Rearing monarchs in a urban environment is tough! And it's so sad when people cut/mow down milkweed that you know had monarch caterpillars on it. My city hosted a triathlon several weeks ago and mowed a bunch of milkweed along a popular trail in preparation, and then the middle school a few blocks away started pulling out all of their milkweed as part of their back to school landscaping. In both cases my 10 year old and I were able to rescue several dozen caterpillars and eggs along with quite a bit of milkweed before the mowers got to them. Now, of course, all of that milkweed is gone and my own milkweed supply has been decimated, so I've been looking high and low for more milkweed. Unfortunately, the only milkweed that isn't already claimed by monarch eggs or larvae -- I won't pull from a plant that another monarch caterpillar is already depending on -- is the crappy stuff that's covered in oleander aphids, brown tussock moth larvae, or spiders. Or powdery mildew, milkweed yellows, or some other fungus... Moral of the story: urban environments are challenging for monarchs and the people that love them and I will be planting a LOT more milkweed for next year!
These issues too with milkweed are why I try to give myself a cut off point of not taking in eggs after August is finished. The year I did rear just a few in September, the milkweed that was around even when I lived in a more suburban / rural milkweed area had more and more established pests on it, including aphids. That, and many of the plants were drying out/dying. When the Wooward Dream Cruise happened last year, as mentioned in this video, I did look through what remnants I could to check for eggs, as cleanup was good, but not 100% efficient and some broken stalks were left behind. But, there were no eggs to be found. Great that you found what you did and are finding them food. It's a challenge, but perhaps some other milkweed sources are nearby that haven't been found yet? I'm hoping for you! Good luck! 🤞🦋👍
I can't tell you how much I have appreciated your videos over the years. A few years ago, I had a bad year for oe parasites and yours was the info I relied on for guidance on treatment. I couldn't find practical information anywhere else, and anyone who has ever raised and then euthanized a monarch knows the heartbreak. I have used your bleach method ever since and we have successfully reared hundreds of healthy monarchs. Thank you for sharing your passion and knowledge! We really appreciate your time and effort in teaching. Monarchs everywhere have a great ally in you.
That is very heartfelt. I appreciate those words much. I'm pleased to share what I can if it's helpful, and it means nothing without others willing to put in the time with it, so thank you as well. I'll continue to try and help, when and where I can. 🙏
My 4 year old son and I just released our first butterfly that we have ever raised today.We signed up along with other families to adopt a caterpillar at a monarch festival here in Iowa. Thank you so much for your comprehensive videos on monarch care. We wouldn't have been able to undertake rearing our butterfly without you.
I'm so pleased that the videos could help you out. Situations like that are their intention as well. And so very cool that you were able to help your son learn the value of conservation and life cycles! Bravo all around!
Thank you for this, and all your other videos . About 8 years ago we found our first Chrysalide on the underside of a broccoli leave and didn't know what it was. not knowing better we laid it in a container and consequently the Monarch we found the next morning had a deformed wing and never could fly. but he could flutter and lived apparently contentedly in a large tupper ware for 6 weeks. We named him Malcolm; he was our pet and we cared for him - took him on vacation with us. When he died we buried him under the big pine. Everything I needed to know I found on your videos ! thank you !!!!............................. I now live in Amherst MA - ie western Mass - and find very few eggs in June or July - very few monarchs as well and the males outnumber the females. But early August I have better luck. So the Monarchs are not ready to fly until early September. Isn't that too late for pollination ? What is there to be pollinated ? I understand that that is the time of migration. But how do these late monarchs actually benefit farmers or nature. ( They benefit us humans with their beauty, and watching them cheers us up ) Again, thank you SO much for all your teaching videos and for caring for all creatures, large and small. Edith
Thank you so much for clarifying your bleach concentration! I had gotten some conflicting information from watching a few other peoples videos as well so I’m glad to have a tried answer true answer. I live in a very high OE area in Georgia so it’s very helpful for me. Great video as usual, thanks for all of the time intensive work and for continuing the inspiration for monarchs!
Very happy to help. Depending upon how much you want to make (and what measuring tools you have) the other videos might be even more helpful. In the "Preventing NPV and Other Infections" episode, I show how to make one gallon of the solution (using US fluid ounces as measuring units): ruclips.net/video/2FE9646Z9xs/видео.html And in the "OE Parasite Prevention" episode, I show how to make the solution in a 20.0 fl. oz bottle (using tablespoons as measuring units): ruclips.net/video/oZYzzcGiZRA/видео.html I hope this helps and I wish you luck with its effectiveness!
I appreciate that. I don't try to make new stuff just to make new stuff, though. I've tried to make each episode address something worth addressing. Still, no shortage on my list right now. Thank you for helping out!
I love to check more urban areas when I can. I am in the middle of nowhere, and can just walk around my yard and find give or take 10 eggs every few days. I love this series and how passionate you are about it. Keep it up!
Having options of sourcing leaves in urban spots vs. some more rural spots (or at least areas that have more rural fields, if not itself fully rural), I'll choose the urban spots. Even though the leaves might have more chance at pests, I usually can still find some good ones, and any eggs/cats I find are often arguably in the "doomed" category. (Obviously, not always, like the two in this video that had been doing fine and were left be.) I prefer if I'm taking in eggs that I find the ones that I know aren't even likely to have the natural 3-10% chance nature gives them. Sounds like you've got plenty of Monarchs in your area. Good to hear that some are still seeing plenty, as it's been a rough year for many. 🦋👍
@@MrLundScience By no means is this year normal, as I usually start seeing them around late may but this year it was July 3rd. Took forever. But it was worth the wait!
Released my 11 and I had an egg dump the other day! 22 eggs and found 3 ready to J on my home milkweed and a 3rd instar on some swamp milkweed near a pond. Busy Busy!
Egg dumps can be fun to find, and always, a ramp up in work. Found 14 on some soon to be mowed sprouts at my in-law's this summer. They were all near by each other and black tipped at the same time - yep...egg dump. Congrats on the success!
