Supplies for Raising Healthy Butterflies to Release for the Annual Fall Migration
Supply List For Raising Monarchs
Welcome to Raise the Migration 2025, where you’ll be raising magnificent monarch butterflies to help increase the number of monarchs that will be overwintering in the mountains of Mexico and coastal California.
My name is Tony Gomez, and I’ve raised thousands of monarchs over the past 45 years. My goal is to help you learn how to raise healthy monarchs with less effort, while helping the struggling monarch population recover so that one day it can thrive again across North America. Here are more details about Raise the Migration, including my suggested supply list for raising monarch butterflies…
Who is Raise the Migration for? It’s for:
- those concerned with saving the monarch migration for future generations
- those who want to raise healthy monarch butterflies (prevent sickness and death)
- anyone looking for a more efficient process to raise monarchs
- Parents looking for a fun, active, and educational activity for kids
- Kids who love nature and want to learn how to nurture it
- School teachers looking for an exciting (and educational!) way to start the school year
- Retirees looking to reconnect with nature
- Those interested in joining a passionate community of Monarch Enthusiasts who want to make a difference
Feel free to share this post with others you think would be interested in participating!
How Many Monarchs Will You Raise?
This challenge was created for anyone raising between 1-8 monarchs at one time. If you want to raise more, I recommend using additional (or larger) habitat cages to avoid potential diseases and accidents caused by overcrowding.
Do You Have To Start On An Exact Date?
It’s unlikely that we would all have new monarch eggs on exactly the same date. Therefore, I will start sending tips during the earliest part of the migration, so you can refer to them when you have monarch eggs or caterpillars secured.
My official start date is Saturday, July 12th, 2025. This should allow most northerners to still participate and get their monarchs headed south before the weather becomes an issue. I will send out a kick-off email when Raise The Migration begins.
When Will The Monarch Migration Be In Your Region?
Check out this monarch migration chart from Monarch Watch. I would recommend releasing your butterflies no more than 2 weeks after the last date of your peak migration. My latitude in Minneapolis is 45° N so my last peak date is September 10. This means I will try to release my last butterflies by September 24th. However, weather willing, you can successfully release butterflies past your peak cutoff date.
You do not need to follow along in real-time to participate! Refer to the raise emails you will be receiving and start at a time that makes sense for your your region.
Does It Matter Where You Raise Them?
Keep in mind, cool nights below 50° F will slow down the metamorphic process. It’s very possible to have cooler nights in late summer (especially north) so bring your cage indoors on these cool nights if you’re raising outside and the window for release is closing.
It’s important to expose them to as much natural light, heat, and humidity as possible so they receive the migratory cues that encourage migration upon release.
For this reason, I suggest raising inside by a window you can open during the day and close at night, if needed. However, we will also be sharing a new outdoor raising setup we have recently been testing with good results.
Before we get started, you will need to get set up with a few basic supplies. These supplies will help you raise monarchs for years to come, and they should fit most budgets. Some of you might not need to spend anything if you’ve already got the supplies at home.
Here are the butterfly raising tools we suggest to make raising migration butterflies easier, less time-consuming, and ultimately more enjoyable.
Caterpillar Cages
Food storage containers (glass or plastic) are an excellent starting place to keep track of monarch eggs and small caterpillars without the leaves drying out. Checking on eggs or baby caterpillars once a day allows more than sufficient oxygen levels in a sealed container:
1a. Monarch Egg Hatcheries (The container sizes we use most often are 9″ x 9″ x 3″ and 11″ x 7″ x 3″.)
To raise migration butterflies “the easy way” requires a cage that can hold a potted milkweed plant or stem cuttings. Check out these next few options…
Raising Cage for INSIDE?
If you want to raise up to 8 caterpillars and plan to raise on larger milkweed cuttings or small potted milkweed plant, this tall pop up cage should suit your raising needs:
1b. Buy a 15″ x 15″ x 24″ high butterfly cage to Raise up to 8 Monarch Caterpillars
1c. Buy a 24″ x 24″ x 36″ high butterfly cage to Raise up to 16 Monarch Caterpillars (not recommended for first time raisers)
Raising Cage for OUTSIDE?
1c. raised bed cart with wheels (place an indoor cage inside this)
1d. protective netting (to keep your growing monarchs safe from the elements and potential predators.)
Check out our full outdoor setup here ⬅️
Caterpillar Cage Liner for Easy Cleaning
(If you buy the 14″ by 14″ cage liners below, make sure the cage length/width aren’t larger than 16″ by 16″ or you won’t have enough floor coverage.)
1e. 14″ Caterpillar Cage Liners ⬅️ (soft bendable platter)
OR
1f. 14″ CLEAR Cage Liner ⬅️ (hard support platter for 15″ floor cage)
(If you buy the 21″ by 21″ cage liners below, make sure the cage length/width aren’t larger than 24″ by 24″ or you won’t have enough floor coverage.)
1g. 21″ CLEAR Cage Liner ⬅️ (hard support platter for 24″ floor cages)
1h. If you’d like your indoor cages elevated for less bending over, this 48″ by 24″ adjustable-height table can easily fit three cages.
1i. If you want to keep a tabled cage in place (safe from curious cats 🐈 or accidental bumps) try putting a heavy rock or paver brick inside the cage to keep it in place. You could also use the outdoor cage inside to deter them.
If you haven’t signed up to participate in Raise the Migration 2025, sign up here to receive free raising tips delivered to your email inbox.
Milkweed Plants
If you want to raise monarch butterflies on milkweed with the least amount of effort, you have two options:
- milkweed stem or leaf cuttings from outdoor potted or garden plants (my recommendation)
- potted milkweed plants with healthy leaves
The best place to find milkweed plants is in your garden or from a local nursery that doesn’t spray with harmful pesticides. Remember, systemic pesticides can’t be rinsed off immediately and can remain inside the milkweed leaves for months.
2a. Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica)– this seems to be the preferred egg laying milkweed late in the season. It’s also easy to pot if you have some in your garden. Tropical works well for leaf or stem cuttings.
2b. Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)– first and second year plants are usually the best options since many still have fresh leaves late in the season. Swamp works well for leaf or stem cuttings.
2c. Giant Swan Plant (Gomphocarpus physocarpus)– this milkweed always has viable, healthy leaves late in the season and works well for stem cuttings.
2d. Swan Plant (Gomphocarpus fruticous)– this milkweed always has viable, healthy leaves late in the season and works well for stem cuttings.
2e. Giant Milkweed (Calotropis gigantea)– this is not widely available but could be an option in southern regions. We’ve successfully grown giant milkweed as an annual in our Minnesota garden. These plants would be a viable option for feeding caterpillars if we needed them.
2f. Popular native species like Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) and Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) are often past their prime by late summer. However, you can use any milkweed species if the leaves are still green and appear healthy.
1-2 monarch caterpillars can devour an entire milkweed plant. Keep this in mind when deciding how many monarchs you want to raise.
If you can’t find pesticide-free milkweed plants locally, some of the suggested stores on this resource page might have plants in stock:
note: The sap from milkweed is toxic and can cause corneal damaged if rubbed into your eyes. Always wash your hands after handling milkweed…
Some choose to take the extra precaution of wearing disposable gloves when handling milkweed to avoid potential issues.
Monarch Eggs & Caterpillars
During the past decade, it has become increasingly difficult to find monarch eggs in gardens, parks, etc., so there are alternative options if you can’t find them locally.
note: USDA prohibits vendors from shipping west of the continental divide. Option 3c is a western option located in California. Before ordering, make sure the vendor delivers to your state:
3a. Eggs & Caterpillars from Rose Franklin
3b. Caterpillars from Monarch Watch
3c. Eggs & Caterpillars for AZ, CA, CO, ID, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY (no western vendors known at this time)
More Raising Supplies + Grocery List
The uses for these supplies will be explained (in detail) during Raise the Migration:
Choose one of the following two options for feeding munching monarch caterpillars:
4. Plastic bottle, glass jar, or vase to place large stem cuttings cuttings to feed caterpillars
OR
5a. Large Floral Tubes with Holding Rack for larger milkweed cuttings to feed caterpillars (my #1 recommendation for less refilling and spacing caterpillars out)
Even if you start raising on potted plants, there’s a chance you could be using milkweed stem/leaf cuttings by the end of the feeding frenzy.
5b. Little Hole LIDS floral tube lids with smaller holes for thin-stemmed cuttings or leaf cuttings to prevent baby caterpillar drownings. These lids fit our large floral tubes so you switch out lids as needed.
5c. Floral Tube Cleaning Brush is a helpful tool to clean out dirt and grime that collects in the floral tubes
6. Large Boot Trays to carry cuttings containers or floral tube racks (with milkweed and caterpillars) to a sink to refill floral tubes or containers with water and rinse off any 💩. (ours measure 20″ by 15″ so if a caterpillar falls, it falls on to the tray and not the floor)
7. Curved Tip Syringe without needle for refilling floral tubes/picks. These 12ml syringes are optional, but allow you to refill floral tubes without removing tubes/racks/caterpillars from the cage.
8. Monarch Magnifying Glass– many have reported difficulties finding eggs or locating baby caterpillars because they are so tiny. Get a Monarch magnifier and finally see what you’ve been missing. 🔎🐛
9. Pruning snips to take milkweed cuttings for caterpillars
10a. Plastic wrap to cover water-filled bottles/vases (if using this option to hold milkweed cuttings). Floral tubes with racks work better for spacing out caterpillars
10b. Rubber bands to secure plastic wrap on bottles/vases
11. Scissors
12. Duct Tape
13. Cotton Balls or Cotton Pads for feeding adult butterflies
Choose one of the following 5 options in case you have to feed adult butterflies before releasing them:
14a. Use floral tubes with holding rack to offer adult monarchs cut nectar flowers (easy option if you already have tubes/rack to feed caterpillars)
14b. Honey or Sugar for making nectar or
14c. Hummingbird nectar (easy option if you already use a hummingbird feeder)
14d. Orange or Watermelon slices
14e. Gatorade can also be used to feed adult butterflies. Melon flavored gatorade has been suggested by universities.
15. Paper Towels for cleaning/drying and lining sealed food containers (regular non-scented)
16. Concentrated Regular Bleach for Disinfecting Cage or use Disinfecting Wipes
17. Cordless Computer Keyboard Vacuum this is a fantastic tool for sucking up frass from the cage floor. It has just the right amount of suction and is easy to empty and clean. We use the black version that several vendors offer for less than $30…highly recommended cage cleaning tool!
18. Tagging Program for Eastern Monarchs
19. Raise The Migration T-shirts in a multitude of styles, colors, and sizes.
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Some of these items are optional (depending on your raising set up) and some of these items will already be in your home. Being prepared in advance will give you more time to enjoy this amazing monarch raising experience…
I am located in Chicago and I am wondering if May is a good time to look for caterpillars and raise monarchs. I am having a hard time finding any information online, and I would like to plan to have school based activities about monarchs planned for May if possible.
Thank you!
Hi Rita, for northern regions, I would suggest gardening info/activities in spring, raising butterflies in September…
First time at raising Monarch’s. Have 16 right now. My problem is that I now have several cat 5’s that decided the white rack was where they were going to hang from. I also have one that is hanging on the outside lip of the poo tray. Another one is on zipper (thankfully it is only a couple inches from bottom of zipper so I can still open/close cage. The only difference I can see is that the first ones were fed with tubes in plastic egg carton. They all climbed to the top of the tall cage and will become butterfly’s this week. I had purchased the white racks that were used on all the others. I have 3 on one rack – two hanging from bottom of top rack. In J position, they were touching middle rack. And one is hanging from bottom of middle rack. None will have room to become butterfly’s. I had one rack in another cage that I moved the tubes back to a egg carton. I tried with a small screw driver to get the racks to disengage, which worked ok. My thinking is once I can separate the racks – how do I hang the individual racks so they have enough room to become butterfly’s. I do have a lilac tree with many branches that I could probably hang the racks from once it gets close to them emerging. Does that sound ok and do you have any other ideas? I’m thinking I’m probably not the only person experiencing this.
Hi Linda, check out this page for more info:
When a caterpillar forms its chrysalis on a rack + prevention tips
I would assume you are aware of the study that states raising butterflies indoors in mesh pop ups causes migratory behavioural problems. So I’m writing to see if you have any tips on raising them outdoors in the mesh pop-up tents or other habitats?
Thank you
Hi Lisa, please read this for more information on the study methodology:
Raising Monarchs Study?
Hi Tony,
I have been using your website as my go-to for the past six weeks, raising and releasing since mid-July in Southern California. You have been an incredible resource for almost every single question I’ve had about monarchs, so I wanted to say THANK YOU for creating this amazing website. It is packed with information, and I’ve been spreading the word about the western monarch population here and encouraging anyone who will listen to plant milkweed.
I had many eggs in my new milkweed patch in July and had much success raising from eggs and instar 1s–about 20 total. Tachnid flies have been awful in LA and I expect most if not all caterpillars left in the garden have not survived to pupate or eclose. All that I brought into cages, kept outdoors on a sun-shaded patio, have survived except those collected as larger caterpillars. (The tachnid flies had gotten to those before I could.)
Now, late in August I have six chrysalises left in various stages, but only one instar 2 in my cages, a surprise hatch from a cutting. There are many instar 4s and 5s wild in the garden, but I’ve found very few eggs there and no instar 1s. Timing-wise, do you have any thoughts on why that may be, since according to the maps, the peak here in SoCal will not be for another month? I’m wondering if there is a lag between the generations, but this is my first year so I would love to know your thoughts. I’ve read your other post “Why Am I Not Seeing Monarchs,” so I don’t expect you to have a specific answer, but would be interested if there are similar patterns for folks who raise throughout the season.
Thank you again for all your efforts!
Hi Edrie, activity patterns seem to differ every season depending on starting population size, weather patterns, habitat availability, pesticide use, etc…biological pest control with parasitic wasps seems to be a bigger issue affecting population in western regions.
I only have 1 milkweed plant and lots of caterpillars but today noticed it is covered with aphids what do I do to kill them without killing the caterpillars
Hi Maria, here are short and long term strategies for dealing with Oleander Aphids
I didn’t know this program exists. I just started raising them this year. I have released 3 Monarchs already and have two that just went into a chrysalis… I even got it on facebook live one of them going into a chrysalis. Its been so much fun. I didn’t tag the three I already release. I suppose I should get the kit for the two I have?
Hi Kendra, you can check with monarch watch, but it might be too late to get tags for this season…if so, you can always tag next year.
This year in SC something is eating all my cats, wasps and preying mantis are the worse I have ever seen along with the lizards, any recommendations on deterring the wasps? I see eggs but no cats at all…I have plenty of milk weed. If I find cats I bring them inside and raise them.
Hi Lynn, check out some wasp solutions here
I have my cats (3) in a 10 gallon aquarium with a mesh top in a shaded gazebo. Milkweed in florist tubes with water. Is this OK or do I need a mesh cage. I’m in New York.
Hi JoAnn, you can use an aquarium. We prefer mesh cages because they have better air flow and are easier to clean.
Hi Tony,
I live in MN too…Rochester actually. 🙂 I plan on tagging my butterflies also. What dates would you recommend starting to tag? I saw your end date of 9/24, but I wasn’t sure if I should start tagging now or wait a few weeks still.
Thanks!
Hi Jana, for our region, I would probably tag September butterflies. You can ask monarch watch for specific guidelines…
I am in s.e. Wisconsin and have common milkweed growing in my yard. I am thinking of bringing in some newly hatched caterpillars. I have styrofoam egg cartons that I was going to put floral tubes in. What do I clean the cartons with to ensure they are do not carry any bacteria harmful to the caterpillars?
Hi Linda, I would probably just rinse them off with water and dry…if you use any soap or bleach make sure to rinse it off thoroughly.
Hi
Is a paper copy of your “raising” book available? I was able to download it the 3 times as purchased, but didn’t realize that was all the time I was going to have with it and of course did not write anything down.
