Well, it's been almost 2 years since I started this journey seeing my first catarpillar and raising it to my first butterfly. Currently, I have 3 large butterfly enclosures and about 7 medium sized milkweed plants. I see monarchs all the time and always take the baby cats inside my screen in porch so they're safe. About 3 months back I had my most successful 'crop' for lack of a better term. I had about 15 going at the same time. They completely cleaned my biggest milkweed. It was absolutely amazing and never would have happened without MrLund. Thank you MrLund and all the subscribers/commenters for all the great info.
That's a pretty invigorating story! Congrats! It can get very exciting at times, right? Much appreciation for your efforts in this, and interest in the Monarchs!
So glad to see you filming again! I watched so many of your earlier videos when I got started raising Monarchs years ago. I'm in Hudsonville MI in west MI
And I'm glad that they're still letting me, so to speak. As seen in this video, these four stalks I have are pretty humble, yet, a female still is giving me some eggs to help. ;-)
Good to see you back on. Your series on monarchs was a tremendous help in raising monarchs in South Texas. I get milkweed from a nursery it starts out beautiful but then ends up with tons of aphids. Could you do a video on ways to get rid of them without damaging my butterflies/eggs etc..
While it's not likely to be this season, I already have aphids in my crosshairs. I encountered them where I lived before, but they are much more prevalent in my current location. They are worthy of their own episode, I think. However, I have much to learn and then experiment with before that can happen. Thank you for your continued efforts in Texas! Those first generation Monarchs each season are so important!
I’m in central Texas and I was having the same issues, until this year. I have a couple varieties (common, swamp and butterfly weed). All of them collected oleander aphids. This spring I got 6 antelope horn plugs which are more native than any of my other options. So far I have not found one aphid on those plants. I have no idea why. I continue to fight aphids on the others. I spray with water when I don’t expect eggs and use a lint roller sticky thing to spot treat. Also, I order ladybugs when it’s not too hot.
I've lived my whole life in Chicago proper and we definitely have monarchs around! I planted my own milkweed and there are several community gardens and random people who plant it. I've raised 20 so far this year and so many over the last 4 years, and seriously, all thanks to this channel.
I'm so happy you're back! You helped me so much when I started my butterfly rearing 5 years ago. You have answered every question I had along the way. I'm glad things are working out for you.
Hey, thanks Kat! I appreciate that feedback. I'm always hoping that the episodes are useful, or what's the point? Not looking to waste anyone's time. Five years deep? Great to have you! Thank you for putting in the time and giving it a go!
Do I detect an allusion to a Planting Milkweed episode that had an allusion to a movie about baseball ghosts? Great to be back! Thanks for hanging with it!
Good to see you again!! You are the reason why I have had the most success raising these wondrous creatures. To date over 120 reared and released, thank you 🐛🙏 ❤
Hey, that's awesome! Those 120, their progeny, and everyone who enjoys them (including myself) thank you very much! Excellent work! Feels great to be back.
Welcome back! This was our first spring/summer raising Monarchs. We successfully raised 11 out of the 15 caterpillars we fostered. Your videos have been a Godsend during my new journey. i hope you're well, healthy and THANK YOU for your videos.
Hey hey, Joel! Welcome aboard! Fair warning: It is an addictive hobby, for sure! Glad my videos could help troubleshoot. I appreciate you rolling up the sleeves and finding good use of the information!
Greetings from Belleville, MI. Love your videos so much and happy to see a new one. Your videos have been a great resource for helping me expand my pollinator garden and raise the healthiest monarch’s possible. Keep up the good work Mr.Lund!
Greetings Kelly, and bravo on expansion of your pollinator garden. Those can be plenty of work and upkeep at times. I hope that you're having some visitors this year. I've been finding eggs in Metro Detroit at some random "gas station" milkweed. They're out there!
I'm happy to be back with the sleeves rolled up! And be they urban, rural, or all in-betweens, we'll get to forever one generation at a time. And thank you so much for your efforts with the Monarchs!
Our family just found you. Probably because it is our first year of discovering the amazing life cycle of Monarchs here in Minnesota. We hatched 4 this year and planted 60 new milkweed. Thank you for all your knowledge and help
Greetings Debra! I'm sorry that you're still waiting, but they are definitely out there. Admittedly, it can be spotty from year to year, but here's hope your way that they're soon to say hello!