That was seriously exactly what I needed to see. How to bleach treat. Hands on. How to do it right. I rescued an egg from doomed milkweed today. A fresh little leaf in a mowed alley. I will bleach treat it tomorrow. Ludington MI.
The egg in question is now a chrysalis as of this morning. More filming is occurring as the days proceed. When the episode will be out is tough to say, as school will have started, but likely in September. (Please never quote me on that...the teaching world can be crazy busy!) And I'm glad you liked the shirt. 😃🖖
I've got a new subreddit called r/friendlymonarchs I started it because the current one is riddled with misinformaiton and the mod there didn't want help. Those of us that are very active link your videos to help others all the time. That is how I orginally found you. We would LOVE to have you on the sub for an AMA on there. It would be awesome if you'd come and answer some questions. This video is great. I wondered if you could see OE spores on Eggs or leaves with a microscope. I appreicate your videos on that so much because my last brood was descimated by OE. It was so sad. Next season I'll use your method to raise a few. Thanks agian for all the videos even if you're not available for an AMA. lol
Greetings! I must admit, I do not fully know the world of Reddit, and honestly, don't exactly then know what a "subreddit" is. Still, I'm open to the idea, but please let me give some background... I once attempted to join a butterfly group online that was specific to Monarchs. This was pretty early on and already, not a lot of people were doing much of this, but some were. There definitely were Monarch rearers before I got into this, for sure. In such a group, my opinion was being treated like an authority, and it should not be. I try to keep my eyes and ears to the science, but beyond that, I'm in no higher standing than anyone else. I don't wish to be treated like an expert, as I'm not. The more I know, the more I'm able to recognize how much there is that I do not know. Some may expect that I have more answers than I do. If it could be approached that way by those on there, that would make it easier. The other part I should mention is that I am already equipped with a guilty conscience with how many questions/comments are unanswered on my own videos in the comments sections. (I'm certainly writing this for any others reading it too...) Back in 2014 and the first few years, it was fairly easy to keep up with every comment, and I did my best to. Once there were more videos, certainly there were not only more people watching them, but more places to leave comments. The number of comments grew to a volume I couldn't realistically keep up with. I had to decide at some point what to do, and have since tried to keep up with comments on a video for the first two weeks that it's out. (Luckily, I've also had help from others leaving quality answers to questions, which I see and appreciate. 🙏🙏🙏) So, there's a part of me that has decidedly stayed away from other social medias beyond RUclips and Instagram (I stopped messing with Twitter, though there is an account.) because an additional social media would give me another place where questions might land that I never see/answer. It pains me to leave questions unanswered, so I've tried to keep where they land manageable. I hope that makes sense. In all of this, there's also the portion of being a high school teacher, and once the school year starts (which is soon) I'm pretty much owned. And this year is an intense one, as I'm beginning an AP Physics program at my school. I will be (happily) swamped. With all that said, though, again, I'm open to the idea, as it sounds like something that would be a scheduled time/date situation (or do I have that wrong)? Am I in need of a Reddit account? What other details should I know?
@@MrLundScience Sir, your humility is refreshing. I would absolutely frame the AMA as you speaking from your personal experience only. This way you don’t feel the pressure of having to be an 'expert.' I feel the same way when it comes to learning about these topics. The more I learn, the more questions I have, and I realize I don’t actually know much at all. I try to help with what I can when others ask questions. We often direct people to articles and websites that are research-based and up-to-date. I think the appreciation for your videos from this community comes from how you deliver the information-you’re personable and informative. Reddit is a website that hosts forums (subreddits) on many different subjects. The one we created is brand new and fairly small, but I would plan on letting other related subreddits know about your AMA far enough in advance. We are absolutely flexible on when this would happen and can also cap the amount of time you’re on the site answering questions. There are all kinds of AMAs on Reddit, and I’ve never seen one where every question gets addressed. There are also moderators who keep an eye on things during the event. I would also add a bio when I post about the event. I can make sure to convey that you are a physics teacher who just happens to be a Monarch hobbyist that likes to make informative videos on RUclips. You would need your own Reddit account from which you can answer questions during the AMA. If you decide to stick around afterward, I would suggest you create an alternate account that doesn’t give away your identity, to reduce pressure. I completely understand feeling a bit guilty because you can’t get to all the questions in your comment sections, but I think you do a great job of explaining things in your videos themselves. This would be a live, moderated event, and once it’s over, there’s no need to answer more questions. Congrats on the new school year! I hope it’s a good one, and thank you for being a great teacher, both in person and on RUclips. I look forward to hearing from you.
@@MrLundScience Sir, your humility is refreshing. I would absolutely frame the AMA as you speaking from your personal experience only. This way you don’t feel the pressure of having to be an 'expert.' I feel the same way when it comes to learning about these topics. The more I learn, the more questions I have, and I realize I don’t actually know much at all. I try to help with what I can when others ask questions. We often direct people to articles and websites that are research-based and up-to-date. I think the appreciation for your videos from this community comes from how you deliver the information-you’re personable and informative. Reddit is a website that hosts forums (subreddits) on many different subjects. The one we created is brand new and fairly small, but I would plan on letting other related subreddits know about your AMA far enough in advance. We are absolutely flexible on when this would happen and can also cap the amount of time you’re on the site answering questions. There are all kinds of AMAs on Reddit, and I’ve never seen one where every question gets addressed. There are also moderators who keep an eye on things during the event. I would also add a bio when I post about the event. I can make sure to convey that you are a physics teacher who just happens to be a Monarch hobbyist that likes to make informative videos on RUclips. You would need your own Reddit account from which you can answer questions during the AMA. If you decide to stick around afterward, I would suggest you create an alternate account that doesn’t give away your identity, to reduce pressure. I completely understand feeling a bit guilty because you can’t get to all the questions in your comment sections, but I think you do a great job of explaining things in your videos themselves. This would be a live, moderated event, and once it’s over, there’s no need to answer more questions. Congrats on the new school year! I hope it’s a good one, and thank you for being a great teacher, both in person and on RUclips. I look forward to hearing from you.