If there is no hands on copy, do I have to pay and download it for everytime I want to reference?
Thanks.
Victoria
Hi Victoria, once you download the book to your device, it’s always on your device. your download restrictions have been reset.
I have a question about the range of dates for Fall release — why can I not post my own comment, only reply to this one? (The green box above Comments invites people to leave a comment but even scrolling past 183 of them, there is no comment box?
I’ll try anyway: I’m Lat 40 in Central PA, last peak date is Sept 20, so 2 weeks past that is the last chance to release butterflies for best chances. So what about cats, eggs still on my plants at that time? Or eggs found only a short time before this? If I bring them in, knowing they won’t finish until way-way past the optimal date range, then they’re likely not going to make it. What do you do with these “too late” cats, just release anyway and hope for the best?
Thanks – I try to read-read-read every resource you have, I spend hours on your site!
Hi Molly, you can raise and release as late as you find them….those dates are general guidelines to let you know when peak migration is going through your region. Weather patterns can extend or shorten the migration season. For late releases, release on the best day possible. We will be covering this in detail later…
Hi Tony,
I live Northwest of Minneapolis (Coon Rapids) and the past couple of years we have had so much rain, as you know. I have had a hard time raising my Monarchs. I’ve released many but have also had a myriad of diseases, pesticide problems, etc. Out here, the Park and Recreation board have mowed down most of the milkweed or sprayed it. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if it is sprayed or not. My second round of Monarchs are mostly dying, even in a mesh enclosure. I never used to have this problem in the 50 years I’ve been raising Monarchs. Now, my butterflies are starting to die from OE. It’s heartbreaking to have to euthanize them. My question is, in my mesh enclosure, I had a chrysalis that was ready to hatch and I didn’t see it – it was dark and hanging on the side. I had caterpillars that were underneath it but seemed to be on the other side of the cage. Since I didn’t know it was ready to hatch, I didn’t remove the caterpillars. The butterfly eclosed with OE. It had just recently hatched and the wings never had a chance to straighten or drip. I immediately removed it and euthanized it. Will my other caterpillars in the cage get OE?
Hi Lori, this is a big reason why we raise indoors, but still expose the growing monarchs to natural heat, light, and humidity. Excess moisture seems to be a catalyst for spreading disease. I have come across a few disease issues outdoors, but never with the ones we raise in the porch. It’s possible the butterfly spread OE spores on to the caterpillars, but you don’t know for sure they’ve ingested them. I would probably give the caterpillars some new milkweed…good luck!
Hi Tony! This is my first year with caterpillars on milkweed that I planted a year ago in my garden. I was disappointed that the last round of caterpillars left to make their pupae and wanted badly to watch—so when we noticed a new brood of caterpillars, we decided to build an enclosure. We built a 4 ft tall , 3wide,2deep wood frame, and attached screen netting, with a Velcro front so it can be opened for release. We placed this directly over two large milkweed plants in the garden , right on the earth…leaving one large plant outside of the enclosure. available to any monarchs who may fly by and want to deposit more eggs. We have 8 caterpillars, all eating like crazy, but still a very good supply of milkweed. It should be around the time they are getting ready to make the pupae…we don’t know exact age as the Cats emerged when we got back from holidays. 4 have crawled to the top of enclosure and have been there for a day now….just hanging upside down —horizontally feet stuck to the wood frame.—not hanging from one end to make their J shape. I thought when the adults left the plant it is time to make the j shape and pupate…should I be concerned they are not eating? They are still alive and flinch slightly if I tickle them with a leaf. Is it ok if they attach to the wood gram rather than the screen roof? Also-I have not seen the type of enclosure I made listed as recommended…thoughts? Thanks so much in advance…
Hi Darlene, I’ve heard that treated wood can be an issue, but I’m not sure which chemicals and ‘how much’ would have a negative impact. I prefer the mesh cages because they are portable, good air flow to prevent excess moisture, and super easy to effectively clean to prevent the spread of disease. Sometimes it takes caterpillars a while 24 hours after J to pupate. as long as they look fine otherwise, I would just wait…good luck!
Hi Tony,
I second square poo poo platters.
One item on your list that I don’t agree with is the “disinfecting wipes”, most of those have other chemicals in as well as scent – I would not recommend them for Monarch raising!
Hi Carol, whenever we use bleach (or less frequently the wipes), we always rinse the cage out thoroughly with water and dry after. I will be sure to make that abundantly clear when we get to the cage cleaning section. Thanks for your feedback, Tony
When is the last butterfly hatch in Central Fl and then do I cut down the plants. 32804
Thanks
Hi Karen, there is a year round population in central and south Florida. Cut back plants when activity is low and you have the opportunity.
Tony, we have been following your blog, and have released almost 50:Monarchs between last year and this year. We learned to handle them as little as possible and supply fresh healthy milkweed. We have a weird case right now that I haven’t seen before. One of our butterflies emerged with the chrysalis wrapped around his body,
It is clear and looks like I may be able to cut it, but I am not sure if it will hurt the butterfly. Can you tell me what happened? Or if I can help this butterfly? I know sometimes they may be sick, but this looks like he just didn’t get out of it and it stayed around him. Thank you and thanks so much for your website. We swear by it and it has helped us release dozens of healthy butterflies.
Hi Sharon and McKenzie, I would try to remove it. If it’s just a stuck piece that could be pulled off, spraying with water should help with the removal. Otherwise, if it’s stuck around the butterfly I would carefully cut it off…good luck!
I wish the poo poo platters were square to match the shape of the nets.
thanks for your feedback Elaine…we are making some changes for next year you should like
Hi Tony,
I live in a condo( Suburb of Chicago) and want to start a butterfly garden on my patio. The thing is that i don’t get a lot of sun on my patio. Can you suggest which type of plants i can get that will grow in partial sunlight that can host and feed monarch’s? My goal is to make my patio a way stop.
Thank you
Hi Kelley, tropical milkweed does ok in partial shade and grows well in containers…same with swamp milkweed, which is a perennial.
Does anyone have any ideas as to where you can buy some type of liner for the bottom of the large butterfly cages? Having trouble finding something in my area of northern Wisconsin. I would like something I could take out and wash.
Hi Carol, if no one has suggestions, try this for cleaning…it’s what we use for the big cube:
cordless vacuum cleaner
We use flexible cutting mats from Amazon in the bottom of our cages. They can go in the dishwasher:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07N2XKPG1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
We also use the cordless vacuum to clean up caterpillar poo. 🙂
Hi Carol. I use one or more of the poo-poo platers in the bottom of my cages. They are a huge help and you just take them out and dump the poo and than rinse if needed.
I just recently got the cordless vacuum and love it. It makes poo outside of the platters so much easier to clean up.
have you tried the dollar tree? if you don’t have a store near you, they have a order on line they have a line of plastic wedding trays round, oval, and square.hope this helped anna lilly
Concerned: I have (2) chrysalis in one enclosure that became chrysalis yesterday and have dried for over 24 hours. (1) chrysalis drying in another mesh enclosure as of 4:30 pm today. We are in southern California and planning road trip to Northern California (San Jose/Campbell) before they are expected to emerge. Can I take in Mesh Enclosures and release in Northern California? HELP.
I have had a severe wasp problem this summer. They are finding all the cc
caterpillars and killing them…..I am so frustrated. Ive looked for wasp nests with no success……any ideas what I can do?….
Hi Gale, Ideas for dealing with wasps in the butterfly garden here
Tony, like you, I have a screened three season porch. In the fall after I harvest milkweed seeds I leave them to dry on the porch then put them in sealed containers for the winter. Since the porch has no heat I consider the seeds stratified by spring. My question is… I like to give it away seeds in little bags I tell people to just plant it and water it. Is that correct ? There isn’t any reason to do more? Also do you know how long seeds are viable, I’m talking about common milkweed & butterfly weed.
Thank you, Karyn Flynn
Hi Karyn, if you keep your seeds in the 3-season porch over winter, that should give them the cold stratification they need for a higher germination rate in spring. Milkweed seeds are viable for years. We’ve planted some successfully that were 5 years old.
Hi Tony! This year is my first time at raising monarchs, I have an egg that just hatched in the cool whip container I placed it in, do I need to transfer the cat into another container ?
Thanks! Lori from PA.
Hi Lori, check out our baby caterpillar post
Mr. Gomez,
My son, Xavier Sosa has a science project due; September 21st. I would highly appreciate, if you could come personally, to physically explain the process of a larva that which becomes a (monarch; most recently that which we have seen feeding on the nectar) to our school. I pride very highly on your expert knowledge for the process on how (any insects; (particularly a butterfly) go through this beautiful transformation and most importantly, are the workings of beautiful animal science. If you could (if possible ), provided it’s within the guidelines of sending, to my email a video of your own experience from hatching Monarchs. Mr. Gomez, I would be forever in your debt and I’m sure the kids would love it.
Hi Amanda, here’s a great resource for you and Xavier to check out:
Metamorphosis- design and beauty of butterflies
Help! I raised and released 25 Monarch Butterflies and some of the milkweed that had been brought in had eggs and now cats. But now one by one the are all dying. They have also stopped eating. I have read the disease page. What do I do, Remove all that is left? What about present eggs? And as far as bleaching the cage should I spray all the mesh also so that everything is sanitized? I feel like I’m failing them terribly.
Hi Tony: I am bewildered. I had a nice Milkweed plant growing on my apartment balcony ledge. I kept it well watered, it was growing well and had flowers. One day last week, every leaf had a caterpillar. There were easily 35 caterpillars. I was delighted but when I checked the following day, the tree was stripped of leaves and the caterpillars were gone . What happened ? Thanks,
Donna Johnson
Hi Donna, that’s not enough milkweed…you should have had about 20 plants to support that many caterpillars. They either crawled away when all the milkweed was gone, or predators found them.
Just to update anyone interested on my two chrysalises that formed stuck together — today the butterflies emerged beautiful and healthy. I was able to separate the empty cases afterwards and there were tiny tears where they were stuck together, so it was definitely right not to try to separate them before the butterflies emerged.
I’ve had a few other chrysalis anomalies recently — a couple with a tiny crack or dent, and even one with an actual chunk out of the top near the cremaster. All of those emerged healthy. The only one that didn’t had a peeled spot on one side of the chrysalis, possibly from another cat crawling on it while soft. That butterfly emerged, but his wings and leg on the damaged side of the chrysalis were deformed and he didn’t make it.
We’ve released 105 healthy butterflies so far this year, with more to come. It never gets old. 🙂
Webwoman,
Great to here about your success!
I live in Northern Ca. and my Kindergarteners and I are looking to buy some Monarch caterpillars.
Do know where I can buy some?
Thanks,
Tom Abbott
Hi Tom, there is a western vendor listed on the supply list
I use Farfalla Butterfly Co in San Diego. They are done for 2019 now. So you will either have to wait for 2020 or find another vendor.
My 3rd monarch came out of its chrysalis today, but we are having storms (I’m in the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities). I have a dish with sugar water and also a fresh organic plum with some skin off in the butterfly habitat for her/him. Should I keep her/him in until tomorrow to be safe? My other two were successfully released, the first one sat on me for about 2 hours before being ready to fly (while I sweated my heinnie off), & the 2nd one flew right away yesterday. I’d appreciate any advice as this is my first year trying to help the monarchs.
Jackie
Hi Jackie, if you’re just keeping the butterfly overnight, don’t worry about feeding it. It will be fine when you release tomorrow…
This is the first time I have ever done any thing with monarchs and found a few very little babies and some eggs and have had 5 hatch and 3 chrysalides and 1 medium size caterpillar. What does it mean to tag monarchs. This has been so awesome. My grandkids have loved watching the process.
Hi Jayne, check out 20a and 20b for tagging info:
Supply List
The reason I came to this page is that I have a number of Monarchs on my joe pie weed plant in my front yard! Should I try and plant some milkweed, get a cage, what? As long as they are here, I should try and help. I am in Maryland and had never seen even ONE before.
Hi Michelle, congrats on attracting your first monarchs! Before you start raising, I would focus on starting a butterfly garden with milkweed and nectar flowers:
How to Start a Monarch Butterfly Garden
Hi Tony, thank you for this amazing website and font of information. We also live in MN and my 3 little ladies are each raising 2 monarchs all 6 of which are in the green chrysalis stage now. We have them set up in Quart size mason jars with coffee filters as covers. 5 out of the 6 are attached to and hanging from the side of the jars. Will they have adequate room to emerge or should We relocate/ rehang them?
Hi Angel, the side of a jar isn’t an optimal place to emerge because if they fall, the butterfly’s tarsal claws can not climb up glass. If you leave them in, stick something down there like a paper towel that they could scale…
Im so excited to be a part of raising monarchs for the migration! My question is: ive collected about 20 eggs from the milkweed I purchased recently. When I go back to the store for more milkweed to feed my hungry caterpillars.. what if the new plants have eggs on them too? I cant save them all. I hope you understand what i am asking. Thanks!
Hi Nancy, it’s important to set raising limits and stick to them. This is good for both you and the monarchs you are raising. Raise what you can and let the rest fend for themselves. Raising just a few can make a difference…good luck!
Thank you so much! I have potted milkweed on my screened in porch. Can i put the whole pot inside the tall butterfly tower or stick to cuttings in plastic cups with lids? Thanks!
you can do either…we prefer to keep plants outside and bring in cuttings. More info on this during Raise the Migration
Thanks, that was my dilemma, too. I keep buying plants but they have more eggs. I have four chrysalises and six caterpillars and more eggs to hatch. I can’t feed them all in my cage. I’ll have to put some out on the milkweed that’s not in a cage, I guess.
Hi! I am a teacher, live in CT, and this is my second year raising monarchs (my part time summer gig?). Last year I released 46 and I’m hoping for as many this year! I planted milkweed near my butterfly bushes which has been very successful. A few items I use are: clear covered food containers (to store eggs until they hatch), covered critter containers for the juvenile cats (have to monitor for escapees), and a screened in reptile cage for the adults to form their chrysalis in. I line the bottom of the cage with aluminum foil: allowing for quick, easy cleaning. Twice a day I open the egg containers (allowing for air), take out cats from each container (move growing cats to larger homes), clear out waste, and replenish with fresh milkweed leaves (all rinsed and patted dry). When the school year starts I will continue this with my class. I am considering trying to tag those I raise. Thank you for the updates and helpful tips!
Hi, just ordered your baby cage, floral tubes, rack and poop tray. Hopefully this will work better than my aquarium and daily leaf cuttings. One question I have not seen addressed: I ‘ve never raised from eggs, and today I found three. The clipped leaves are already drying up. How do I keep eggs where they will find fresh milkweed when they hatch? Do I need to cut the leaf around the egg and place it on a fresh leaf each day? (Can’t wait for the floral tubes to keep leaves fresher longer!)
Looking forward to my new set up. Thank you.
Barbara, I cut out a square around the leaf and place on damp paper toweling until they hatch, (3-4 days after being laid depending on the temps). I do put them in a shallow container w/ a lid, because sometimes they hatch sooner than I think and although tiny, they wander quickly! I’ve panicked and found them hanging by a silk from the lip of the container, or under the lip. A flashlight and magnifier are helpful. Once they’ve hatched I place the mw clipping on a larger fresh leaf. Be careful though, I’ve lost some due to too much humidity in the container. 😉 Best of luck!!
Leslie, thank you so much! Before I saw your reply I had cut the eggs from the whole leaves. My three hatched on those tiny bits, and I had given up because the bits got moldy. But the bits were on fresh leaves, and the larvae are eating and growing! It remains to be seen, but I am optimistic.
Hi Barbara, I will be covering my entire raising process during raise the migration. For now, you can check out the food containers we use for monarch egg hatcheries here:
Monarch Egg Hatcheries
Tony, thanks for your reply–I have my new cage, floral tubes, rack and poop tray–so fast, you really deliver, thanks for that!