Glad to see you back on YT, Rich! I skipped raising this year in favor of growing a ton of milkweed. I have seen lots of monarchs here landing on the milkweed, feeding on the flowers, probably laying eggs.
Thank you, Mary! Not raising Monarchs in order to raise the milkweed is truly helping them even more, so thank you for getting more milkweed out there!
Welcome back Mr. Lund!!!! Future topic suggestions: Best placement for milkweed. Identifying different varieties of milkweed. Controlling aphids, ants and other pests. Securing your plants from falling in the wind. Methods of seed gathering, and where to plant (regionally). How and when to plant milkweed seeds. What to do if you find an injured butterfly? Anatomy of the caterpillars and butterflies. A high school level explanation of what actually happens during metamorphosis. . . . Is that a good start?
Ha ha! Thanks, Grim! You've got a smashing list of topics there, and some excellent ones at that. Aphids have already convinced me themselves that they deserve they're own episode. They are constantly trying to hog the camera in my current area, anyway. Dealing with them isn't fun, and I'm trying to do some research on the options for handling them. Also, there may be reason for a "Pests and Predators" sequel to flesh out some of the others that weren't covered in the first, and to delve more into some new ones I'm encountering in the area. Further, I can also say that the anatomy and specific terms of the stages is already on the list too. Been wanting to delve into that for some time now. Hope things are well! And that's definitely a great start!
You're back!! I'm so happy to see that you're still passionate about helping the monarch butterfly. Your videos have been priceless to me and all of the monarchs I have been able to help thanks to you. I know many others who feel the same way.
Yay, Mr. Lund is back! Detroit area Monarchs are happy, I'm sure. We are having a super Monarch year on the South Side of Chicago! I've released 40 so far, and have another 35 in the pipeline!
That's great news from Chicago! It would seem like the Great Lakes area is experiencing the Monarchs in a more plentiful amount than the east side of the country. I'm hearing of sparse sightings and tough luck egg hunts from those areas. Many from Chicago are reporting like you are, though, that the Monarchs are saying hello. Great to hear that you're having a good season with them! Feels great to be back!
Thank you, thank you! It's great to be back! I'd return the emojis, but as I'm typing from a PC, you get an old school one...here's a skateboarder on his side: :[>--}-o
Great to see you back. I too relocated from a more rural area in Michigan to metro Detroit in 2022. Finding milkweed has been a challenge but I am currently raising 35. I learned everything I know about raising Monarchs from you. Thank you!!!!
Greetings Leslie! It has indeed been a challenge finding the milkweed, but I've found a few "hot spots" that ensure I'll have food for the numbers taken in. I've also been able to mentally keep track of which gas stations and other parking lot areas I venture have some random milkweed in them. And, I've found eggs at these parking lot stalks and shoots multiple times this season already. (Next episode will be showing much of that.) Congrats on your 35, and I hope your season continues to do well!
Glad to see you posting again🐛5th year as a Monarch Guardian (as the butterfly club calls it here.) Started with 5 eggs this year--two forming J today. We've let some milkweed grow under our side porch that gets a decent amount of sun because of how crazy hot it's been in case wild instars I missed the eggs for might prefer plants with partial shade. This year it grew through the boards and we found a fifth instar munching away. I shooed a katydid that seemed to be hunting it (which I felt a bit bad doing--but this year in central MA not as many Monarch butterfly sightings by far). I was worried about cross contamination if I brought it in, so kept an eye on it--recently it seemed to be scouting to J on the recycling bin's handle where the truck picks them up. Made a temp outdoor "safehouse" from a small cardboard box with bits cut out for a clean repurposed mesh onion bag over it to walk up if the cardboard proved too smooth. Put a milkweed clipping inside in case I guessed wrong about it scouting for a place to J. Within a day it was on the ceiling of the enclosure and looking to J. I checked today and the chrysalis seems to have formed well. So relieved! Thank you for being you. 😁
Greetings Linda, and welcome aboard! I'll do my best to do what I can, but now with some home milkweed established, I can certainly do a lot more. Cheers!