Those aphids! I have a ton on my home milkweed this year especially, but some of those plants you showed in the video were extremely infested. I think the poor ladybug already had a full belly.
This is perfect; great collecting and awesome leaf treatment! I just collected my first eggs today. I caught my mama in the act of laying and the pests in my backyard were hot on her tail. I was closer though, scissors in hand! Some were on Common Milkweed (leaves collected) and some were on Swamp Milkweed (stems with leaves collected), roughly 14 in total. 🎉. I hope to get everything bleach treated tomorrow morning, so your video is very timely. Thank you! Adding on a question that I couldn’t find in previous videos. How long can you keep processed leaves for the Common Milkweed in your refrigerator, assuming that cats will only take a day or so to chew through one?
You've got some eggs (possibly hatched by now), that's great! I'm pleased that this was timely. Once I've treated my leaves and rinsed, I keep them in an opened plastic resealable bag, stems/moist towels pointed down into the bag. That goes in a drawer in my refrigerator, and I'm usually going through the leaves faster than they every go "bad" or just bad enough. In cases where I might overshoot and have extra, I'd give a leaf no more than three days, and on that third day, if I have access to something fresher, I'll go there first. Also, though, I deal with Common Milkweed which has some larger leaf size than many other milkweeds. So, they dry out less quickly than smaller leaves would. So, my 3 day limit, I might reduce it really to 2 if I dealt with a more narrow leaf. I certainly hope this helps! Good luck with your new caterpillars!
@@theuerlings1342 Keep up the great work collecting and bleaching…every successful release is a cause to celebrate! Always use butterfly cages, outdoors. I can’t stress that enough! Screens do not prevent tachinid flies, which are a danger at every stage of development. Okay, stepping down from my soapbox. I ended up doing my bleach treatments three days after collection and counted a total of 19 eggs. I suspect I’ll find more eggs throughout the season due to my milkweed forest; those damn wasps, ants, earwigs and other pests can’t get all of the eggs, statistically speaking! Sadly, those pests DO get all cats that hatch. I have many leaves that have semi circle holes and no cat. Pest pressure is extraordinarily heavy on Long Island. With the duo challenges of fewer mature fields and more residential pesticides to control lantern flies and mosquitoes, it seems as if all insect life is squashed down to those of us who try to go native in our landscape choices. Lol, my landscaper thinks I’m nuts with the milkweed…🤣🤪.
@@MrLundScience Awesome and thank you. I guess it’ll be a learning curve to make sure I don’t overshoot what I truly need. None of them have emerged yet, or even black tipped, but then we’re only 3 days in from Mama laying them. I hope to see them in a day or so though! I practiced the bleach treatment on the heavily infested leaves (ants/aphids/gnarly looking) this morning to get an idea of how to wash them correctly. Lol, found one egg, and it is now bleach treated and saved with the others. When these babies hatch, nicer looking fresh leaves will be on their menu. Thank you for the encouragement and enthusiasm for the monarchs. When my family told me I was getting too obsessed with the butterflies, I reminded them I was a passionate conservationist. Many of the older family members remember fields filled with milkweed and butterflies…and then they realize how much things have changed for the worse. And it’s not only the monarch this year, it’s all other butterflies. The only one I see regularly is the Cabbage White.
I've encountered similar situations where an entire large patch that could feed an entire army of Monarchs is eggless and untouched. I've had to learn that what looks good to the human eyes might be irrelevant to the Monarch Mom's eyes (and antennae). When plants are quite adult, certainly Monarch females may still choose them for eggs, but often do not, in search of younger plants, including new rhizome sprouts. The reason for this selection is still being learned about and debated/discussed (younger leaves are more tender for new hatchlings, younger plants have fewer established pests/predators, etc.), but it's fairly agreed, Monarchs tend to prefer the younger sprouts. For these reasons, if encountering a large patch, I might first check the outskirts of the patch for the younger sprouts and check there. Still, it's certainly reasonable this season, it may be, a ready to lay female didn't find that patch of milkweed. I wish you luck with the remainder of the season! They're out there!
@@MrLundScience I went back out to the milkweed to check all the smaller plants and didn’t find any monarch caterpillars, I did find a singular tussock moth caterpillar and am currently bringing it home, I have never raised a tussock moth so it will be interesting
@@MrLundScience After that last comment I left I brought home the tussock moth and went back out an hour later to check another milkweed spot and I found one egg which I now have brought home and set up it’s home
Very sorry to hear that. I'm finding new depths to how bad aphids can be. In recent days, I've seen aphids on plants that have been decimated even worse than what's in this episode. I've been able to manage my nine stalks, but it's not due to a green thumb, but more of a yellow one each morning. It's yellow after they thumb squishing. I wish you luck!
I wish to help where I can, but I'm not sure what I am able to offer. If it's a case of the pests harming the milkweed plants, such as with the aphids, I know that if I had many more plants and was over run with aphids, I might have to select just a few plants that I have time for to "adopt" in my yard and try to keep aphid free. For me, I only have the nine or so stalks currently in the yard, so it's not a large task to rub off any aphids each morning. If I had a 1/4 acre, that'd be not feasible for me. I might have to just focus on one area to try and keep aphid free. Some of the other guys, the beetles and the earwigs, while they aren't great, they aren't tragic on the milkweed either. I'd mostly leave those guys be on my larger crop of plants at the previous homestead we had, but also, I can't say I was ever over run by them, so perhaps your situation is different. As for flies and wasps, though, they don't harm the milkweed, only the Monarchs. I don't really encounter issues with them due to taking the Monarchs into controlled environments. I certainly empathize if that's not an option, and recognize it isn't always for everyone. It's worthy of noting though, as that's really why I don't have other options to offer when people bring predator issues up. I certainly sought other options back in the day, and have continued to try to find others, but to this day, it seems physical barriers that limit predator access to the Monarchs are what's effective. I hope that helps, and I might also be able to help with the "microscope info" request...but I'm not sure what exactly was meant by that. Can you be more specific? If you mean, how the egg turns out that has the spores on it from this episode, I can happily say, the lad or lass made formed the chrysalis today! More shall be filmed as the days proceed.