I’m now at three hatched larvae yesterday, three more eggs I saw laid this past Sunday, and a bonus egg surprise on leaves collected yesterday, with the head/black spot showing, and I actually saw the tiny cat eating the egg sac about 3:00PM today! It’s on the cut leaf in a floral tube, fantastic!
Question: two short milkweed cuts with a few leaves started drooping right after placing in the floral tubes. (The single leaf with newby is fine.) I *think* this drooping matters little compared to every other day leaves in my old set-up in an aquarium, but are the short stalks supposed to droop?
Hi Barbara, check out the info in this post about taking cuttings:
Using stem Cuttings to feed Caterpillars
Something is eating my showy milkweed plants. They are about a foot high and one has died. I check daily and have found only one monarch cat. Help!
rats, mice, rabbits, deer? if rabbits, fencing has worked well for us:
Rabbit Fencing
HELP!
This is my 4th year raising monarchs. Almost all have been raised from eggs found in my garden. I have had 6 successes so far.
I am having an issue this year. I have had 4 cats begin their chrysalis phase and then stop and die. What is happening?? It is heartbreaking.
Also I have had 3 adults emerge and then fall to the floor of the cage and their wings not open. Is this OE?
I know my milkweed is free of pesticides. I rinse and inspect every piece I bring in. The mesh cages are kept outdoors and indoors in A/C.
Hi Carolyn, OE doesn’t kill caterpillars…it makes them weak/sick. When caterpillars die during pupation, it is likely they have exposed to an insect growth regulator (pesticide). Also, if it’s less than 73° in the A/C, I would move them to a warmer place.
this is my second year raising monarchs. Two of my chrysalises formed so close together that they are fused like siamese twins. I didn’t want to try to separate them for fear of damaging them. They otherwise look normal. My instinct is to leave them alone and see what happens, what do you think? Thank you!
I’ve never seen ‘attached’ chrysalides before, but if this is the case, I would definitely not attempt to separate them…good luck!
Please keep us posted!
Hopefully this will work. I put a photo here; if the link doesn’t work, try copy/paste.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/akxtgj2GfjAzAWJU6
How’ve long do the cats stay in the food container? Should I move them to a mesh cage at some point?
Hi Danielle, we usually move to a mesh cage within a couple days. Info about the raising process will be posted when Raise the Migration starts August 11. You can also search the blog for info now…
I would like to pass on a suggestion for a piece equipment that can be used by Monarch raisers.
This year in Quebec is just great for Monarchs! I see some every day for the first time in 15 years. I like to smile like a fool to myself and think: “the 17 monarchs I released last year are coming home to roost” although I know it is nonsense. I noticed again this year that they are laying eggs that hatch on plants species other than Asclepias even though 5 species are growing in my garden: A. syriaca, A. incarnata, A. tuberosa, A. curassavica and Gomphocarpus physocarpus. Only the first three are hardy here.
So I inspect the underside of plant leaves most often used “by mistake” to look for eggs and babies that I can raise on milkweed : Himalayan impatiens (Impatiens glandulifera) and Helianthemum maximilian.
Suggestion: Quebec’s top gardening columnist posted a trick for finding eggs for us old retired people who do not enjoy bending over or getting down on all 4’s to search. Here is his article published today: You can Google: jardinier paresseux localiser insectes envers” but it is in French. In short, he suggests using an inspection mirror. They come big and small, inexpensive and not. Border crossing guards use them for under cars, but mechanics use them for hard to see engine places. I will be getting my first one very soon to go hunting for eggs. I will start with the most inexpensive one.
I enjoy your postings and newsletter very much. Thanks for the wonderful resource!
Hi Fay, that’s an interesting idea for sure, but I’m wondering how easy it would be to see the eggs…will have to get one and experiment. Thank you for sharing!
Hello, I live in Maine and the past three days I have found 10 Monarch caterpillars ? I have placed them in an aquarium with stem cuttings and have been giving the fresh leaves daily!
This is my first time doing this!!! I am sharing with an Early Childhood class in New Hampshire!
Any extra tips would be greatly appreciated!
Than you,
Crystal
Hi Crystal, I will be sending out raising emails starting August 11th. Until then, you can search the blog for info or checkout the downloadable raising guide which has lots of great info
Hi ,i ordered a kit off Amazon they are caterpillars in a small container .I live on the coast in California i hope to let to free on Nov .23rd the first anniversary on my grand daughters passing at Pismo Beach Monarch Grove .I was hoping to get way more but i can’t find the eggs anywhere .. here it rarely freezes and you help me find some in this area ?
Hi Marieann, this sounds like it will be a beautiful tribute to your granddaughter. I’m not sure about the best places to find eggs in your region. You might want to check out some of the resources here for some options:
Western Monarch Resources
We have a large patch of milkweed growing on the back of the property. I’ve seen 2 cats this summer but also a lot of, what I think to be, the milkweed beetle – orange & black. I just went down to collect the cats but saw none on any plants. Question: Do the milkweed beetle eat the cats? I also saw the small white dots that I think are eggs but also a lot of the eggs from the beetles. Should I try to collect the eggs? How? This is my first time trying this. Thanks.
Hi Marg, you can, it’s really up to you…it’s a great experience and it sounds like you have enough milkweed. Milkweed beetles don’t eat monarchs, but they do have lots of other predators:
13 Monarch Predators
9/4/17
Hi,
Can yo u please tell me when the cages will be available again to purchase & pricing?
Thanks in advance.
Ann
Hi Ann, they will be available sometime in October. I will post an announcement when I have more info…
Hi Tony, thanks for this fantastic resource. I live two hours north of Toronto, Cda. I was surprised to find two cats today (I have been looking all summer). One small and one medium. We are having unusually cool temperatures at 7C/45F. Winter typically starts late October. If I bring them indoors to protect them from the cold and predators, do they still have time to mature, become butterflies and migrate to Mexico before the winter? Or would I be interfering with their winter hibernation?
Hi Donna, monarchs don’t overwinter in cold regions. The best chance they have to join the migration is if you raise them indoors.
I did bring the cats indoors. Weather called for frost and we’ve been having a lot of rain. One became a chrysalis on Friday (Sept. 8) and the other Monday night (Sept. 11). I also found one other now medium sized cat, which I expect to stay as a cat for another week based on the rate of growth of the first two, although it is not eating as much. Weather is back to seasonal norms (23C/74F down to 7C/45F at night) with sunshine forecast for the next while. Fingers crossed it is still warm with enough fall nectar flowers outside when they hatch. I read your post about how to release with interest. Thanks again.
Two butterflies released so far. The first, a male, on Sept. 24 (from Sept. 8) and the second on Sept. 26 (Sept. 11). Luckily the weather was fantastic. We were finally getting summer! The weather is cool again and one more chrysalis to go — I’m thinking around Oct. 3rd. This latter one will have to be extremely hardy to travel 2,300 miles/3,700 kms in blustery weather to Mexico. Such an amazing life cycle.
I have nine cats. They all have grown dramatically since finding them four days ago on my milkweed. One has made no change in size. Is it just slow? Also one is leaking green. I did introduce anew milkweed plant leaf to the container. Or could it be stress?
hi Debra, spitting up green fluid can be from stress, but it can also be a symptom of pesticide exposure. if you suspect the leaf has been treated, I would try a new milkweed source…
Exciting News: Our first 2 Monarchs have emerged from their chrysalides! Happened around 9:30 AM this morning. Their wings are drying now, and should be fully dry by 1:00 PM today. Then we’ll release them into the garden.
An amazing thing happened! I’m raising cats in cages on our porch, which is open-air and gets indirect sunlight during the day. For feeders, I’m using small, weighted bottles filled with water, with aluminum foil caps. I poke a hole in the caps, and insert a milkweed cutting stem. Two days ago, I must have gotten sloppy when I replaced a bare stem with a fresh cutting, and left a gap in the foil at the base of the stem. I thought I noticed one 4th Instar cat missing in the cube cage last night, but didn’t think much of it, because the cats often climb onto the undersides of leaves. Well, this morning when I went to check on the cats, I discovered a 4th Instar at the bottom of the bottle of water. It had drowned, unfortunately. I felt terrible, as you can imagine. 🙁
I carefully removed the cat from the water, and laid it on a paper towel, prior to disposing of it, and continued feeding and cleaning. Then when I went to wrap the drowned cat in the paper towel to dispose of it, I noticed its antennae were feebly twitching. It was still alive! I tenderly placed it on a milkweed leaf, and now it’s munching contentedly away! What do you think of that?
Hooray! You are a Monarch Whisperer ☺
Hi, Tony.
We are in Toronto, Canada. Thanks for hosting this wonderful resource!
We have a question about a female who eclosed yesterday with deformed wings. (She is our 47th of 49 to else this season). They aren’t deformed as much as bent; all of the top and bottom wings are there, but one of the top ones is bent outward so she cannot bring her wings together. She has been taking in water, Gatorade and is currently sitting on a cutting of butterfly bush.
We have heard of people keeping them as “pets”. What do you think of this and how is such a thing done with a butterfly?
Thank you, again!
Kati & Bob
hello Kati & Bob, it’s fine to keep them as pets if they are not able to fly, but it is important to keep them in a separate enclosure in case the deformity is disease-related (OE). It sounds like you have already discovered offerings she is interested in, so just keep feeding her what’s working. congrats on a successful season in Canada!
More Info on Diseases
My friends sent me one of those “Motivational Stories” about a man who helped a caterpillar emerge from a chrysalis. It said because the butterfly didn’t make it out on its own, it’s wings never fully expanded because it needed the trial of emerging to be successful. Although it was a lovely story, I have yet to find any factual evidence of this online. Does “helping” a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis harm it? I appreciate any information you have.
Hi Laura, a healthy monarch doesn’t need a ‘trial of emergence’. This monarch was likely suffering from OE parasites. Here’s more info:
OE Parasites and Monarch Diseases
wow…that’s pretty amazing. I’ve heard that if you pour salt over a drowned caterpillar it will draw water out and bring them back to life:
How Salt Saves Caterpillars
Hi Tony,
I live in Northern California, most specifically the San Francisco Bay Area. I noticed that the suppliers listed do not ship eggs/caterpillars and milkweed to CA and two of the pesticide free local nurseries do not carry milkweed. I am considering planting milkweed from seeds but not sure if there is enough time for them to grow. What do you suggest I do that would allow time for the migration?
Hi Gail, there is one western vendor listed for caterpillars. For plants, you might check out our western resources page to see if you can dind a good local option…you can get seeds too, but not enough time for this season.
Western Monarch Resources
Hi Gail
You can get milkweed delivered to your area through this site: https://shop.milkweedmarket.org.
They send you only the kind that is native to your area.
I bought baby plants in the spring and they are doing great. This program is through university of TX.
I hope it helps. Erika
That is Awesome! Who knew?!
I live in Hastings NE, latitude almost 41. I have seen Monarch’s throughout the summer. Not a lot, just one or two here or there. Is this typical for Monarchs to be in this area during the early part of the summer? I also found eggs and baby cats on milkweed plants back in early June.
Hi Linda, it varies from year to year based on weather patterns and other environmental factors.
Hi Tony! My name is Maya and I was wondering if it was totally neccesary to buy a pop up cage. Would it be ok to use a tupperware dish are a small animal carrier? Also, I am raising three monarch caterpillers and each of them has thin, wispy strands of something that seem to hurt the caterpillar when touched. I would just like to know if this is something I need to be worried about. Thanks!
Hi Maya, you can definitely make due with other containers. I’ve used many over the years and the mesh are what have given us the best results. You can use tupperware containers (we do for egg hatcheries) but if they stay too wet, you can develop mold issues which can kill caterpillars.
Hi,
Monarch watch states tags are not available in so. ca. ? where may I find some?
I have 5 in one cage in crysallis, was going to tag and release in a classroom, My friend teaches children with special needs.
Hi Sandra, check 19b on the supply list for western tagging info…
Hi Tony. I have a question that I hope you can help me with. On the underside of some of my milkweed leaves (primarily swamp milkweed), I’ve been finding what looks like some kind of fungal spores. They have a thin stalk with a spore on the end, both white. They sometimes appear singly but more often in groups. They are about 1/4″ tall. Do you know what they are? Are they harmful to the plant, or more importantly, the baby butterflies? Thank you for your help with this, and thank you for all the great information you provide.
Hi Kristen, do you mean these? If yes, those are lacewing eggs. lacewings eat aphids:
Lacewing Eggs
That’s exactly what they are. Thank you so much! Do they cause any problems? And to update: the 25 eggs I brought in are hatching today! ? There’s at least 30 more outside. I’d bring them in, but I don’t know how many I can handle at once. Also, I’ve been finding lots of black eggs on the milkweed. They are about the same size as the monarch eggs and on both sides of the leaf. Any idea what they might be?
I am curious how everyone transfers the baby cats to fresh milkweed in the cube. I’ve got about 20 or so in all stages of development eating off of some milkweed that is starting to dry out after several days. Plus it’s pretty full of holes and poop 🙂
What is the best way to move these guys to the new cuttings without hurting them?
Barbara
hi Barbara, you can cut a small leaf piece around the caterpillar and transfer it to the new leaf/cutting. More info about this in an upcoming Raise the Migration post…
I started raising Monarchs last year. I had only about 36 eggs found on my milkweed. This year has been a different story. I now have 132 caterpillars in all different stages, with some going into chrysalis last evening. Wow, it has been an overwhelming experience. Luckily I have a large supply of milkweed, but cleaning it and taking care of all the bins and containers is a bit time consuming. My dining room has become the Monarch sanctuary. I continue to find a few eggs every day, but think the next generation is only a few days away. Don”t know where I will put them, but I will find a way to keep them. Our minister has a sermon ready to deliver as soon as I have a bunch of butterflies to release. That shoud be so cool. Expecting about 43 will be ready for the big day. I will post how it goes.
it sounds like you are having quite the season…congrats Barb!
Woo Hoo! First monarch siting of the season this morning. It was on my butterfly bush, and I waited patiently to see what sex it was. It’s a girl!!! I told her there was plenty of milkweed waiting for her in the back yard. She must have listened because a short time later, I was weeding near a milkweed plant and there she was, laying eggs a foot away from me. What a miracle. I brought in six eggs so far (I never find them all on the first go). I hope to break last years record of 14 monarchs released. Now my husband has to put up with caterpillars all over the house!
Hello Tony, I desperately need your help. This is my fourth year raising monarch butterflies and i have brought in almost 200 caterpillars mostly from my milkweed I grow in my backyard. They start out great, eating, pooping, going into their crystallis’ and finally beautiful butterflys that I release. But every year at this time a lot of them start dying. I will find them dead at the bottom of the mesh cage and they seem deflated. Also today 2 butterflys came out of their crystallis with damaged wings. I am so upset and think I am doing more harm than good. I clean the poop twice a day and use bleach after each batch are gone. The milkweed I get is from a big field close to the railroad tracks and also from the lake front. I am thinking of closing up shop on this wonderful hobby. I have about 75 crystallis’ now and am so afraid more will be damaged. Any ideas. Thank you for all you do to help this wonderful species. You are truly inspiring.
Hi Linda, these are some of the most common issues monarch raisers come across:
Monarch Diseases and Caterpillar Killers
HI TONY,
I read your email blog today regarding LUCKY and how this tiny cat almost wound up in the trash. I learned this tip last year and saved at least a dozen cats from certain death. I keep a small trash can lined with plastic for leaf scraps and put all in the can. I also mist it and check often.. Sure enough on quite a few occasions a small caterpillar previously unseen will crawl up the side and get rescued. After 3-4 days I toss the scrap into the base of one of my many common milkweed plants should there be any others undiscovered. Only frass and paper towels go into my garbage. I love your newsletters and advise. We released just over 200 in 2016 and have over 100 caterpillars and pupae so far and its only 2 weeks into monarch season here in eastern PA!! I like the cube and poo-poo platter I got from you.. I ‘broke’ in in on some early summer black swallowtails we also raise. Cheers to all of us ‘Monarch-aholics” out there for a successful “Raise the Migration” season. I’ll be proudly wearing my t-shirt too!