Greetings Steve! My students might change that to, "Lund's out, puns out." Ha! Congratulations on the pollinator garden! Those can take a lot of work, as we both know.
Hi Rich. Glad to see you are doing well. As I have said before, I learned a lot from you and have reached out to you with regard to the use of critter keepers in the past. There are many people who look to you for guidance but I respectfully disagree with the use of glass or plastic habitats. The holes in the tops of critter keepers can let parasitic insects in and small caterpillars out. However, the biggest issue is their use for a chrysalis and eclosing butterfly. Their tarsal claws cannot grip the plastic if they fall off the chrysalis. I encourage anyone who only has a glass or plastic habitat to modify it by lining the sides with tulle or paper towels. As you know, if they cannot climb, their wings will dry crumpled up. Mesh habitats are on the market and have been designed for this. Wishing you well in your new location.
Greetings Donna. I hope your summer is treating you well, and the Monarchs are plentiful in your area and saying hello! For a good amount of time, I was using plastic containers for caterpillar stages, but such containers were kept indoors, and thus, parasitic insects were never an issue for me. Also, such containers were only used once the caterpillar has reached a size where escape would no longer be possible. And I certainly agree, should a Monarch eclose within a plastic container and fall, it has a pretty low chance of being able to properly spread and form the wings. For such reasons, this is why I've recommended in many videos the relocation of the chrysalis. Still, those were the days prior to the outdoor capable mesh enclosures that you speak of became more widely available. Due to studies about outdoor exposure during development and the Monarch's ability to migrate, the majority of rearing I perform involves such tents. If you have not seen it, the "Outdoor Rearing" episode addresses the study, some of the elements you bring up here, and also shows how one can be used as a separate place to house chrysalides, giving the Monarchs a place to eclose, and mesh sides should they fall and need them. (I've queued the video to the time when eclosing is discussed.): ruclips.net/video/LjEgU0Ub5hY/видео.html I hope this helps with some of these concerns, but certainly, further recommendations are welcome! Thank you for your help with these amazing animals!
@@MrLundScience Hi Rich. I feel honored you have taken the time to provide such a well thought out reply. When I started rearing 8 years ago, I watched all of your video series and learned everything from your teaching. I purchased a critter keeper then a glass aquarium. One day I found one sitting at the bottom of the aquarium with crumpled, dried wings. I had to euthanize it. Sometimes experiences like this change us! It had an impact on me. Over the years I have participated in many monarch FB groups and would bring this issue up. All I got was arguments, "I've been doing it like this for X years, I've never had a problem..." Yeah, until one falls, then you'll have a problem. It became so frustrating I leaf those groups due to the toxic members. I just want to help the Monarchs, following your suggestions but I want to do it right and not create a problem, doing more harm than good. You have thousands of followers who look up to you for your guidance. You are known in the butterfly world for which I have a great deal of respect and admiration. Every time I see those critter keepers I want to cringe because I know there are people who will go out and purchase them. As you know, they are fine for caterpillars but not for a chrysalis to eclose. I'm not a big fan of hanging them as high off the ground as seen in the original video series. That's a big fall if they do, and again, they need to be able to climb back up to inflate those wings. I do not claim to be an expert or authority on any of this but this is one thing that is a non-negotiable rule in our butterfly group. No glass or plastic habitats. This could actually be a great topic for another video for you in the future. Not that you have time, but our group, Donna's Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary has grown to 3900 since July, 2021. We are proud of the friendly and supportive environment we have created. Bless you and thank you again for your thoughtful reply. Donna T.