I had a few eggs that turned dark but nothing came out. I dissected them and used 3 power magnification, and there were aphids in a couple of them, the others were just mushy inside. I guess I didn`t realize that the aphids were harmful to that degree. There were teeny holes in the eggs at the bottom. Have you seen this before?
I have not seen this before, but the primary cause would be, I haven't looked. Should I have an egg not hatch in the near future, I now want to see what's inside. However, I don't know that I have a fine enough tool to cut into the egg. May I ask what you used?
@@MrLundScience Xacto, with a new blade, now another issue that just happened, one of my hanging chrysalis` has a couple of cracks with a thin membrane over the cracks, so I can see inside and it looks like its filled with aphids, Some very strange things happening this year. Another is, about 10 hatchlings come out extremely tiny and die with in a couple of days. I feel like I`m cursed this year. No chemicals in my yard and I have an 8 ft. privacy fence, so no danger of drift from neighbors..
@@MrLundScience I used an Xacto with a new blade, I now have a chrysalis with a couple of cracks going down the side and a membrane over the cracks, so I`m able to see inside, and it looks like it`s full of aphids, I don`t know how to post a pic here or I`d show that to you.
I have gotten a few. But many didn't hatch. I think they were not fertilized. It will be interesting what the citizen science info shows. I report to Monarch watch
I'm very sorry to hear this. The season still isn't finished, though. Not sure if you have the means, but, the more plants you venture out to check, the higher your probability increases. To find the eggs I do, I'm exploring often. Good luck to you! I hope things change soon! 🤞
Hello Mr. Lund! It’s been a while I think close to three or four years ago I came across your RUclips channel and became obsessed with raising monarch butterflies! I’ve raised thousands of them during the last 3 to 4 years! And it’s all because of your RUclips channel! But I have an issue these last couple weeks I’ve lost close to 10 caterpillars and it’s like they basically melt in the cage! It breaks my heart when they die no matter what stage it happens in! I wanted to ask you if there was some type of parasite or other bacteria infection that could be the issue? Or if you’ve had anything similar happened to your caterpillars? Thanks again for all your help and thank you for your knowledge. Have a great evening.
I think it's dependent on your environment. I can only speak from my own experiences, and they are certainly from a Michigan perspective. Still, it is typical that in urban environments, because of more traffic of people and goods, more pests, invasive species, introduced species, etc., are typically present. More species have a chance to get a foothold too. From my own experience, I can attest to finding this, though it's certainly not absolute. Where I lived before, I was on the outskirts of where urban was turning into more rural. Not exactly a "suburb" as it was just a neighborhood street and no HOA, but on the cusp. If I drove west 0.1 mile, it was urban, and if I drove 0.1 mile east, it was rural. In that location, aphids weren't over many plants in the rural fields and park areas I was going to for leaves. Don't get me wrong, as sometimes they were, and sometimes, they were a LOT...decimating a plant. But, it wasn't the norm, from my experience. In a crop of milkweed, I'd find aphids, sure, and maybe a plant or two with a lot of them, but plenty of plants without many aphids. Where I am now, it is a much more urban environment, and the urban sprawl of metro Detroit goes on for quite a stretch. When I encounter milkweed in the urban sprawl of parking lots and other back alleys, they tend to be consistently riddled with aphids. Finding the aphid free stalk or two (or just not overloaded) is the rare find in the crop. Now, this could be specific to the oleander aphid and Common Milkweed, and possibly something more general for Michigan and the midwest. I'm not 100% sure what the urban milkweed might be like in, say, Atlanta, and if they have similar aphid/milkweed issues. I do know, though, the bleach treatment will apply to any of us should we wish to use it for the addressed reasons. I hope that helps!
Okay, I’m a moron, i tried to put paper towel down so if the chrysalis fell or the Monarch fell so it can climb back up, I accidentally knocked down a caterpillar on top of the pop up tent, it was finding a spot to J hang and possibly making the silk pad or mat, do you think the monarch caterpillar will go back up?
I am hoping you see this and are able to give me some advice asap. I found a pair of mating Monarch’s in my yard today but the male has died while connected to the female. She is unable to separate herself or fly. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Because you used oz with your 16 oz to begin the calculation, your answer will still have those units, so 0.8 would mean 0.8 oz. To measure that out, though, tablespoons can work. 0.8 oz = 1.6 tablespoons. Since 1.6 tablespoons is almost 1.5 tablespoons, you'd be safe to use 1.5 tablespoons. In summary, begin with 1.5 tablespoons of your straight bleach, place it in a container, and then add water until you have 16 oz of solution.
Rearing monarchs in a urban environment is tough! And it's so sad when people cut/mow down milkweed that you know had monarch caterpillars on it. My city hosted a triathlon several weeks ago and mowed a bunch of milkweed along a popular trail in preparation, and then the middle school a few blocks away started pulling out all of their milkweed as part of their back to school landscaping. In both cases my 10 year old and I were able to rescue several dozen caterpillars and eggs along with quite a bit of milkweed before the mowers got to them. Now, of course, all of that milkweed is gone and my own milkweed supply has been decimated, so I've been looking high and low for more milkweed. Unfortunately, the only milkweed that isn't already claimed by monarch eggs or larvae -- I won't pull from a plant that another monarch caterpillar is already depending on -- is the crappy stuff that's covered in oleander aphids, brown tussock moth larvae, or spiders. Or powdery mildew, milkweed yellows, or some other fungus... Moral of the story: urban environments are challenging for monarchs and the people that love them and I will be planting a LOT more milkweed for next year!
These issues too with milkweed are why I try to give myself a cut off point of not taking in eggs after August is finished. The year I did rear just a few in September, the milkweed that was around even when I lived in a more suburban / rural milkweed area had more and more established pests on it, including aphids. That, and many of the plants were drying out/dying.
