never have thought about that.

    1. You’re welcome Rebecca. Unfortunately, it’s hard to think clearly when you’re going through it, so it’s good to consider your options in advance. good luck!

  64. As I have said before, I have been trying to rid my garden of common MW – it is just too invasive for my small garden. However, I have not been successful – it still pops up. So what I do is let it grow to about 1 foot. Then clip off the small leaves, wash them & freeze them. There is a method for this. I did this last season and when I began to run short of swamp & tropical I would thaw & feed the common leaves to my cats. They loved it – gobbled like the little piggies they are! For this season I am ready!

  65. Hi Tony,
    I have several monarch caterpillars who are eating lots of milkweed in their enclosure. I took some fresh cuttings to give them and when I went to rinse them I noticed that some of the leaves had eggs on them. I thought that it wouldn’t be a problem so I put them in the enclosure but now there are no babies. Do the big caterpillars eat eggs and little ones?

    1. Unfortunately it can happen, Barbara. Always try to keep large and small caterpillars on different milkweed cuttings. Keep eggs away from caterpillars of all sizes.

  66. You say people have problems when they switch their cats to butterfly weed. What if they start out on butterfly weed? Is it ok to only feed them that?

    1. yes Pam! they would probably eventually eat the butterfly weed if you switched them over from other milkweed too. It’s just not one of their preferred milkweeds.

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