Thank you Anita, I will be sure to add this info into raise the migration…a great tip! for the poo poo plate, I have used it for the swallowtail ‘purge’ too…those purges have stained more than one cage so it was nice to get that frassy mess in the platter! ? Thank you for helping to raise the Migration!
Hello, this will be my second year raising. I am planning on tagging my butterflies this year and I don’t see any info here regarding tagging? Am I looking in all the wrong places or do you not tag? Thanks, Gina
https://shop.monarchwatch.org/Monarch-Watch-Tagging-Kit/121239
Hi Gina, I do briefly cover the tagging program when I get to the release info for RTM, but I forgot to add info on the supply list. It’s been added now…thanks!
Thanks for your reply. It seems like my problems are related to a lot of the diseases affecting caterpillars. This morning I found a little red capsule thing on one of the poopoo platters and I squeezed it when removing and some creamy, pus like material came out. Was this one of those fly maggots? How disgusting!!! I am praying to St. Francis to bless the rest of my crystallis’. I need some divine intervention to help me get through this season.
sorry Linda, that was a tachinid fly pupae you found .Hopefully your other monarchs will be ok…
I saw a pict where aluminum foil was wrapped around the cut end of a milkweed leaf that was put in a rearing cube for cats to eat. Is this a common technique? Also, what is the best water to put in the tubes for the mw cuttings? Tap, purified from my fridge, distilled, or rain water? Any additives to put in the water to extend freshness?
Thanks,
Dale
Hi Dale, I use tap water for monarchs in Minnesota and have had no issues. As for the aluminum foil/cotton ball on the leaf petiole: We no longer use that technique…it’s not necessary if you use a sealed food container as a hatchery.
Tony,
I have two cats that are in J shape but they both have formed that way in the corner, on the side of container instead of top, and less than 1/2″ from each other. They are the only two in the container. Once their chrysalis hardens or thereafter, should I try and move them to top and in separate containers?
Also, I have one cat that’s 5th instar that is a lot darker than the rest. It’s stripes seem to be blacker and the yellow/green stripes are less prevalent than on the others. He seems to act okay, eating, making frass, etc. Could he possibly have a disease or do some Monarch cats have darker stripes?
HI Pam, I’ve had many healthy caterpillars that had darker stripes, just Mother Nature’s variations. As for your ‘corner twins’ I might suggest waiting until 2-3 days after they form a chrysalis to move. You can place a piece of scotch tape on the silk they are attached to and carefully remove both at once. Then fold the tape up in half so there is no sticky spot. Use scissors to divide the two and attach each individually to the place you want them to later eclose. I use ball jars topped with coffee filters for my cats to pupate upon and sometimes they don’t get the memo and pupate on the side or jar rim. Some have pupated in my rearing containers’ lids if I don’t get them into their own jar in time. A second option is to rough up Q-tip ends and roll it around the silk to gently remove each chrysalis. You might also need a tiny piece of tape to secure it to the Q-tip end before relocating. These methods work well for me, and I hope this will work for you too.
I live in Calgary, Alberta, CANADA.
I planted Common Milkweed this year and was thrilled to receive my visitors of monarchs!!! Now I am wondering (I see postings) that say that common milkweed is a perennial. Is this true, especially in my climate? Or should I plan to plant milkweed as annual every year?
Hi Tricia, common milkweed should be a perennial for your region. There are other milkweed species that will be perennials for your region too. You can research different milkweed species here:
25 Milkweed Ideas for North American Butterfly Gardens
In previous years I just cut off a piece of the common milkweed stem with 4 leaves on it and the cats stay on it and eat.
This year after I cut it and put it in a cup of water with a lid it gets limp and dries up. This is my 3rd summer and not sure
why this is happening.
Hi Patti, check out this post for cuttings tips:
Using Cuttings to Feed Caterpillars
Hi,
Any help or support for my situation here in Los Angeles would be super.
We have multiple MilkWeed plants (including the ones with the big balloons.) We have 2-6 butterflies every day.
We have NO caterpillars. Zero. Nada. Zilch.
Hi Ezra, here are some potential reasons you’re not seeing any monarch activity:
Where are all the monarchs?
Yeah, none of those seems to be in play here.
We’re pretty close to the coast, so it’s not the classic Southern California desert climate. Lot of flowers and roses surrounding the milkweed AND lots of Butterflies. LOTS of the them. Ladybugs, no wasps for the most part.
Just no caterpillars.
This is my first year for putting out a monarch garden and yesterday I saw a monarch in the garden on my swamp milkweed, she was there for a most of the day, that evening I when to check for eggs and found some, so excited to find some the first year. My question is I have purchased the the large cube for raising them but was wondering if I also need the critter keeper, wasn’t sure if they could get out of the cube?
Hi Bob, the caterpillars can’t escape the cage, but we start with food containers as hatcheries before transferring them over:
3 Caterpillar Cage Types
Hi Tony,
Thank you for all your useful information and insight that your site offers people like me. I am in my second year of raising Monarchs and currently have 37 in Chrysalis and 5 more spanning the 1-5 instar phases. My question to you relates to room temperature. I am raising indoors ina spare unconditioned room of my house. I live in Providence Rhode Island and its anywhere from 90 degrees in the day to 60 degrees at night outside. The temperature in the “nursery” however is a fairly consistant 80 degrees. In order for the subsequent generations to develop correctly (by not sexually maturing) and make the migration south, should I be rearing them outdoors or in a cooler room with more day/night temperature fluctuations? I do plan on harvesting more eggs and caterpillars once these 37 transition to their new lives as butterflys. Any insight would be appreciated.
Thank you in advance,
Cya
Hi Cya, we raise ours in a porch with the windows open so they are exposed to natural heat and humidity levels. If you raise them indoors, you could also put them by a window you are occasionally able to keep open, Tony
Hi Tony,
This is my second year raising Monarch’s. I live in Melbourne Florida. So far this year I have released 1,259 Monarchs. I also raise other butterflies, but my focus is the Monarch. My comment concerns the tachinid fly, last week I started loosing caterpillars and was horrified when I witnessed the larvae exiting the dead caterpillar. I researched and jumped into action, as you cannot spray any chemicals I was forced to catch and kill as many as possible. I made a great discovery, the cannot see the color white. I was able to put paper towels over my hands, sneak up close enough to them to smash them…..I know its a bit crazy. Over the course of the past few days I was able to kill about 45 flies. I have not seen one today. I lost the last 14 caterpillars, but the loss is slowing and 7 caterpillars have made it to chrysalis stage and hopefully will be ok. My advise is to research the tachinid fly and kill them as soon as you see them.
Go Monarchs!
wow Sarah, almost 1300 monarchs…amazing!
Hi Sandra,
I actually live close to you. I live in NE Palm Bay. Would love to meet you. This is my first year raising Monarch Butterflies. maybe I can get some tips?
Hi Doris,
I’m in Suntree and love talking monarchs. You can email me at Healing writingroom@gmail.com & I’ll share what I’ve learned in raising 30 monarchs. Not nearly like Sandra but it’s my 1st yr. Tony’s site is fantastic!
Hi Sara.
My name is Barbara and we live in Vero Beach. This is our first year with the Monarchs and we are very excited about the whole thing. We currently have 43 in different stages of development.
Anyway, I can’t get over how many you have raised and released. How fantastic! I also would love to meet you and see how you do things, as I am such a newbie and learning as I go.
I see someone else from Palm Bay contacted you too. Maybe we should start a club??? How cool would that be?
Anyway, let me know if you would be interested in sharing your setup with us 🙂
Barbara
Hi Tony, I have 8 chrysalises and 5 caterpillars right now. I have had two butterflies that have emerged recently and both of them had OE ( I believe.) 1 fell on the ground after emerging and the other couldn’t escape the chrysalis. Will this make the rest of my caterpillars sick, and if they are all sick should I euthanize them now? Thank you.
Hi Matthew, caterpillars get infected by ingesting OE spores on milkweed. Rinsing milkweed before serving the caterpillars can make a big difference for preventing this. You can monitor to see what happens, but if they’re all eating the same milkweed, it’s likely the other monarchs will be sick too.
Hi Tony,
My daughter found a monarch caterpillar on her milkweed. We are so excited as we both planted milkweed last year trying to help the Monarch butterfly population. My question is: What does she need to do now if anything?
Thank you for your help!
Dee
Hi Dee, congratulations on your first caterpillar. You can leave it outdoors, but keep in mind the survival rate is low, estimated at about 5% because of predators and disease. Bringing it indoors will give the caterpillar a much better chance to reach its butterfly potential. Here are some raising tips:
21 Tips for Raising Monarchs Indoors
Thank you Tony!
Hello-I have a question. I successfully raised my first caterpillar but think something has gone wrong. He kept circling the jar opening looking for a lid. Apparently my twig wasn’t horizontal enough. My hubby suggested foil with air holes. The caterpillar attached himself to it but then over two days has been looking poorly and is now hanging in a curled position. What did I do wrong? I’m so upset!
Hi Dana, it sounds like your caterpillar is just getting ready to form a chrysalis if it looks like this:
Monarch Caterpillar J
You are absolutely correct. When we came home from the park he had turned into a chrysalis! Found some more eggs at the park so will give it another try. I’m hooked!
Hi Tony! First off I want to say thank you – your website has been super helpful in my monarch rearing experience. I have raised & released seven butterflies so far this summer, and I currently have 15 eggs & caterpillars at various stages of development. I am taking a road next week to a town 7 hours away, and I was wondering if there would be any issues if I brought the caterpillars with me. I’d like to do this for 2 reasons – one, I think it would be nice to educate the people I’m visiting, and two, it would be easier for me to look after them. There’s a good chance some would form chrysalis’ there, and would emerge as butterflies there, too. I can’t find anything specific on the web, but I know it’s possible to purchase eggs from other states or other areas, so I’m assuming that this probably isn’t harmful to the little guys. Still, I wanted to check with an expert first! Thanks again for all your expertise!
Hi Liv, the monarchs should be fine going on a road trip and being released in new surroundings. it sounds like the best solution to your situation + you will be spreading the joy of monarchs to others.
I am so excited!! After a looong wait in central Wisconsin I am finally seeing butterflies!! I have released 3 already (which is good for me as I only released 3 all last summer). I have found several 2 & 3 instar, 3 tiny babies (they are sooo cute), AND for the first year I think I have actually found eggs!!!!! Do the eggs have to be in the plastic container or can I just put water on the leaves until they hatch? One year I tagged 22 butterflies but I have forgotten when I would start tagging. Do you know? Thanks for all your tips on your Monarch Butterfly Garden news letter. I love reading it. Good luck to you and all your readers this summer!!! Marilyn
Hi Marilyn, the leaves can dry out pretty quickly…you can get food containers at local stores like target, etc…I think they make a big difference but you can try without too…congrats on finding monarchs next door in Wisconsin! 🙂 PS Check with monarch watch for tagging info…
What else can I Feed my Catapillar’s if there’s no milk weed ?? I’ve been using butternut squash Thanks
Hi Grace, butternut squash is your best option based on the feedback I’ve received. I will cover this more in a later post.
How to do this in So Cal where we could probably grow milkweed year round? At what point should we cut it back to encourage migration?
Hi Wendy, many in your region try to cut back plants once or twice a year, but I would try to connect with a local resource to see when they suggest is the best time to do this. Also you can stagger cuttings, so there is always some milkweed available. Here are some local resources that might have more info:
Western Monarch Resources
I live in southeast Florida. Just purchased 5 milkweed from reputable nursery. Had five caterpillar and then they disappeared . Brought three with caterpillars on lanai. Then we had 5 caterpillars. This morning woke up to only find one. Moved it to a plastic container with stuck and placed clipped milkweed in bud vase. Can I bring it into my airconditioned house till butterfly net house arrives? I thought we secured our lanai from lizards two weeks ago however my schnauzer caught one yesterday.
sneaky lizards! Yes, you can bring caterpillars indoors. I would not put them close to the a/c vent or expose them to any cleaning chemicals. good luck…
For all people in Florida raising monarchs, you absolutely need to control the Enola population. These small reptiles are often called geckos and have a ravenous appetite for all insects and caterpillars, including monarchs. The best nonpoisonous method is with those sticky cardboard pads. The enolas step on them and get stuck. Leave the dead enola on the sticky surface. Other enolas eat the dead one and get caught themselves. Works for me in Orlando.
Hi I live in North Florida and we have tons of lizards and geckos, but I have never seen a lizard even interested in eating a monarch butterfly or caterpillar. I was wondering if you have actually witnessed one eating your monarchs? My biggest problem with predation is wasps. This spring I made an alternate butterfly garden with all kinds of wildflowers but no milkweed. This was good because it gave the various species of butterflies in my yard a lot of different flowers to eat, and it became filled with other species of caterpillars. The hungry wasps hardly noticed the monarch caterpillars across the yard because they were too busy in the new garden dining on something other than my monarchs! It’s sad for those caterpillars, but at least I didn’t have to disrupt nature and kill wasps, who, I keep having to remind myself, are beneficial pollinators. 🙂
I live in Michigan and would like to raise Monarchs. I see you suggest dates when butterflies should be released by. When is the earliest date to start?
Hi Debbie, you can start raising monarchs when you find the first eggs in your garden. If you’re thinking of ordering eggs or caterpillars, anytime May through mid-August is good. I’m in Minnesota, and the latest we release is the first week of October…this really depends on the fall weather. I don’t advise ordering eggs after mid-August to insure it won’t be too late to release them. If they leave them later in your garden, bring them in to give them the best chance…good look with your new raising adventure:
21 Tips for Raising Monarch Butterflies
Our first seven Monarchs of the season are ready to be released. They eclosed early this morning, but all day today it has been extremely windy, with gusts to 40 mph. I took the cage outside (weighed down with a paving stone), opened the “hatch” and they fluttered a lot but none came out. Now it’s going to be dark soon so I brought them back in. I can try again tomorrow morning, but my question is this:: how windy is TOO windy for Monarch release.
Hi Louise, I would say about 15-20 mph wind is about max for when I would release. I would not release in 40 MPH gusts…congrats on your first monarchs of the season!
I work with middle school science teachers in rural Arizona. We frequently see migrating Monarch Butterflies. We received several milkweed plants and would love to raise butterfly eggs but I can’t seem to locate anyone who ships to Arizona. Any suggestions?
Hi Jamie, I get asked about western egg/caterpillar resources but I’m still not aware of any. You might be able to find a good option on this page:
Western Monarch Resources
Plant 2 or 3 of those 5 and grow the other 2 in pots so you can take cuttings. If you see the monarchs they will find your milkweed!
I have about 20 acres of land in the mountains of NC and a big patch of wild milkweed and butterfly weed in addition to a large butterfly garden. I’d like to add Monarchs! I had a dozen varieties of butterflies last year, but no monarchs. Can I order caterpillars and release them in the milkweed patch? We never use pesticides.
Hi Mary, last year was bad for the eastern population due to a freak March snowstorm that hit their overwintering grounds. Hopefully we will start this coming season without issue…
You can purchase from vendors, but I would not put eggs or small caterpillars outdoors…only 5% of monarchs survive to reach adulthood outdoors due to predation so if you buy 20, it’s possible only 1 would survive.
If you raise indoors, and then release, you can boost that survival rate to over 90%. Here is info about egg/caterpillar vendors:
Monarch Butterfly Eggs and/or Caterpillars
Most of the information I have found regarding Monarch rearing has to do with raising them indoors in a cage. I’d like to just put them on the milkweed plants in my back yard. Do you think that would work out?
Hi Gil, about 5% of monarchs survive outdoors mostly due to predation. That being said, I have left a few outside that made it to adult butterfly, but it doesn’t happen very often.