When the Wooward Dream Cruise happened last year, as mentioned in this video, I did look through what remnants I could to check for eggs, as cleanup was good, but not 100% efficient and some broken stalks were left behind. But, there were no eggs to be found. Great that you found what you did and are finding them food. It's a challenge, but perhaps some other milkweed sources are nearby that haven't been found yet? I'm hoping for you! Good luck! 🤞🦋👍
I can't tell you how much I have appreciated your videos over the years. A few years ago, I had a bad year for oe parasites and yours was the info I relied on for guidance on treatment. I couldn't find practical information anywhere else, and anyone who has ever raised and then euthanized a monarch knows the heartbreak. I have used your bleach method ever since and we have successfully reared hundreds of healthy monarchs. Thank you for sharing your passion and knowledge! We really appreciate your time and effort in teaching. Monarchs everywhere have a great ally in you.
That is very heartfelt. I appreciate those words much. I'm pleased to share what I can if it's helpful, and it means nothing without others willing to put in the time with it, so thank you as well. I'll continue to try and help, when and where I can. 🙏
My 4 year old son and I just released our first butterfly that we have ever raised today.We signed up along with other families to adopt a caterpillar at a monarch festival here in Iowa. Thank you so much for your comprehensive videos on monarch care. We wouldn't have been able to undertake rearing our butterfly without you.
I'm so pleased that the videos could help you out. Situations like that are their intention as well. And so very cool that you were able to help your son learn the value of conservation and life cycles! Bravo all around!
Thank you for this, and all your other videos . About 8 years ago we found our first Chrysalide on the underside of a broccoli leave and didn't know what it was. not knowing better we laid it in a container and consequently the Monarch we found the next morning had a deformed wing and never could fly. but he could flutter and lived apparently contentedly in a large tupper ware for 6 weeks. We named him Malcolm; he was our pet and we cared for him - took him on vacation with us. When he died we buried him under the big pine. Everything I needed to know I found on your videos ! thank you !!!!.............................
I now live in Amherst MA - ie western Mass - and find very few eggs in June or July - very few monarchs as well and the males outnumber the females. But early August I have better luck. So the Monarchs are not ready to fly until early September. Isn't that too late for pollination ? What is there to be pollinated ? I understand that that is the time of migration. But how do these late monarchs actually benefit farmers or nature. ( They benefit us humans with their beauty, and watching them cheers us up )
Again, thank you SO much for all your teaching videos and for caring for all creatures, large and small. Edith
Thank you so much for clarifying your bleach concentration! I had gotten some conflicting information from watching a few other peoples videos as well so I’m glad to have a tried answer true answer. I live in a very high OE area in Georgia so it’s very helpful for me. Great video as usual, thanks for all of the time intensive work and for continuing the inspiration for monarchs!
Very happy to help. Depending upon how much you want to make (and what measuring tools you have) the other videos might be even more helpful.
In the "Preventing NPV and Other Infections" episode, I show how to make one gallon of the solution (using US fluid ounces as measuring units): ruclips.net/video/2FE9646Z9xs/видео.html
And in the "OE Parasite Prevention" episode, I show how to make the solution in a 20.0 fl. oz bottle (using tablespoons as measuring units):
ruclips.net/video/oZYzzcGiZRA/видео.html
I hope this helps and I wish you luck with its effectiveness!
Looking forward to seeing how this egg with dead spores makes out.
He/She is currently at 5th instar and looking well. The episode's content is being filmed as the days progress. 👍
Love seeing new content! Been saving caterpillars and eggs for about 3 years now. This year I've only found 2 so far!
I appreciate that. I don't try to make new stuff just to make new stuff, though. I've tried to make each episode address something worth addressing. Still, no shortage on my list right now. Thank you for helping out!
I love to check more urban areas when I can. I am in the middle of nowhere, and can just walk around my yard and find give or take 10 eggs every few days. I love this series and how passionate you are about it. Keep it up!
Having options of sourcing leaves in urban spots vs. some more rural spots (or at least areas that have more rural fields, if not itself fully rural), I'll choose the urban spots. Even though the leaves might have more chance at pests, I usually can still find some good ones, and any eggs/cats I find are often arguably in the "doomed" category. (Obviously, not always, like the two in this video that had been doing fine and were left be.) I prefer if I'm taking in eggs that I find the ones that I know aren't even likely to have the natural 3-10% chance nature gives them.
Sounds like you've got plenty of Monarchs in your area. Good to hear that some are still seeing plenty, as it's been a rough year for many. 🦋👍
@@MrLundScience By no means is this year normal, as I usually start seeing them around late may but this year it was July 3rd. Took forever. But it was worth the wait!
I’ve got milkweed envy! The leaves on my Florida swamp milkweeds are tiny in comparison to yours.
If it gives any solace, I have reptile envy of your State. I certainly love Michigan reptiles, but Florida is AMAZING for reptiles!
Released my 11 and I had an egg dump the other day! 22 eggs and found 3 ready to J on my home milkweed and a 3rd instar on some swamp milkweed near a pond. Busy Busy!
Wow. Do you mind saying where you are? I am finding only an isolated few eggs in Ludington MI
Egg dumps can be fun to find, and always, a ramp up in work. Found 14 on some soon to be mowed sprouts at my in-law's this summer. They were all near by each other and black tipped at the same time - yep...egg dump.
Congrats on the success!
Thank you so much for a great episode! I've learned so much from you over the years!
Well thanks! Thank you for applying the knowledge. It'd be nothing if people weren't putting action behind it. 🙏
That was seriously exactly what I needed to see. How to bleach treat. Hands on. How to do it right.
I rescued an egg from doomed milkweed today. A fresh little leaf in a mowed alley. I will bleach treat it tomorrow. Ludington MI.
Glad I could supply it. Sounds like it was timely for a few in here! 👍
Good luck with the no longer doomed lad or lass!
Love the new video!!! Cool shirt! Looking forward to the update on the egg. Thank you.
The egg in question is now a chrysalis as of this morning. More filming is occurring as the days proceed. When the episode will be out is tough to say, as school will have started, but likely in September. (Please never quote me on that...the teaching world can be crazy busy!) And I'm glad you liked the shirt. 😃🖖
I've got a new subreddit called r/friendlymonarchs I started it because the current one is riddled with misinformaiton and the mod there didn't want help. Those of us that are very active link your videos to help others all the time. That is how I orginally found you. We would LOVE to have you on the sub for an AMA on there. It would be awesome if you'd come and answer some questions.
This video is great. I wondered if you could see OE spores on Eggs or leaves with a microscope. I appreicate your videos on that so much because my last brood was descimated by OE. It was so sad. Next season I'll use your method to raise a few. Thanks agian for all the videos even if you're not available for an AMA. lol
Greetings! I must admit, I do not fully know the world of Reddit, and honestly, don't exactly then know what a "subreddit" is. Still, I'm open to the idea, but please let me give some background...
I once attempted to join a butterfly group online that was specific to Monarchs. This was pretty early on and already, not a lot of people were doing much of this, but some were. There definitely were Monarch rearers before I got into this, for sure. In such a group, my opinion was being treated like an authority, and it should not be. I try to keep my eyes and ears to the science, but beyond that, I'm in no higher standing than anyone else. I don't wish to be treated like an expert, as I'm not. The more I know, the more I'm able to recognize how much there is that I do not know. Some may expect that I have more answers than I do. If it could be approached that way by those on there, that would make it easier.
The other part I should mention is that I am already equipped with a guilty conscience with how many questions/comments are unanswered on my own videos in the comments sections. (I'm certainly writing this for any others reading it too...) Back in 2014 and the first few years, it was fairly easy to keep up with every comment, and I did my best to. Once there were more videos, certainly there were not only more people watching them, but more places to leave comments. The number of comments grew to a volume I couldn't realistically keep up with. I had to decide at some point what to do, and have since tried to keep up with comments on a video for the first two weeks that it's out. (Luckily, I've also had help from others leaving quality answers to questions, which I see and appreciate. 🙏🙏🙏) So, there's a part of me that has decidedly stayed away from other social medias beyond RUclips and Instagram (I stopped messing with Twitter, though there is an account.) because an additional social media would give me another place where questions might land that I never see/answer. It pains me to leave questions unanswered, so I've tried to keep where they land manageable. I hope that makes sense.
In all of this, there's also the portion of being a high school teacher, and once the school year starts (which is soon) I'm pretty much owned. And this year is an intense one, as I'm beginning an AP Physics program at my school. I will be (happily) swamped.
With all that said, though, again, I'm open to the idea, as it sounds like something that would be a scheduled time/date situation (or do I have that wrong)? Am I in need of a Reddit account? What other details should I know?
@@MrLundScience Sir, your humility is refreshing. I would absolutely frame the AMA as you speaking from your personal experience only. This way you don’t feel the pressure of having to be an 'expert.' I feel the same way when it comes to learning about these topics. The more I learn, the more questions I have, and I realize I don’t actually know much at all. I try to help with what I can when others ask questions. We often direct people to articles and websites that are research-based and up-to-date. I think the appreciation for your videos from this community comes from how you deliver the information-you’re personable and informative.
Reddit is a website that hosts forums (subreddits) on many different subjects. The one we created is brand new and fairly small, but I would plan on letting other related subreddits know about your AMA far enough in advance. We are absolutely flexible on when this would happen and can also cap the amount of time you’re on the site answering questions.
There are all kinds of AMAs on Reddit, and I’ve never seen one where every question gets addressed. There are also moderators who keep an eye on things during the event. I would also add a bio when I post about the event. I can make sure to convey that you are a physics teacher who just happens to be a Monarch hobbyist that likes to make informative videos on RUclips.
You would need your own Reddit account from which you can answer questions during the AMA. If you decide to stick around afterward, I would suggest you create an alternate account that doesn’t give away your identity, to reduce pressure. I completely understand feeling a bit guilty because you can’t get to all the questions in your comment sections, but I think you do a great job of explaining things in your videos themselves. This would be a live, moderated event, and once it’s over, there’s no need to answer more questions.
Congrats on the new school year! I hope it’s a good one, and thank you for being a great teacher, both in person and on RUclips. I look forward to hearing from you.
@@MrLundScience Sir, your humility is refreshing. I would absolutely frame the AMA as you speaking from your personal experience only. This way you don’t feel the pressure of having to be an 'expert.' I feel the same way when it comes to learning about these topics. The more I learn, the more questions I have, and I realize I don’t actually know much at all. I try to help with what I can when others ask questions. We often direct people to articles and websites that are research-based and up-to-date. I think the appreciation for your videos from this community comes from how you deliver the information-you’re personable and informative.
Reddit is a website that hosts forums (subreddits) on many different subjects. The one we created is brand new and fairly small, but I would plan on letting other related subreddits know about your AMA far enough in advance. We are absolutely flexible on when this would happen and can also cap the amount of time you’re on the site answering questions.
There are all kinds of AMAs on Reddit, and I’ve never seen one where every question gets addressed. There are also moderators who keep an eye on things during the event. I would also add a bio when I post about the event. I can make sure to convey that you are a physics teacher who just happens to be a Monarch hobbyist that likes to make informative videos on RUclips.
You would need your own Reddit account from which you can answer questions during the AMA. If you decide to stick around afterward, I would suggest you create an alternate account that doesn’t give away your identity, to reduce pressure. I completely understand feeling a bit guilty because you can’t get to all the questions in your comment sections, but I think you do a great job of explaining things in your videos themselves. This would be a live, moderated event, and once it’s over, there’s no need to answer more questions.
Congrats on the new school year! I hope it’s a good one, and thank you for being a great teacher, both in person and on RUclips. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks for the update.