Hi, I live in California Bay Area. None of the companies I have seen online are shipping Caterpillars or eggs to CA. Can you please recommend some one who does.
Thank you for your help
Alexandra.
Hi Alexandra, I’m not aware of any vendors that sell eggs/caterpillars west of the continental divide. I would check the resources on this page to see if anyone has a recommendation:
Western Monarch Resources
good luck!
I want to release them in honor of our lost twin daughter, on their birthday.
If I raise them indoors, will they thrive?
And why can I not seem to get any monarchs sent to California?? There are so many laws against it yet we are watching them go extinct. I would love to raise them every year and help them thrive!
Hi Deanna, a butterfly garden will be a beautiful memorial for your daughter. Yes, butterflies raised indoors can thrive. Unfortunately, the USDA prohibits vendors to send monarchs west of the continental divide. There are still a good number of western monarchs though. I would suggest starting a butterfly garden first, so you can support the monarchs (and keep them coming back) once you attract them:
How to Start a Monarch Butterfly Garden
21 Tips for Raising Monarchs Indoors
Is there some way that I can be put on a list for notification next summer of when to start & how to get started?
Hi Susan, you can sign up for my newsletter anytime, which I publish weekly all year. August-September newsletters have ‘Raise the Migration’ info:
Raise the Migration + Newsletter sign up
Sept. 20 already and we have had a light frost here in the central Adirondcks. But all of a sudden I am finding cats. Found 14 yesterday. Thus I have had 3 spells of cats, the first starting 8/1, the next starting around 8/24 (which all emerged the day before that frost) and these, starting 9/19. Would you comment on which one (or ones?) would be the migration generation? Do you think monarchs emerging nearly a month from now in northern NY have a chance?
Hi Daisy, the ones from 8/24 could go wither way. Any you are releasing now are definitely migrators. Make sure to raise all caterpillars you find now inside so they develop faster. How late you can release depends on your fall weather…good luck!
I suspect a certain part of the greater milkweed patch I visit may be contaminated with NPV, because 4 of the caterpillars that I raised showed symptoms in the chrysalis. Of the 82 I raised, only 4 had been found in that patch. So I’m tentatively concluding they may be the same 4. If this is so, will that section remain infected after a winter? Is there anything I can do with this part of the patch to clean it?
Hi Daisy, I’m not sure where you’re located. If you’re in a region where milkweed dies back to the ground in winter, I would spray the soil in early spring with a hydrogen peroxide solution to kill potential disease spores and virus before the milkweed starts growing back. If you’re in a continuous growing region, I would cut back the plants and try the same thing. Hydrogen peroxide is also good for root growth because of the extra oxygen molecule. I would use 50% of the 3% hydrogen peroxide and 50% water. I’m not sure if it will work, but that’s what I would try if we had that issue. We use h202 on overwintering plants and spray the ground where are roses and bee balm grow to prevent powdery mildew. good luck!
It’s the central Adirondacks. Thanks, I will keep this advice in mind for spring.
Our Adirondack butterflies are on their way. I finally collected 81 cats — of these, I released 50 as full-blown butterflies,and the school’s second grade released 19. There were 12 mortalities (4 chrysalids did not complete emer.ging, there were a few predators including spider and probably mouse, and two cage accidents — crushed one and one drowned). So it was an 85% survival rate. The last 4 emerged and were released yesterday. Last night we had a verrrrrrry light frost, and a general temp of 42 overnight. There’s nary a Monarch in sight today although it is bright and sunny ad 64 degrees. I miss them. I have empty chrysalis syndrome. Thanks for your advice and information pages.
I would be very interested in raising monarchs next year. I may get neighbors to do the same. Please send price and directions. Thanks
Hi Patrick, the Raise the Migration program is a free course I send out in August-September. If you’re looking for raising cages and accessories, please check out resources page:
Monarch Butterfly Shop
I live in Louisiana how do I find out about the last date to release the Monarchs? And do you encourage trimming milkweed after that date?
Hi Muffin, if you’re in southern Louisiana you probably have a year round population and can raise/release throughout the year. When you trim milkweed back you don’t have to do it all at once and can stagger the cuttings so some is always available. Cutting back the milkweed allows fresh foliage to emerge that won’t be covered with OE spores that can produce sick monarchs. Here’s more info about peak migration times:
Monarch Migration Peak dates
How do you distinguish your EARLY migrators from you LATE migrators? I have released 24 adults to date, and still have 7 chrysalids from that group of cats. I also have another group of cats that have just pupated, which I project will begin to emerge around Sept 6th.
BTW, it’s been unseasonably hot here in the Adirondacks, daytime highs around 80. Also BTW, there is no milkweed in the area flowering, but there is enough leafy stuff for new cats to eat.
Hi Daisy, I just meant that the first group was getting an early start. All that really matters is whether or not they are migrating. All of your butterflies eclosing after the 6th should be part of the migration generation.
Just started seeing caterpillars here in Warrenton Missouri. I have planted swamp milkweed in a garden. It has small caterpillars and eggs on it. I bring in the larger caterpillars to raise. Across our road in a field is common butterfly weed. I have 12 monarch caterpillars in my butterfly house. I have collected them off my swamp milkweed, which I don’t have much of. I don’t want to take cutting from the my swamp weed because those plants have eggs and small caterpillars on them. I have gotten common milkweed cuttings from the field. I haven’t seen eggs or caterpillars on it. I notice most of the caterpillars I have gotten off the swamp milk weed in my butterfly house don’t go to the common milkweed. I’m concerned that they may die. Will they make the transfer?
Hi Victoria, they should have no issues transferring to common if it’s still somewhat fresh…syriaca is usually in pretty sad shape by this point unless you’ve been cutting it back. Caterpillars prefer swamp, tropical, and any seedlings you might have available.
This is the first summer I have had tropical milkweed plants in my flowerbed, here in southwest Missouri. (I have had asclepias tuberosa for three summers, but they haven’t attracted many monarch visitors. In fact, this was the first summer I’ve even seen a caterpillar on them.) A few days ago, I had more than 50 monarch caterpillars munching on my tropical milkweed plants. Today, I could find only two! One was crawling on the ground. I gently placed him on a milkweed plant, only to find a few minutes later that he had crawled back down to the ground, where I left him. The other was clinging motionless to a milkweed stem, upside-down. I brought him inside, fearing that voracious predators had eating the other caterpillars. Now, though, I’m wondering: Once they have eaten enough, does a monarch caterpillar typically leave the milkweed plant to find more sheltered places to form the chrysalis? If not, what do you think might have happened to all those caterpillars?
Update: Happy news! Later in the day we found five monarch chrysalises dangling from trellis and eaves!
Hi Colette, caterpillars typically leave the milkweed to form their chrysalis. Unfortunately, only 5% will escape predators and disease to reach butterhood. Here’s more info on predators:
Monarch Predators
Hi Tony!
I live in Indiana and I’m thrilled to start raising Monarchs. Right now I do not have any of the supplies for raising, but will start purchasing the necessary items soon. Shall I start raising next year since I believe it’s too late for me now?
Thank you!
Brittany
Hi Brittany, you should probably get started by the first week of September at the latest…otherwise, you can start preparing for next season by fall planting.
Fall Planting
My first butterfly emerged today. Female. I will be taking her back to the area I harvested the cats, where there’s lots of milkweed in case she’s going to lay eggs. I have about 25 chyrsalids from the same “age group.” I’m finding a lot of tiny cats in the same area — I think THESE must be the ones that will migrate once they make it to adults. One month from now would be mid Sept. So far I have about 25 cats in that group. Oh, the suspense!
my first 4 monarch eggs died
Hi Greta, sorry to hear this. The big issue with eggs this time of the season is parasites…trichogramma wasps. I’ll be posting info about these soon! Retrieve eggs quickly to avoid them.
Hello Tony,
I have been raising monarchs for about thirteen years. Thirteen years ago, I could locate eggs in early June. I found my first eggs July 18th this year. I have to search for the eggs this year, more than ever. I released nine monarchs on Monday, and two today. I use plastic containers from the grocery store to feed and contain the caterpillars. I release over 100 monarchs every year.
I have very good luck with my ‘if there are no eggs on the leaves, do not gather leaves for food here’ mantra. I learned this the hard way, after gathering milkweed from ditches along the interstate for food. Lesson learned. Do you have an idea how much longer I should expect to find eggs? I find the first ones later every year, wondering if I may find the last ones later, too. I live in the Chicago area.
Hi Kate, I typically find our last eggs in Minnesota during the first few days of September. I would guess your region would be similar…good luck these last few weeks of raising season!
Love this site and all the informative comments…Tony is very helpful. Thanks!
I am in the central Adirondacks, where the migrating generation begins. Since July 29 I have been collecting caterpillars from our community garden, and now have about 18, as well as 5 chrysalises. I’m keeping them in a large mesh-covered bird cage, inside my screen house. I’m wondering what the adults will need for food once they emerge. Do they need milkweed? Also wondering if these are the migration generation itself. How can I tell? Should I release them as soon as they emerge and expand, or is there any reason to wait?
Hi Daisy, the butterflies will find nectar when they are released and don’t need to be fed before. Monarchs eclosing within the next couple weeks will probably be parents to the migration generation…more details will be posted in upcoming raise the migration emails.
When the butterflies begin to emerge, it seems they may want to breed for the last generation. Since there are so few wild butterflies out there, should I wait until several emerge, hoping for at least one male, before I release them? Should I release them in a milkweed patch?
Hi Daisy, if the monarchs are ‘siblings’ inbreeding can adversely affect their health:
Monarch Butterfly Inbreeding
Here’s more info on releasing monarch butterflies
Thank you Tony. There was about a 3 day break in which I had no Monarch sightings whatsoever. Today I have a new crop of cats. Most of the cats I’ve been watching are in chrysalis now, so I am starting a new cage for the new ones, which MAY IF WE ARE LUCKY be ready to go on the day school opens. We — the cats and I — have been invited to the school’s new butterfly garden for opening day.
Hi Tony!
I’ve enjoyed reading all the emails and tips and more so, learning HOW MANY out there also raise monarchs for a hobby. Tips have been invaluable.
I’d like to report from the Lehigh Valley in PA that they are finally here! I found 3 instar 1&2 cats today on my backyard milkweed plants!
I do not use large cages, etc like many do. I give each its own ball jar to grow in. I use a coffee filter on top (with pin prick holes) and write it’s size and date collected on the side of the filter which they later pupate on. Each is numbered and cataloged. Each cat’s jar is cleaned daily and given fresh leaves. We also sample eclosed monarchs for an OE study (see monarchparasites.org). Last year we reached a count of 165, approx 110-120 successful releases. It’s a lot more work this way when you have over 50 jars in your living room; but I wanted to share what we do which may be an easy alternative for someone with a few just getting started. HAPPY MONARCH SEASON 2016!
I have 2 milkweed gardens this year, and only today did I find my first cat. It was dead and some type of wasp or bee dragged it off. What is going on this year? Last year I had many caterpillars, and this year I was planning to raise them in cages to increase survival. What happened?
Hi Donna, a freak snowstorm in the monarchs overwintering grounds and increased mosquito spraying have really cut down the numbers for the eastern population this season…hopefully you will be able to find a few to raise. Every monarch counts!
Hi Tony-
I successfully raised 14 monarchs ( and 14 queen butterflies ) last year. What a wonderful experience. I am in Central Texas. Just yesterday I saw a beautiful Monarch out in the garden, checked the milkweed and sure enough, found 7 eggs! So, I am off and running again this year. Like the poster above me, I am planning to tag my Monarchs this year.
We found the caterpillars to be fascinating and spent way too many hours just watching them, (lol) After watching all the points at which they could have been eaten by a predator if they were out in the wild, I am now amazed every time I see ANY butterfly outside! What a miracle that any survive the process.
Excited to get started again this year. Thanks for all your helpful emails and information. Laura
Tony, I forgot!! I want to be ready this fall for the Monarch migration. I’m tagging my Monarch’s this year! Where’s the best place (website, etc.) to go to obtain my Monarch migration tags? I want to go to the best reputable place and you’re my “go to” guy. Thanks every so much!
Debra
Hi Debra, Monarch Watch has the ‘official’ tagging program for the eastern population:
Monarch Watch Tagging Program
Hi everyone! I was so excited to start reading everyone’s comments and getting ready to comment on some of them until I noticed they start all the way back to 2013. Shoot!! Old news and only one other for 2016. I sure would like to know how everyone’s doing this year. I’m in Central Florida and we have a second home down in the Stuart, Fl area as well, but I’d sure like to know how others in Central Florida are doing. I’ve personally been fortunate enough to buy all of my butterfly (mostly Monarch) supplies like castles and cages at Lukas Nursery in Oviedo, Fl. I just love that place and they have a small butterfly encounter you can visit as well, even purchase some Painted Lady caterpillars to take home if you want. Fun!! I buy my Milkweed from my local nursery only. DeBary Nursery, DeBary, FL as she really caters to the butters and hummers. All organic and no pesticides! Don’t make the mistake I did once and buy beautiful lush Milkweed’s from Lowe’s or Home Depot. Fastest way ever to kill your cats. Little did I know, these home improvement stores must use pesticides, I mean, why else were they so lush? Never again!! I bought 12 Milkweed’s from Debary Nursery (complete with Monarch eggs galore underneath the leaves and 4th of July I ended up with 91 cats, had to buy 12 more Milkweed’s (with more eggs) and I’m writing them down as they emerge and are released. Thus far, I’ve only had three emerge with wrinkled wings and I have one female (shes’s so sweet) her wings are almost perfect but one side is shorter than the other and she can’t fly (we keep trying buy I’m not about to leave her outside with the preying dragonfly I see scoping out the goods every day out there). So she’s in my small butter habitat with a cotton ball filled with Hummingbird nectar and she drinks frequently. Tony? If I put a male in there with her, would he mate with her? I want so badly to do a wing repair on her like I saw on LiveMonarch.org video, but just don’t have the nerve yet. I should do it!! Anyways, thanks for all the wonderful info and knowledge! Sincerely, Debra
Hi Debra, it sounds like you are having issues with OE parasites if your butterflies are emerging with wrinkled wings, so I would advise against breeding them. Professional breeders take extra precautions to avoid spreading disease, like bleaching eggs. Raising/breeding in mass is a catalyst for spreading disease, so we don’t advise this.
I’ve already found 3 caterpillars & 2 eggs here in Wise VA! My 2 eggs are getting ready to hatch!
Hello Tony,
I really appreciate yourenthusiastic approach to this project !
What my mind can not get past is the use of the migration table when I use it for my home of Loveland , Colorado which is located at latitude of 40.4 degrees. According to the table our release date would be a date on average of September 15 .
That seems way short of the time necessary to make it to Canada and produce a last generation that will make it down to Mexico before freezing and snowy weather hits?
Please straighten me out on this…thanks.
Bob T.
Hi Bob, monarchs are no longer migrating north. The adults you release will stay in your region before migrating south.
Thank you so much for such good information. My native milkweed patch, A. speciosa, is fading (has one chrysalis!) and wondered if the fall migration butterflies would lay eggs on them. You’ve answered my questions and offered a solution: Start late flowering types of milkweeds! Next year I will be ready with potted A. incarnata and A. tuberosa. Rather than bringing the cats in I cover the plant with pop-up mesh clothes hampers.
Hi dear Tony Gomez
I am living in the Middle East at Iran.How can i buy monarch butterfly for raising? Is it possible for me to participate in your program from here?
Thanks.
Hi Sepehr, how you are well in Iran. You could probably apply many of the same raising techniques to one of the monarch’s Danaus relatives in your region. If you figure out which of the butterfly species is in your region, and which type of milkweed is available you should be able to apply a lot of the same information. Good luck!
PS…does these milkweed varieties grow in your region?