Those aphids! I have a ton on my home milkweed this year especially, but some of those plants you showed in the video were extremely infested. I think the poor ladybug already had a full belly.
Quite possible, yes. 😁
This is perfect; great collecting and awesome leaf treatment!
I just collected my first eggs today. I caught my mama in the act of laying and the pests in my backyard were hot on her tail. I was closer though, scissors in hand! Some were on Common Milkweed (leaves collected) and some were on Swamp Milkweed (stems with leaves collected), roughly 14 in total. 🎉. I hope to get everything bleach treated tomorrow morning, so your video is very timely. Thank you!
Adding on a question that I couldn’t find in previous videos.
How long can you keep processed leaves for the Common Milkweed in your refrigerator, assuming that cats will only take a day or so to chew through one?
Wow. I am only finding at best 2 eggs a day. And I am just learning to bleach treat too. Congrats on your find and good luck with raising them
You've got some eggs (possibly hatched by now), that's great! I'm pleased that this was timely. Once I've treated my leaves and rinsed, I keep them in an opened plastic resealable bag, stems/moist towels pointed down into the bag. That goes in a drawer in my refrigerator, and I'm usually going through the leaves faster than they every go "bad" or just bad enough. In cases where I might overshoot and have extra, I'd give a leaf no more than three days, and on that third day, if I have access to something fresher, I'll go there first. Also, though, I deal with Common Milkweed which has some larger leaf size than many other milkweeds. So, they dry out less quickly than smaller leaves would. So, my 3 day limit, I might reduce it really to 2 if I dealt with a more narrow leaf.
I certainly hope this helps! Good luck with your new caterpillars!
@@theuerlings1342 Keep up the great work collecting and bleaching…every successful release is a cause to celebrate! Always use butterfly cages, outdoors. I can’t stress that enough! Screens do not prevent tachinid flies, which are a danger at every stage of development. Okay, stepping down from my soapbox.
I ended up doing my bleach treatments three days after collection and counted a total of 19 eggs. I suspect I’ll find more eggs throughout the season due to my milkweed forest; those damn wasps, ants, earwigs and other pests can’t get all of the eggs, statistically speaking! Sadly, those pests DO get all cats that hatch. I have many leaves that have semi circle holes and no cat. Pest pressure is extraordinarily heavy on Long Island. With the duo challenges of fewer mature fields and more residential pesticides to control lantern flies and mosquitoes, it seems as if all insect life is squashed down to those of us who try to go native in our landscape choices. Lol, my landscaper thinks I’m nuts with the milkweed…🤣🤪.
@@MrLundScience Awesome and thank you. I guess it’ll be a learning curve to make sure I don’t overshoot what I truly need.
None of them have emerged yet, or even black tipped, but then we’re only 3 days in from Mama laying them. I hope to see them in a day or so though! I practiced the bleach treatment on the heavily infested leaves (ants/aphids/gnarly looking) this morning to get an idea of how to wash them correctly. Lol, found one egg, and it is now bleach treated and saved with the others. When these babies hatch, nicer looking fresh leaves will be on their menu.
Thank you for the encouragement and enthusiasm for the monarchs. When my family told me I was getting too obsessed with the butterflies, I reminded them I was a passionate conservationist. Many of the older family members remember fields filled with milkweed and butterflies…and then they realize how much things have changed for the worse. And it’s not only the monarch this year, it’s all other butterflies. The only one I see regularly is the Cabbage White.
Yesterday I found a hotel near me that had 600-1000 milkweed infront of it, did not find any monarch caterpillars yet tho
I've encountered similar situations where an entire large patch that could feed an entire army of Monarchs is eggless and untouched. I've had to learn that what looks good to the human eyes might be irrelevant to the Monarch Mom's eyes (and antennae). When plants are quite adult, certainly Monarch females may still choose them for eggs, but often do not, in search of younger plants, including new rhizome sprouts. The reason for this selection is still being learned about and debated/discussed (younger leaves are more tender for new hatchlings, younger plants have fewer established pests/predators, etc.), but it's fairly agreed, Monarchs tend to prefer the younger sprouts.
For these reasons, if encountering a large patch, I might first check the outskirts of the patch for the younger sprouts and check there.
Still, it's certainly reasonable this season, it may be, a ready to lay female didn't find that patch of milkweed.
I wish you luck with the remainder of the season! They're out there!
@@MrLundScience Thank you🙏 I actually saw a monarch near my house a few days ago which is a good sign
Awesome! Great news already!
@@MrLundScience I went back out to the milkweed to check all the smaller plants and didn’t find any monarch caterpillars, I did find a singular tussock moth caterpillar and am currently bringing it home, I have never raised a tussock moth so it will be interesting
@@MrLundScience After that last comment I left I brought home the tussock moth and went back out an hour later to check another milkweed spot and I found one egg which I now have brought home and set up it’s home
We live in Naples Florida and the aphids have taken over all my milkweed. Also the beetles this year have been like no other.
Very sorry to hear that. I'm finding new depths to how bad aphids can be. In recent days, I've seen aphids on plants that have been decimated even worse than what's in this episode. I've been able to manage my nine stalks, but it's not due to a green thumb, but more of a yellow one each morning. It's yellow after they thumb squishing. I wish you luck!
In my
I wish to help where I can, but I'm not sure what I am able to offer. If it's a case of the pests harming the milkweed plants, such as with the aphids, I know that if I had many more plants and was over run with aphids, I might have to select just a few plants that I have time for to "adopt" in my yard and try to keep aphid free. For me, I only have the nine or so stalks currently in the yard, so it's not a large task to rub off any aphids each morning. If I had a 1/4 acre, that'd be not feasible for me. I might have to just focus on one area to try and keep aphid free.
Some of the other guys, the beetles and the earwigs, while they aren't great, they aren't tragic on the milkweed either. I'd mostly leave those guys be on my larger crop of plants at the previous homestead we had, but also, I can't say I was ever over run by them, so perhaps your situation is different.