Calotropis gigantea
Calotropis procera
Tony, thanks for your website and for you very helpful answers to all of our questions. I raised 9 caterpillars inside and I was able to release all 9 of them. Eight of them as caterpillars and one from an egg. That was amazing. To see the egg and then the caterpillar grow from about one millimeter to a beautiful butterfly was unreal. It was a great feeling and it wasn’t as hard as I thought. My kids and my wife got involved also and they help as much as they could. My neighbors came to check my plants (it is a Swamp Milkweed which you can buy in garden stores and monarchs seem to prefer more than the regular milkweed) and they went to buy plants themselves and they already planted them. Swamp Milkweed has a tubular seed pod instead of the round pods and the Swamp Milkweed has flowers the entire summer which monarchs love to feed on the entire summer. My friend Carlos came to collect seeds and he is going to plant them in his house and in some fields around the city. This thing is exploding like crazy and it feels great. I am looking forward to next year and I plan to plant more plants. I have never seen so many monarchs around my yard ever before. Every summer I was lucky to see 2 or 3 monarchs throughout the summer. This summer I saw at least 30 or 40 and my neighbors said the same. It is encouraging and I hope that more and more neighbors plant more plants. I feel that I am an expert now, but I know that I still have a lot to learn. Again, thanks for all your help. Without you we couldn’t have done it. Have a great fall, winter and spring and see you next summer.
Hi Jose, congrats on a very successful season. I’m glad you were able to find some swamp milkweed…they love it up north too. Good luck with your expanding garden and I wish you more success next season…
I have 5 of 15 caterpillars left on my swamp milkweed that is infested with aphids. There is a heat wave here now and one chrysalis I found had not shed it’s skin completely and it shriveling up. Another caterpillar was dead and dehydrated looking on the ground. I have a small kritter keeper and wonder if I should try to raise the rest indoors. They look close to going into a chrysalis this point. Any advise? If I trap them what temp and humidity is best? Thanks
Hi Tracey, temps between 75 and 85 are optimal for raising monarchs. They might not survive if you bring them in, but they even have less of a chance if you leave them. In the future, bringing in eggs or small caterpillars will increase the survival rate…good luck!
Tony,
I have 2 plus acres of gardens and have bought seed to fill all the empty spaces on the property with milkweed and plants to encourage Monarchs. I bough a pound of recommended Zinnia seeds to help feed them after they have hatched. I am in Oregon City and Swallowtails are the ones that seem to like our place. Again I need to provide them with the perfect food to attract them. Any information you have would be greatly appreciated. On our 2 aches I have all varieties of areas for them to grow. Will plant all over to see what grows the best in different locations. I don’t see that suppliers ship to Oregon. Is there a reason for that?
Bud
Hi Bud, please check out the milkweed and butterfly plants page to get plant ideas for your region. I would also consult local resources to find out has worked for them
Milkweed Ideas for North America
Butterfly Plants
If certain vendors don’t ship to Oregon, that would have to do with USDA regulations. Good luck!
Hi Tony,
I have 3 Chrysalis in my yard. One hanging on the fence, one on the milkweed plant and one on the overhang of the deck rail. There are at least a dozen caterpillars on the 3 plants I have and many moth caterpillars. I believe several of the caterpillars are ready to form a chrysalis. I am worried that between the aphids and the moth caterpillars, that there won’t be enough plant leafs to feed the remaining caterpillars. Do I look for a monarch house here to take the remaining caterpillars to, or just hope nature takes care of them? I am very new to this and planted my butterfly garden this spring in the hopes that I would have a monarch even pay me a visit. I believe I can call this a success! I totally missed the egg portion of the process. What do you suggest I do? I trimmed the dead branches of the milkweed today and threw them away. They were stripped and brown. I cleaned my shears with alcohol.
Hi Val, congratulations on your first year success! One thing you will learn early on is that you can’t save them all. Only bring in what you are able to raise, so you can raise healthy monarch butterflies. Leave the rest outside and let nature take its course. Each monarch female can lay more than 400 eggs. Can you imagine the milkweed shortage if their were no predators and they all survived. While monarchs need our help to increase their numbers, saving 100% of the population isn’t feasible.
Tony, I am raising one caterpillar from about 2 millimeters (at the beginning a few days ago) to about 15 millimeters now. It was growing about an millimeter a day but between yesterday and today it grew about 6 millimeters. Amazing. Unfortunately of the six eggs that I brought inside, I had only one success. Three eggs turned dark and nothing happened, two hatched, but they escaped. I don’t know how. However, even at a 1 millimeter or so long, they can move fast. I found the little one on top of the container once. Now I have to have it covered. On the other hand, I raised 5 cats inside and I now have 5 chrysalises. I was able to watch 3 of them going from caterpillar to chrysalises and it is unbelievable how fast it happens.
But, the best thing happened yesterday. I was looking for a caterpillar that was ready to be brought inside, but I couldn’t find it. I was too late. It had already left to find a place where to form the chrysalis. While I was feeling a little sad about the one that left, everything changed when I saw a monarch butterfly flapping its wings, drying them, getting ready to fly. I have snow of the mountains plants near the milkweed, and there it was. It tried to fly the first time, but it couldn’t and landed back on the snow of the mountains. Kept flapping its wings for about a minute or so, and it tried again. This time it flew erratically, it hit the house, but it kept going until it began to fly better. It landed on a tree and rested there for a while until it took off again for good. I am assuming that this was one of the 4 caterpillars that disappeared while I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago. It was amazing to see this butterfly. Its orange color was much brighter than the ones that visit the plant and it also look bigger. It was a very encouraging to see it. It reassured me that maybe there is hope that they will survive and make a come back after all (if we all help a little bit).
Thanks for all the help.
Thanks for sharing your story José…glad it had a happy ending!
P.S. When eggs turn completely dark and don’t hatch, it’s often because they have been parasitized by wasps.
I was wondering what you do with small cats (probably 2nd instar age) that climb up on sides of container? Do you leave them alone figuring they can find their way back down to the milkweed or do you nudge them onto a mw leaf and put back on bottom of container? I never know if they are molting and that is why they are on sides of container or if you should leave them alone. Thanks.
Hi Pam, I typically leave them. Sometimes they are up there for 24 hours but they usually molt and then head back to milkweed. If you raise on potted plants or stem cuttings, they typically molt on the milkweed…I’ll be discussing this in the Raise the Migration posts.
A question. I have access to a couple of small tents. What I am wondering about is the colors. One is pink and the other is orange, yellow and red. One is 4 ft. tall, the other is 4 1/2 ft. tall. They both allow for air circulation. Does the color of the tent have any affect on the Monarch’s? Would I be better off buying a small clear one?
Hi James, I can’t imagine why the color would make a difference. What’s most important, is that the cage is escape-proof. A newly hatched caterpillar can escape through virtually any-sized hole.
Thank you very much.
Hello Tony!
This is my second year raising monarchs. Last year I had 2 releases. There were 8 butterflies the first and 17 the second. I raised them from eggs that I brought indoors from milkweed that just popped up in my landscaping. I had 100% success.
This year I let seeds over winter and had 14 plants pop up. My first set of eggs/cats numbered 15. I also started a second set of 18 a short time later. When my first set started to go into hanging J, I noticed one did not look ok. It started to drip black goo without going into chrysalis. I found some very useful information on your site. I believe I have Black Death. I ended up losing 4 cats from the first batch. I am keeping a close eye on them for any signs of early darkening.
It’s very sad news for my second set of cats. One by one they started to die. They would turn dark, have runny poo, and start to smell funny. I had to freeze them all.
I attempted to save these cats by being very diligent. I sanitized every container. (bleach water on every surface, gloves, washed each new leaf made sure there was good air flow, no moister) I started using milkweed from the ditch down the street. It did not work.
I did change my system a bit this year. I think it was my down fall. 1, I used the same dishtowel for all the leaves I washed and dried. (I had a lot of aphids) 2. I did not wash the containers every time. I just dumped to frass.
I now have 27 eggs that I brought in 4 days ago. (Before I knew my second batch was sick) They are just hatching today. My questions are “How to I know if I have gotten rid of the Black Death?”, “How do I know exactly where it came from?” “Is it my milkweed or was it a caterpillar?” This year I brought in eggs plus caterpillars that I found. “Is my year toast or can I continue to try and raise cats?”” I brought the new eggs in on cut pieces of leaves, how do I know if my leaves are contaminated? “, “Do I just freeze this last batch as well and call it a day?”
Your advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks Amy
Hi Amy, about your horrible experience with NPV…unfortunately, you won’t know if it’s gone until you try raising again. Before you do, make sure to thoroughly clean your cage with a 10-20% bleach solution. Some take the added precaution of rinsing milkweed with a 5% bleach solution. In our northern region, we only rinse milkweed with water…
Also, we don’t dry leaves. just shake them off. As long as there is no standing water and you have a breathable cage, caterpillars like the extra water!
If your cage is disinfected, you can try raising your 27 eggs. If you get a chance, please follow along with Raise the migration 3…it might give you some new ideas to improve your process. Good luck!
Just found your site today! I am in east central Indiana and have an abundance of eggs and larva this year. I’ve collected over 150 eggs and or larva for rearing. I grow common milkweed in various parts of my yard and gardens which attracts adults. I’ve been raising monarchs since 1999. I am a retired school teacher and did an in depth butterfly unit with my students. Many years I supplied my entire grade level with specimens to raise. Students and their families became very involved and invested in the project. I look forward each year to raising these beautiful creatures. I tag them and send them to Mexico to keep the migration cycle going. Hoping to have a record year in 2015!
Hi Kathy, happy to hear the monarchs are in abundance in your region! Hopefully, as a community, we can help the population rebound so teachers across North America can continue the great work that you did with your students! Good luck with the rest of your season…
I have a cat that went into J form night before last. Late last night it started making its chrysalis and only formed halfway. The top half is still dark colored cat and the bottom half is green chrysalis but that part is skinny and about 1 ” or longer. It’s still that way since late last night. Is it a goner? Do you know what would cause that? Thanks.
Hi Pam, dying during pupation can be a sign of tachinid fly parasites or exposure to pesticides. If it’s tachinid flies, you will eventually see tachinid maggots or red tachinid pupae on the cage floor.
Last year was my first year raising monarchs. I started collecting cats on August 5 and raised about 50. This year I started on June 28 and have already released 113. I’ve numbered chrysalises up to 134 and am still collecting. This is so addictive! Full time job; husband and chores neglected!
Hi Penelope, welcome to the wonderful world of raising monarchs! Perhaps your husband will develop an interest in htis exciting hobby too? If not, you can make up for the neglect in the off-season 🙂
Hi T
We have released 12 Monarchs to date and have two more to go. We just had five Monarchs in our backyard at the same time, that’s a first. Many eggs being laid, but have a spider problem,any suggestions in California.
Bino
Hi Bino, spiders are just one of the many potential monarch predators. Instead of fighting them, your best options are to diversify your milkweed, and spread several patches around the yard, if possible. Raising a few indoors can also boost their survival rate from under 5% to over 90%…
Hi José,
not sure what you mean by this: “Not sure if there is going to be enough time for them to hatch, grow and become a monarch”
I don’t know where you’re located, but I’m in Minnesota and we can release monarchs without issue through the end of September. Unless you’re north of me, you have plenty of time…
I am in NE Minneapolis. Today an egg hatched and I have a millimeter long caterpillar. But, if you can release them until September, I think there is plenty of time. This morning I had the pleasure to see a caterpillar transform into a chrysalis. What an honor. It only took a couple of minutes. WOW!!! I have three cocoons now, one caterpillar is about to start the process any moment (is looking for a place to hang from), and two more caterpillars in the plants. Very excited to see them grow.
Two questions: How can I help the little caterpillar to grow safely (feed him???)? I don’t want to put him outside since I saw one of them being eaten by a bug. And, How long for the butterfly to come out?
yes José, you can raise caterpillars indoors on milkweed leaves. I will be discussing all this in upcoming posts starting next week. If you need info before, you can check out my raising guide here:
How To Raise Monarchs Guide
Hi Tony. Thanks for you advice. I followed your advice and bought a small cage for the big and small caterpillars. The medium size cats I have put them back in the plant and they seem to be doing good. However, I have the same problem than Sherrie. I found 6 eggs a few days ago and I brought 5 of them inside (last one is attached to a soon to flower flower). Not sure if there is going to be enough time for them to hatch, grow and become a monarch. By the way, I put two caterpillars in the wooden cage (with some leaves for them to eat) and one of them was gone in no time. The other one remained and for the last couple of days was not doing anything on the cage’s ceiling. Yesterday it went into the J form and today, while I went to a meeting, within 3 hours it become a chrysalis. I am very excited to see what happens. I still have 5 more caterpillars. They are getting big and I think they will be ready very soon. It appears that when they are ready to form the cocoon, they go to the base of a leaf and chew until the leaf bends down. Once it bends down, it seems to protect the caterpillar and stay there to get ready to form the cocoon. At least that is what I have observed them doing when they get very big. Also, I have a microscope, and today I saw an egg in the plant, I brought it inside and I saw a little tiny orange creature coming out of the egg. It appeared that it got inside the egg and ate it. The eggs I have inside seem to be doing great. One of them is very black now and you can see the caterpillar inside. The rest are turning color also.
Again, thanks for your advice.
Hi Tony,
I’m confused on the Migration time I have released 40 healthy monarchs since February up until July. I live in central Florida. Two weeks ago, when I thought the monarchs were done, I watched a female lay her eggs on many of my plants. I have at least 15 eggs (inside of course, in cages) for safe keeping. After I release these is that it for this year (here in Florida) I have yet to determine the migrating monarch from the Florida monarch.
I was told after August to start cutting down my milkweed so not to confuse the butterflies and especially not to promote the OE. Can you help me with these questions. My husband and I really enjoy this but want to do right by the butterflies. Keep going if they lay eggs or start cutting them down.
We really are upset however, a lot of the plants just keep getting those darn aphids. We’ve done the soap, we’ve done the alcohol and water rinse, we’ve even had rain for the last 3 weeks, and those darn things just KEEP showing up. This part is the depressing part, because it’s a lot of work trying to keep up with them. We have done like you suggested to me in another post, and put the plants in all different parts of our yard but they still find the plants.
Any help would be most appreciated.
Thanking you in advance,
Sherrie T. Satterfield
Hi Sherrie, congrats on your successful season. Central and South Florida have a year round population of monarchs so there’s a chance you could see monarchs all year. If you don’t want to cut back all your plants at once, just stagger the cuttings. Cut back half and in a month or so, cut back the other half so there’s always some milkweed for visiting monarchs.
You have probably seen my aphid post, but just in case:
How to control aphids on milkweed
Unfortunately, aphids seem to be a bigger problem in warm regions. Hopefully some of the post ideas will help to control them…
I started bringing in eggs/cats last summer, perhaps 8 total. Had no luck as all died in small cat stage. I emailed a lady on a monarch website and discussed issues. She asked me if I had any pets and did any of them wear a flea/tick spot-on treatment. I said yes that I had two dogs that were sometimes in same area as where I kept the eggs/cats. She said that that was probably what killed the cats. This year I emailed a question on the monarch.org website and they said my dogs spot-on treatment should not cause any problems unless it was a spray that was sprayed on them in the same area (which is wasn’t). What do you think?
This year I’ve brought in eggs/cats and having been reading the info on your website. This year I put the nursery in a spare bedroom (where the dogs have never been in), leave the door closed and closed off the heating/AC vent. Still have lost some small cats but do have two cats that yesterday went into the J shape. Now one is hanging from nylon netting that covers container still in J form and the other has made a chrysalis and is hanging from the milkweed leaf that’s on a stem cutting in water. To me the chrysalis looks lot smaller than what I see in pictures and hopefully the milkweed won’t wilt before it emerges. These two cats were brought in from outside when they were good sized so I hope no parasites have gotten to them beforehand. How long should I wait for the second one to turn into chrysalis (the one that ‘s been in J form for almost 24 hours?