As for flies and wasps, though, they don't harm the milkweed, only the Monarchs. I don't really encounter issues with them due to taking the Monarchs into controlled environments. I certainly empathize if that's not an option, and recognize it isn't always for everyone. It's worthy of noting though, as that's really why I don't have other options to offer when people bring predator issues up. I certainly sought other options back in the day, and have continued to try to find others, but to this day, it seems physical barriers that limit predator access to the Monarchs are what's effective.
I hope that helps, and I might also be able to help with the "microscope info" request...but I'm not sure what exactly was meant by that. Can you be more specific? If you mean, how the egg turns out that has the spores on it from this episode, I can happily say, the lad or lass made formed the chrysalis today! More shall be filmed as the days proceed.
I have not experienced any OE problems in my area and hopefully won't any time soon!
Hey, will we get any more Herp Quest videos?
I am likely to make a Herp Quest video in the future, yes, though I don't see that happening this summer or fall, and definitely not winter.
I had a few eggs that turned dark but nothing came out. I dissected them and used 3 power magnification, and there were aphids in a couple of them, the others were just mushy inside. I guess I didn`t realize that the aphids were harmful to that degree. There were teeny holes in the eggs at the bottom. Have you seen this before?
I have not seen this before, but the primary cause would be, I haven't looked. Should I have an egg not hatch in the near future, I now want to see what's inside. However, I don't know that I have a fine enough tool to cut into the egg. May I ask what you used?
@@MrLundScience Xacto, with a new blade, now another issue that just happened, one of my hanging chrysalis` has a couple of cracks with a thin membrane over the cracks, so I can see inside and it looks like its filled with aphids, Some very strange things happening this year. Another is, about 10 hatchlings come out extremely tiny and die with in a couple of days. I feel like I`m cursed this year. No chemicals in my yard and I have an 8 ft. privacy fence, so no danger of drift from neighbors..
@@MrLundScience I used an Xacto with a new blade, I now have a chrysalis with a couple of cracks going down the side and a membrane over the cracks, so I`m able to see inside, and it looks like it`s full of aphids, I don`t know how to post a pic here or I`d show that to you.
Still have not seen any... 😢😢😢😢
Same here
N.E. Ohio
I have gotten a few. But many didn't hatch. I think they were not fertilized. It will be interesting what the citizen science info shows. I report to Monarch watch
I'm very sorry to hear this. The season still isn't finished, though. Not sure if you have the means, but, the more plants you venture out to check, the higher your probability increases. To find the eggs I do, I'm exploring often. Good luck to you! I hope things change soon! 🤞
Same. In Dallas. Neither we nor the friend I made recently with antelope milkweed have seen anything
Hello Mr. Lund! It’s been a while I think close to three or four years ago I came across your RUclips channel and became obsessed with raising monarch butterflies! I’ve raised thousands of them during the last 3 to 4 years! And it’s all because of your RUclips channel! But I have an issue these last couple weeks I’ve lost close to 10 caterpillars and it’s like they basically melt in the cage! It breaks my heart when they die no matter what stage it happens in! I wanted to ask you if there was some type of parasite or other bacteria infection that could be the issue? Or if you’ve had anything similar happened to your caterpillars? Thanks again for all your help and thank you for your knowledge. Have a great evening.
Wait, so it's not normal for milkweed that you find outside of your own garden to be absolutely covered in aphids and other pests?
I think it's dependent on your environment. I can only speak from my own experiences, and they are certainly from a Michigan perspective. Still, it is typical that in urban environments, because of more traffic of people and goods, more pests, invasive species, introduced species, etc., are typically present. More species have a chance to get a foothold too.
From my own experience, I can attest to finding this, though it's certainly not absolute. Where I lived before, I was on the outskirts of where urban was turning into more rural. Not exactly a "suburb" as it was just a neighborhood street and no HOA, but on the cusp. If I drove west 0.1 mile, it was urban, and if I drove 0.1 mile east, it was rural. In that location, aphids weren't over many plants in the rural fields and park areas I was going to for leaves. Don't get me wrong, as sometimes they were, and sometimes, they were a LOT...decimating a plant. But, it wasn't the norm, from my experience. In a crop of milkweed, I'd find aphids, sure, and maybe a plant or two with a lot of them, but plenty of plants without many aphids.
Where I am now, it is a much more urban environment, and the urban sprawl of metro Detroit goes on for quite a stretch. When I encounter milkweed in the urban sprawl of parking lots and other back alleys, they tend to be consistently riddled with aphids. Finding the aphid free stalk or two (or just not overloaded) is the rare find in the crop.
Now, this could be specific to the oleander aphid and Common Milkweed, and possibly something more general for Michigan and the midwest. I'm not 100% sure what the urban milkweed might be like in, say, Atlanta, and if they have similar aphid/milkweed issues. I do know, though, the bleach treatment will apply to any of us should we wish to use it for the addressed reasons.
I hope that helps!
Okay, I’m a moron, i tried to put paper towel down so if the chrysalis fell or the Monarch fell so it can climb back up, I accidentally knocked down a caterpillar on top of the pop up tent, it was finding a spot to J hang and possibly making the silk pad or mat, do you think the monarch caterpillar will go back up?
I am hoping you see this and are able to give me some advice asap. I found a pair of mating Monarch’s in my yard today but the male has died while connected to the female. She is unable to separate herself or fly. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Also when i do the math for the bleach solution for 16oz i get 0.8 is that in tablespoons?
Because you used oz with your 16 oz to begin the calculation, your answer will still have those units, so 0.8 would mean 0.8 oz. To measure that out, though, tablespoons can work. 0.8 oz = 1.6 tablespoons.
Since 1.6 tablespoons is almost 1.5 tablespoons, you'd be safe to use 1.5 tablespoons.
In summary, begin with 1.5 tablespoons of your straight bleach, place it in a container, and then add water until you have 16 oz of solution.
@@MrLundScience sense we don’t have any tablespoons or teaspoons i did milliliters and used 23.659