Thanks,
Hi Pam, some people seem to think the monarchs are ultra sensitive if having second-hand exposure to flea treatments. Unless its somehow directly applied to the caterpillars, I don’t think it’s an issue. Our dog has had flea treatments before and she is often in with the monarchs when I am cleaning their cage.
We raise our caterpillars in a 3-season porch so they’re exposed to heat humidity but not extreme elements like rain, wind, sun. I’ve also raise inside and had no problems. Any time you bring in a caterpillar from outside there is a risk or parasitism, but if the caterpillar dies simply clean up the parasites from the cage floor and discard. It’s disappointing, but it won’t harm your other caterpillars.
As for waiting, I know it’s hard, but it’s all up to the caterpillar now so let it do it’s thing…good luck!
Thanks for your response. Right after I emailed you, I went and checked the cat and he was already turned into a chrysalis!! That was fast.
Regarding the smaller containers (ones you put eggs in and the larger Kritter Keeper type for cats), do they need much ventilation? I notice you said some people poke holes in the tops of the small containers and with the pantyhose over the lid of the KK, can they get enough air circulation? Thanks.
when they are eggs or tiny cats the food storage containers are fine. I think the extra humidity combined with frass can spread disease as the caterpillars get bigger. I prefer the mesh cages for larger cats, but the kritter keeper will work too.
Tony, I am new at this. We planted milkweed last year and I don’t think anything happened. This year there are about 8 plants and a few weeks I checked and I found two caterpillars. Then we went on vacation and when we came back they were gone. Now, we have six caterpillars and two of them are huge. We have no idea what to do with them. We want to help them but we don’t know how. My wife says that nature will take its course. But reading that their success is less than 5% outside, I would like to help.
I have a box that somebody gave me. It is wood, about 4 x 4 and about 12 inches tall with 3 slots in the front about 8 inches long. Each slot is about half inch wide. Reading your blog I am not sure if this box will help. What can I do to help these caterpillars? My plants are outside and I can’t bring them inside. Do I still have time to order cages? If I order cages, how do I know when to bring the caterpillars inside? Can I cut some of the plant and bring it inside the cage? Thanks for your time and for doing this.
I forgot to mention that I am in Minneapolis also. Today I started cleaning the aphids, and I saw some type of lady bug with a small caterpillar in its mouth or claws. The caterpillar was already dead. However, I still have 5 cats and 2 of them aver very big now, and I would like to give them the best chance of survival. Thanks again.
Hi Jose, congrats on getting monarchs to your new patch. Before you start bringing them indoors I would get your set up in place first. You can still order any of the cages that are on the list.
Typically it’s best to bring in eggs and small caterpillars. Large caterpillars have more issues with disease and parasitism, but it never hurts to try. Here’s some info about preventing common diseases:
6 Common Monarch diseases
Monarchs also have a lot of predators in the garden. Even some of the beneficial insects (like ladybugs) sometimes eat eggs and small caterpillars.
Please join along in the raise start August 15 and good luck with your monarchs…
I thought it was just me, but reading the posts of others here I’m not alone in seeing monarch activity start late in the season. I didn’t get any activity here in central Indiana until July too…and then I got blasted with eggs. Have only released 7 adults, but have 24 chrysalides, 25 eggs, and 66 cats of various instars, and one ELF still laying eggs. I attribute the surge to planting Meadow Blazing Star like you recommended last Fall. I was only able to get 4 plants, but they have bloomed sequentially for the past 5 or 6 weeks and prompted various males to claim my garden as their territory. I’ve been fighting the goldfinches for the seed; I definitely want to plant more.
congrats on your late season success Steve…If you can get more liatris, fall is a great time for planting. Good luck with all your raising and thanks for helping raise the migration!
Unfortunately one of the chrysalises did not make it. It was still very soft and another cat crawled on it and it fell. I am thankful that the chrysalis butted up against it wasn’t destroyed too. So now I have 2 fatalities. It’s sad, but out of the 100 or so I have, that’s pretty good. This year I have grown all of my own milkweed and all of my eggs are from that milkweed versus years past when I had to go out looking for food and eggs. I have had nothing but healthy cats and my first butterfly eclosed today (male) and was perfect! I have 12 more ready to eclose at any minute!
My concern now is my milkweed situation. I am out there everyday rubbing and watering off aphids, trying to keep it fresh as long as possible for the migrating Monarchs. I live in an area where nurseries do not sell any kind of milkweed, which is frustrating. I did buy 7 swamp and 5 butterfly milkweed plants from a nursery (no pesticides) on a trip to Maryland back in July. It is growing fast but since it’s the first year, not fast enough. Any suggestions on helping my common milkweed last a little longer? I’m concerned about not having enough for the migrating Monarchs and don’t want to have to go looking for it out in town.
Hi Melissa, congrats on a successful season. Your survival rate is fantastic and you should be proud of all you are doing to help boost the monarch population.
If you want to attract and support migrating monarchs, common milkweed is not the milkweed to accomplish that. After it’s done blooming you can cut back the plants so that healthy new grow emerges. Still, the majority of our late summer activity is on tropical milkweed and swamp during rainy seasons.
There are many milkweed options to choose from and having a variety entices more monarchs to visit the garden throughout the season:
25+ Milkweed Ideas for North American Butterfly Gardens
Tony,
Check this article out:
https://thegazette.com/subject/news/someday-we-might-be-able-to-mass-produce-monarch-butterflies-20150802
Thanks for sharing Matt…interesting article but can’t imagine there wouldn’t be major issues with predation and disease. I look forward to hearing how they are going to confront these issues.
Hi! I live in Michigan. I am on here because my son picked me some milkweed plants. Well now I have 4 very hungry caterpillars. How many can I keep in 1 cage? At the moment my “cage” is a big coffee can..is that ok? This is all very new territory for me.
Hi Lindsey, you can raise 4 in a cage. If you plan to raise again, I would suggest one of the options listed on the supply list page as they are easy to clean, have good ventilation, and are escape-proof for small caterpillars. If you need more info before the raise begins August 15th, check out my raising guide for more detailed info. Good luck!
Monarch Raising Guide
I didn’t think I was going to get any Monarch eggs this year in my garden. I was wrong. They were late getting here because I didn’t see my first Monarch adult and eggs on July 11. I live in Sandusky, Ohio and usually we see the Spring Monarchs the last week of June. I now have more eggs, cats and chrysalises (89 total) than any other year (6 years raising them). I am happy to say that there was only one fatality which was a 1st instar and it was my fault. I am using a mix of mesh cages and Kritter Keepers and it is working out great. I am concerned about 4 of my cats that are forming chrysalises because they are so close together. I just checked on them and two of them are forming their chrysalises almost at the same time. The first one is not dry and the one next to it is wiggling around, finishing up. I’m afraid that they are going to stick together! I have never had this happen before, and there are two more next to them that are creating their silk pad. I have no idea if there is anything I can do. I just hope it will be ok. I make sure not to overcrowd them and only put up to 6 cats in a large Kritter Keeper. I tried putting 10 in the mesh cage but split them up after some starting headbutting. Also, either I don’t know how to count or one of my cats gotten eaten by his friends. I had 5 cats in a large cage and the next day I had 4. They were 3rd instar cats so it’s not like I couldn’t see them to count. I don’t know what happened. Maybe I’m just old. I just hope that the cats that are pupating now are going to be ok.
Hi Melissa, unless the butterflies eclose (hatch) on the same day and would potentially be touching each other, they should be OK. Otherwise you can rehang chrysalises. Spray the area above the chrysalis with water and then use a needlenose tweezers or pin to pull down the chrysalis by the silk. Then attach scotch tape to the silk above the chrysalis and rehang. This is easiest to do with the kritter keeper, but you can also turn the mesh cage upside down so it’s easier to access the chrysalides. good luck!
Do the caterpillars eat each other?
Large caterpillars can inadvertently eat small ones if you mix batches…it’s best to raise/release one batch and then start again. If you mix batches, try to separate them by size. good luck!
Hello, I’m from Midwest. I’m already one of the monarch enthusiast, and do my best to create habitat for them the thrive. But I do not put the caterpillars in cage or other place. All the caterpillars are on the milkweed plant, and I keep checking them their progress. They disappear one day, after some time beautiful monarch start flocking on my plants. Do I have to put them in cage? Appreciate your feedback. Thank you, Vandana
Hi Vandana, monarchs have a lot of predators in the garden so bringing a few inside to raise can help increase the population. It’s estimated that 1-5% survive outdoors while bringing them inside can boost survival rate to over 90%. If you sign up to receive emails for raise the migration you will learn more about they stem I use to raise them indoors:
Raise The Migration Sign-Up
In Houston there are so many enemies of the Monarch that I have been keeping plants in my bathroom. “I grew” 6 Monarchs from eggs and released them as butterflies two weeks ago. Right now I have 4 chrysalis in there. I keep the bathroom lights on when it is daytime. is it necessary for the chrysalis to have light during the 10 days or so they are becoming butterflies or would they do well in darkness? Thanks for any info you can provide.
Hi Chris, when monarchs are kept in darkness, it slows down metamorphosis. If your bathroom gets any natural light, that should probably be enough though. good luck!
First…thank you for all of the info. I just wound up my second season. I’m very pleased how everything worked out. I would guess that I released nearly 100 beautiful Monarchs.
I have had no luck with growing new plants from seed so I have started rooting cuttings. I have lots of cuttings with roots. I would like to know when do I plant these in soil? Also, how far back do you cut the existing plants. I have 30 plants that are quite big. I think they need to be cut back. I just don’t know how far and when is the best time.
I live in Orlando. It seems that we have Monarchs year around. I have just found the first caterpillers of season three. I raise mine outdoors in an enclosure. They do quit well.
Skip
Hi Skip, I would try cutting back to about a foot with no foliage on the plant…so it’s unusable to them until so new growth occurs. I raise indoors too skip…it’s much easier to raise healthy monarchs that way. Congrats on a successful season!
Greetings from Santa Cruz, one of those spots where Monarchs migrate to in the winter. I have released seven this spring, right now I have 12 in chrysalis that should emerge in a couple weeks. I have about seven small caterpillars and five more eggs. So some of the Monarchs stay around here all year. Hopefully in Oct. we will get more butterflies this year, last year the numbers were quite small.
I find most of the eggs on the tropical milkweed flowers and the swamp milkweed leaves. I am trying to grow heart shaped milkweed, as it is a California native, but it is not really growing very well, only one seed sprouted and the plant has remained very small. I looked at your pdf for California native milkweeds, and the growing area for Heart shaped milkweed is more north and inland from where I live. So tropical is the best for us by the ocean. This year the local nursery has three colors of tropical milkweeds, yellow, red and orange. Last time I was there, a week ago, people were flocking to buy the milkweeds. More and more folks here are interested in butterfly gardens and specifically Monarchs. I have many nectar flowers now and I see not only Monarchs, but Gulf Fritillaries, Painted Ladies, Swallowtails, Skippers and of course Cabbage whites. It is such a wonder to see them all flying around, doing their mating dances, sipping on the zinnias.
I think that growing a butterfly garden is healing on so many levels, it certainly reduces my stress and I feel like a child again, free and in wonder with the world when the butterflies come to visit. And baby Monarchs are so incredibly cute!!!
Hi Gabrielle, I know exactly how you feel when the butterflies flutter in for a visit. Sorry you are having problems with your California natives, but from what I hear, you aren’t the only one! Besides tropical, you might also want to look at the Calotropis and Gomphocarpus milkweed varieties, that would probably be perennials in your region. They aren’t native, but grow well in warm climates:
25+ Milkweed Varieties for Butterfly Gardens
Hi Tony, my zinnias are getting tall and so many butterflies are around, I saw a California hairstreak for the first time. I released four Monarchs today and two more are ready to pop out. I looked at the milkweeds you suggested, the Calotropis is really, really pretty! Today I also tried to move the heart shaped milkweed, it isn’t doing too good the zinnias are blocking the sun, but when I went to transplant it the stem snapped off from the roots with barely a touch. The leaves are nice and green and it was finally getting a few sub leaves at the nodes. I was not too happy, sometimes I can’t leave well enough alone. I dipped the stem in growing hormone, I am hoping to save it that way (I watched your videos for starting from cuttings). Last year I was really having trouble with swamp milkweed and this year all the plants are doing well and the seeds are sprouting easily, so perhaps it does take practice (or I got a better batch of seeds this year). I just love the idea of heart shaped leaves and purple flowers, so I just bought some more seeds. I will look into the ones you suggested too, I like having several varieties, the Monarchs like it too. Thank you for all of the support and information!!
you are quite welcome Gabrielle…I’m glad to hear you are having such a successful season!
This my first year and I am so amazed, what an incredible miracle. I have released 11 butterflies so far, have two chrysalis, and one big one ready to “J” out. I am sorry to say I have lost three caterpillars and two chrysalis to that parasitic fly, that was terrible.
I am curious how you know male from female butterflies? I seem to always call them, she.
Thanks for all your info.
PS I am in SoCal, is there a time I should cut all of the milkweed back?
Hi Shari, I’m glad you are enjoying your first season raising monarchs! Here is a post that illustrates the differences between the sexes:
Monarch Female VS Monarch Male Photos
As for cutting back, I would do it once at the end of the season and then another time during the season when activity is low. You can always stagger the cuttings so there will be some milkweed available if a monarch female stops in for a visit. Hope this helps!
I live in North East Texas and raise Monarchs with my Kindergarten class in the spring (for over 20 years now). I find the eggs on milkweed plants on my land. I learn more and more each year. My question is do the Monarchs lay eggs here in Texas in the fall on their flight back to Mexico for the winter or do they just pass through on their journey to Mexico for the winter?
Thanks,
Sharon
Hi Sharon, the monarchs that have entered sexual diapause will move through to Mexico, but there will definitely be some that are still mating and will leave eggs in your region. A September/October raising project for your class would probably work well…good luck!
This is my second year “Monarching”. I live about 20 West of St. Louis, Mo. Last year being new at it, I didn’t get any releases until late August, and had limited milkweed. This year I have about 35 milkweed plants, mostly tropical. I started observing eggs about the first week of July. As of today I have released 13 about 8 males, 5 females. Last year I had one cage, bought 2 more for this year, and put them on my screened in porch. Most of my milkweed are in pots, so I can bring them into the cages, out of harms way. Since several plants get eggs, I pick one and place it in a cage. I observe the other plants and wait until I see the new hatching muching away. I carefully force them onto my finger and bring them into the cage and transfer them to the waiting milkweed. Egg laying took place for about a week, and I haven’t observed any more eggs, here it is July 25th.
I have about 17 more chrysalis’ in various stages waiting for the new Monarchs to emerge. So far, they have all emerged healthy and ready to head out. I think getting the newly hatched cats inside is the secret, getting them away from the outside predators. I do see Monarchs fluttering around my flowering plants, especially the Mexican sunflowers, but no egg laying as of yet. Since I didn’t have eggs this early last year, I wondering if this lapsed time is normal, I guess time will tell.
Hi Poppy, once your garden is more established, you will probably get more eggs over the summer, but the monarchs can be unpredictable…a late start to the season doesn’t help either! Congrats on your early batch, and hope you get more soon…
I haven’t seen a single Monarch all year. I had 20 cats on my milkweed in 2011 and haven’t seen any since, just migrating monarchs nectaring. Butterflies in general have been very sparse here all year. I have all kinds of nectar and host plants and have only seen 3 butterflies. Very strange.
Sorry to hear this Patricia…and another reason it’s important to raise migration generation monarchs if you are able. I hope you start seeing more butterflies soon!
It’s 100 degrees here in Texas. However a friend in Navasota has Monarch in her yard. Today was the annual butterfly release ( painted ladies) for our jr. science museum. There were 500 plus attended. Our garden club for the 3rd year did an educational booth and showed pictures of local butterflies in the TV viewing room. We gave out seed, mixed nectar and host, plus pks. of tropical butterfly milkweed seed. We also provided lists of suggested butterfly plants for our area. We have been invited back for next year.
President Obama has announced Interstate 35 from Mexico to Minn. as ‘pollinator corridor’ The U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will help rehabilitate butterfly habitat along the federal highway.
I have heard more reports of people seeing monarchs down south. I think the abundant milkweed supply (from all the rain) enticed more to stay! It sounds like your booth was a huge hit…congrats Judy!
Tony ,
I released four Monarchs this morning ,3 Male and Female ( second generation ) .
Hope they me some third generations .
Cages are all cleaned and just waiting for the eggs to be laded.
THE FUN BEGINS !
I live in southern ca to be exact the San Fernando valley. It gets quite hot here in the summer and sometimes very cold in the winter. I have a 13ft x
4ft veg garden I want to turn into a butterfly garden. Will you give me a list of plants I can use
Thank you for your time.
Hi Bill, my milkweed page lists both native and perennial regions for each species. This should give you a good idea of what your options are:
Milkweed Resources Page
If you want California natives, check out this link:
Native California Milkweeds
Check out Nectar Plant Options (with perennial zones) Here:
Nectar Flowers for Butterflies
hope this helps, Tony
Hi, Tony,
I wrote you once before. I am a Master Gardener in Montgomery County, TX (about 45 miles north of Houston). I believe we are now zone 8b. We grow A. curassavica like weeds! But we want to offer natives as alternatives, especially in our plant sales to butterfly enthusiasts. We started A. tuberosa with some success (some look great and some, not so much). We also have a healthy crop of A. physocarpa that look very good along with our A. curassavica. Our next sale is September 19, 2015.
My question is, when do we start the seed of A. asperula and A. viridis. We mail ordered the seed which suggested we start the seed in the “fall”. So when is THAT?? Our next sale is March of next year, and we would love to offer them then. Is that possible?. When should we start them? Is it too early now (or too late?) We have a greenhouse if they need to stay indoors for the winter. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I’m trying get all of us who have the Mexican/tropical milkweed to cut it back about mid to late October, because of the Oe parasite, right?
Thanks for your help and your wonderful passion!!
Debra
Hi Debra, the info you’re getting about planting in fall is probably meant for gardeners who want their seeds to sprout outside in spring. When you plant for your greenhouse should depend on the size of plant you want to offer at your spring sale. I would suggest doing a test to see how long it takes viridis/asperula seeds to germinate after cold moist stratification…then see how long it takes the seedlings to get to the size that you want for your plant sale.
Any milkweed in your region that grows continuously should be cut back, so that would probably include physocarpa too. Hope this helps, Tony
I had a Monarch lay about 8 eggs on 2 potted plants outside on 8/30. I moved the plants into a screened in porch to protect from predators. I have now cut off the leaves the eggs were on and put them into a plastic pet cage, with a vented lid. 3 eggs hatched this morning. My question is should i move the cats when they are a little bigger, back onto the plants in the screened in porch and let me eat the rest of the leaves there? There are plenty leaves on the plants, or should I leave the cats in the cage and let them pupate there?
Hi Alice, congrats on your new babies. I’m not sure what kind of cage you have, but if they can slip through the vents at the top of your cage, they will. If they are on potted plants, they might also crawl away from them before they are ready to pupate. You will want to raise them, where you can keep them the most secure. Here is a recent post about recommended cages:
Monarch Caterpillar Cages
thanks, i ordered a pop up large container with a zip side door. I will keep them in the critter keeper until i get it and them move them to the potted plants inside this pop up container. Thanks! i now have 7 cats. I found some more today on the potted plants.!
Hi Alice, it sounds like you are ready for a successful raise. I look forward to your updates!
I have one of the large pop up cages. I have used it for the last several weeks raising Black Swallowtails on fennel. My first time ever doing this.
Now I have brought in a common milkweed with three cats and added two more on leaves today of the Monarch’s. Do I need to provide any
sticks or other vertical support for the cats when they will be developing into chrysalises, or will they hang on the sides as the black swallowtails did?
Also, I ordered some eggs/cats from the butterfly lady, and they have not been sent yet, August 21. Will they have enough time to develop if they are not here soon. We here in SE Pennsylvania have been having a much cooler summer than normal. Thanks for your efforts. I feel better trying to help with all your suggestions and education.
Hi Terri, monarchs will pupate on the roof of your cage…no sticks necessary. You still have time to raise one final batch, but in your region you will want to release your monarchs by the first week of October…at the latest! It would be best if you could start raising next week. Good luck…
Brand new to “helping save the Monarchs”.. Ordered some tropical milkweed seeds, now I have about 8 plants 25 in. tall in an area behind my regular flower garden. Have been watching all summer plants haven’t bloomed. Monarchs have been visiting my regular flower garden for several days. Today I’ve found 2 large cats on two separate milkweed plants and several very small cats. I think I’ve identified the eggs that you’ve shown how to find. I want to order a cage but most sites are sold out. I may have to try and make a homemade one in the meantime. I really enjoy your instructions and hope to get successful in raising these beautiful creatures. I’ve been stopping on roadsides and looking at the common milkweeds but haven’t seen any monarchs on them. The common plants are starting to dry up this time of year, here in St. Louis area, but I intend to keep looking. Thanks again, Tony.
Hi Poppy, I hope you are enjoying your first season of gardening and raising. Tropical milkweed is an excellent variety for those in the central and northern US if you start with plants or cuttings. I’m in Minnesota and our tropical has been blooming for 2 months. Seeds start too slow in colder regions…especially if you have a cool spring! You might want to consider fall planting swamp milkweed too…that usually stays viable longer than common milkweed and is less invasive:
Swamp Milkweed
As for cages, did you check out the options on my supply list?
I raised a few monarchs 2 years ago from cats I collected on the side of the road. I planted milkweed in a new garden that is devoted to butterflies that year. Last year I did not find an egg or a cat. This year I am happy to say I am addicted. I am currently raising 22 eggs, 33 cats & 5 chrysalis. I also have 2 Monarchs which would have been released today but it has been rainy and cool. I added nectar on a sponge and a vase of zinnia & black eyed susan for them. I will probably have to go back to the roadside for milkweed to feed them all but I really don’t mind. Watching their life cycle is so enjoyable. Thank you for all the information you have on this site. I am so glad I found it.
Welcome Kathy, it sounds like you are already doing plenty to raise the Migration…Raise On!
Hi! I just took cuttings of a milkweed plant and put them in my house. I noticed, today that there are very small caterpillars on them (about 3-5).
I am so excited. Do I now leave them in the house? And get started with the cage and equipment you suggested?
I LOVE this site! -Jeri
Hi Jeri, congratulations! I would definitely raise your new babies inside. I leave ours in a 3-season porch with the windows open, but you can also raise them indoors. They will typically develop a little slower indoors…especially if you have the A/C on.
I would order a cage if you don’t have one. You can put them in a plastic food storage container until it arrives. Wherever you put them, make sure there aren’t any openings a tiny caterpillar can crawl out of…
How do I become part of this great adventure, The Amazing Raise? It sounds great!! I live in Maquoketa, Iowa and have raised and released just four monarchs thus far, but the exciting news it that they are all coming from my milkweed I planted in my own yard. I used to have to go walking in ditches, etc, to find my caterpillars, but now I just have to go to my backyard to find them. I LOVE it 🙂 So do my kiddos.
Thanks, Dawn
Hi Dawn, I’m excited you and your kiddos will be joining us! You can sign up for Raise the Migration 2 by clicking the following link that will take you to the sign up page:
Raise The Migration 2 Sign Up
Tony – when you start posting more info, would you please explain about how to use the Gatorade / watermelon to sustain a monarch before release? Do you pour some in a dish, or ???
Love your newsletter! Thanks for taking the time to educate the rest of us!
Hi Lynn, I will definitely be sharing more details about feeding adult monarchs with fruit and/or gatorade. You won’t need to feed them if you release them within 24 hours, but it’s good to have some on hand just in case!
Hi Tony, I am in South Florida – am I right in my thinking that monarchs from this area don’t migrate? Since early spring we have had a steady stream of caterpillars and butterfly visitors in to our butterfly garden. At one point we had so many caterpillars I had to take 40 to my local butterfly sanctuary. Yesterday I released 5, today I released 6 and I still have 6 in chrysalis stage. I have noticed that the frogs like to eat the caterpillars so we are working on that right now!!
Hi Vicki, central and south Florida both have overwintering monarch populations that won’t make the journey to Mexico. However, most of the information in Raise the Migration should apply to Florida monarchs too. In areas where monarchs live year round there are some disease/parasite issues (like OE) that are more prevalent because of the reuse of milkweed plants. We will discuss how to avoid (or at least reduce) these issues.
Thanks for the info Tony – will be looking forward to learning about that. We have a few issues with our plants right now so we have just sprayed and washed them all. Taking off the eggs and cats first! I just released 5 more butterflies today 🙂
I raised about 10monarch last summer and winter. This year I have none. I saw some but then they were gone. I’m thinking the wasps ate them .How do I get rid of the wasp and not hurt the caterpillars?
Lynne, there are lots of monarch predators out there. The best ways to defeat them are 1. milkweed diversification…grow several types of milkweed and have several patches around your yard/garden 2. Raising indoors (or an outdoor enclosure)
…and even though wasps kill caterpillars, they are also beneficial pollinators.
It appears the eggs, cats that i have collected off of the outdoor plants (and then transferred to my lanai onto 2 potted tropical milkweeds) have possibly oe or something else. They are growing well, eating and then all of a sudden seem to be unable to move their rear section forward. The upper segment moves. Have you ever seen this? I have 4 cats almost ready to cocoon in this sad state. Any advice? Do i need to do something to the plants if i stat with ordered eggs? I am hesitant to use anymore “wild” eggs. Help! and thank you.
Hi Judith, one of the reasons I’m doing “Raise the Migration” is to teach people the system I use for raising healthy butterflies. My survival rate with wild eggs is over 95% and I hope I am able to boost yours too. I will be covering the entire process when we get started in August. I’m glad you are joining us!
As for your current caterpillars, I would see what happens. If they aren’t able to successfully pupate I would euthanize them by placing them inside a plastic bag in the freezer and then discarding. It’s hard to say what the issue is without seeing them. It could be disease. If the plants are new, could they have been treated with pesticides?
Tony,
Greetings from Ft Wayne IN have released two adult Monarchs and have 8 more instar on the ready. I was just wondering if you had found a good site for the non aggressive Asclepias purpurascens or Asclepias viridis. Have you ever used hardyplants.com as a source for milkweed seeds. I live in a rurual area and want to grow the less aggressive milkweeds as I want to incorporate them into gardens. I have also ordered a plant of Prairie Milkweed A. sullivanti can you think of any other less aggressive milkweed types? Thanks
Hi Brian,
Incarnata is non-invasive if you cut off the seed pods before the burst open. I put together a butterfly plant page with links and you should be able to find what you’re looking for there.
https://www.monarchbutterflygarden.net/butterfly-plants/
I have 8 different milkweed species and I’m planting some viridis seeds this fall. You also have the option of planting ‘annual’ milkweed species for your area like curassavica or physocarpa. I use both in Minnesota and they are popular late season plants for the monarchs…especially tropical (curassavica) since it also serves as a nectar source.
Hi Tony,
very informative!
In the Houston area, I’m just sarting to see daily visits from monarch and other yet to be identified butterflies. There has been plenty of egg laying by the mamas, but after a day or 2, I don’t see them anymore, and have not seen the tiny cats. I’ve inadvertently diverted the wasps by filling my hummingbird feeder, but I have quite the family of lizards. Could they be the culprit?
Anyway, I have HUGE milkweed plants, so I’m going to do like last year with your suggestion and take cuttings.
Wish me luck! : )
Hi Donna,
cuttings work well for raising and they save you a lot of time too. Yes, lizards have been reported to eat monarch caterpillars so they could be your culprits. Good luck and keep us posted!
PS…if you haven’t signed up for Amazing Raise 1, there’s still time to sign up. I just sent out an email about taking cuttings today.
Three days ago I had my first monarch, I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana. No eggs but am excited to finally see one this season!
congrats Cathie…start checking that milkweed!
Hi there! I live in Central Florida and I have raised (from egg) over 70 Monarchs so far this year and I have 35 in chrysalis, about to emerge in the next few days. My husband converted an old ferret cage, added some screen, lattice and put a lock on it. My beauties have their own condo! 🙂
excellent news Monique….many Floridians are having fantastic monarch seasons! It sounds like your monarchs are living the high-life in their beach front condo 🙂
I just released 4 Monarchs today. I have 2 chrysalis left to mature. Hopefully I will find more cats on my Milkweeds to raise!
I have not been seeing as many Monarchs lately.
not sure where you’re located Marcy, but most of North America still has plenty of time to find eggs. If you’re in Canada, your egg days are numbered.
Tony I am in Central Florida. This is the first time I have raised Butterflies. In the past few days I have found 5 cats on plants in varying instars. I have them in containers in the house since I have had several go missing if left on the plants outside. I have a medium size foldable butterfly tent just a little too small for my potted plant. though.
Up till today I have raised about 10 Monarchs. I am so happy to contribute a small part in raising these beautiful natural jewels. I am amazed at their beauty and grace.
Hi Marcy, don’t worry if your potted plant won’t fit in your cage. I will also be discussing using “cuttings” instead. Happy to hear you’re having a successful season and I look forward to helping you raise more monarchs.
Hello Again Tony,
Update on my last post. I now have 7 monarch chrysalis’. I have not seen a Monarch in 1 1/2 weeks. No cats on my Milkweeds.
Are they migrating north for their migration to Mexico?- Or should I look for other reasons, such as lizards , wasps and ants and other nefarious bad guys?
Thanks
Marcy 🙂
–
Hi Marcy, the migration has begun in Canada. Usually, this is the time I start seeing migrators come through in Minneapolis. However, we’re having record heat all week…not sure if that might delay southward movement. I’ll be sure to post when I see them come through!
I just read a new statistic that said only 1% of monarchs survive outdoors. That seems a bit low, but it’s probably not too far off.
Hey Marcy, I was so excited to see that you also live in Central Florida, but then I was disappointed to see your post is from 2013. Are you still helping these beautiful, amazing, and wonderful butterflies? Hope so! If you haven’t already, check out Lukas Nursery in Oviedo, that’s where I’ve bought all of my supplies needed but all of my plants, especially Milkweed, I purchase only at DeBary Nursery. Keep in touch!
Interesting article & info. I would like to part update in ‘The Flight.”
Probably need to order eggs.
And will need a BF castle.
Are these things you sell?
I live in Central Texas, Waco/Hewitt.
Very hot now & will be end of Aug
I have Butterfly Milkweed plants I can pot up.
Thanks
Sheri DeLoach
Sheri DeLoach@gmail.com
Hi Sheri,
I’m happy to hear you are participating in the Amazing Raise! I don’t currently sell anything on the list, but these are products I use myself and the vendors are all reputable. In Texas, you will be at the tail end of the migration so you might want to start at the end of September or early October. I’m starting ‘early’ so everyone has a chance to participate.
thank you for the reply,Tony. I am encouraged to go with your program as the Monarchs are beginning to migrate through our Cen-Texas area. Zone 8. I would like to buy the least expensive, most effective products for raising them inside a laundry hamper. I saw a large female Monarch depositing her eggs on the undersides of the common milkweed plant about 10 days ago. I can still see the ‘white dots eggs.’ Should I leave them on these outside plants until I can set up a laundry hamper? Also, is it too late to order eggs?
Thank you,
Sheri
Hi Sheri,
because there are so many egg-eating predators my suggestion is to take the eggs inside as you see them. I would check the egg suppliers on the resource list to see if they are still offering eggs. If yes, you should still be able to turn out one last Texas batch…
It has been a slow season in Middle Tennessee but I finally have 12 caterpillars on common milkweed cuttings..I am proud of what you do Tony and the encouragement you give us. My neighbors have started their own butterfly gardens this year with my help..every life matters!