Greetings Donna! These days, there's oodles of topics that could and should be done for episodes. It can be difficult to choose what to focus on when faced with the reality of limited time. Still, I think that you've brought up an excellent point that deserves some more discussion, specifically about the risks the Monarch experiences during eclosure, and how to minimize them. So, my prediction is, you're going to very much enjoy the next episode (likely coming out today). Along with some other topics discussed, the episode focuses on the outdoor rearing of the chrysalis stage, and ensuring safer eclosures. It's an episode meant to handle multiple items that needed more details, but it was also engineered to be one that you could easily use, should you need to point out some of the pitfalls of plastic terrariums. I hope you find it worthy. ;-) Thank you again for your efforts and passion with the Monarchs. And thank you for giving me some inspiration as to shaping some healthier eclosures for the future! Ever Forward, Rich
Congratulations on getting started up again with raising Monarchs. This is my first year raising Monarchs and your videos have really been helpful in making sure I don’t overlook something important. I stumbled into raising Monarchs accidentally as two years ago I had a milkweed start growing in a flower bed. Knowing it was some kind of weed I cut it down. Last year it came up again growing very rapidly and had expanded to several plants. Before I knew it I found a caterpillar eating a leaf and decided I should find out what it was. That’s when I found out about Monarchs and milkweed. The apparently fully grown caterpillar was gone the next day and I presumed a bird had found it. Now I presume it had relocated and entered the chrysalis stage. This year my common milkweed plants have expanded into milkweed forest composed of 32 plants that range in height from 3 feet to about two dizen that are over 6 feet tall. I drove to Pennsylvania and brought back 25 caterpillars and several, swamp milkweed, tropical milkweed, butterfly weed and the “harry balls” milkweed. So far (July 27) I’ve seen no migratory Monarchs, but I’m hoping to see some in August or September. One of my caterpillars came out of chrysalis last night (female). I released it this morning on a cone flower and it immediately exercised its wings and flew away. I was really hoping it would stay around for a while as I have over two dozen preferred flowering plants surrounding the area I released in. I’m setting up nectar feeders as a supplement before the rest come out in hopes they might stay in the area and maybe give me some eggs for the next cycle in August (Northern New Jersey here) Wishing you good luck at your new location!
Hearing people's discovery of the Monarch situation is always interesting. My accidental stumble upon the problem was due to researching things for the Science Olympiad team I was coaching at the time. Sounds like you have a thriving supply of milkweed! That's pretty awesome. I wish you luck with some eggs this coming month, but, it does sound like you have a lot of leaves to check! Good luck!
I’m so happy you’re back! You have taught me so much about raising monarchs. Last fall we released 14 during our first year as a Waystation. We hope to do more this year , awaiting end of Sep as we are down in TX. We have been looking at moving back up to WI for a while now so all my milkweed is going to have to change and I’ll have to learn all new plants.
Just like you said on IG, here you are. I’m sorry that dark time in our world dealt you such a blow. It will be so interesting to hear about the urban Monarch. I’m so excited to see you posting again. My challenge is simple. I have not had an egg lain on my milkweed since 2021 here in southwestern NJ. And this year, I don’t even have aphids. I won’t give up hope, but something has changed and it’s sad. No, no one around me sprays and neither does our borough. Thank goodness, we are 90 minutes away from Cape May, so we can visit them there if none show up here, again. 😢
Greetings Cindi! I appreciate your sentiments offered. I'm an ever forward kind of guy, so, onward we are! I wish I had a great answer for your situation, as it's something we look forward to, and it can be such a bummer when it's a sparse or even absent year. Taking a few absent years in a row must be frustrating. Despite that, there's others in NJ who have been asking some questions through Instagram who are finding eggs and rearing. Knowing that they are in your state and having some success is encouraging. Best advice I can offer would only be what I would do in your situation. If means allow it, it could be a time to see what nearby parks or trails haven't been walked or examined in a while. Is there milkweed there to check? Or, if you're up for it, doing as I have been and scouting "parking lot" milkweed that is growing in random areas. I have been finding 2-6 eggs each time I've tried to specifically find such random milkweed. If they're out there (and we know they are) they're laying eggs somewhere. If you're willing to explore for more milkweed, perhaps there's luck in the search? I hope so for you. At any rate, it's still quite awesome that you have the milkweed as an option and are maintaining it. And here's hoping, as there's still some summer left!
Glad you are back! Can't wait to see more episodes. I am in NC, and haven't seen any monarchs here at all. In fact, haven't seen much of any butterflies at all this season. Maybe the weather? Last year monarchs didn't show up here until late August, early September. For a couple years before that, there were basically two waves- Around early June, and then end of July.
I'm sorry to hear that. My sis is also in NC, and from what she's told me, it's similar in Raleigh. It's been a sparse years for others on the east side, too. I must say, I'm feeling pretty lucky for these four home plants having experienced eggs. I've had eggs lain on them four times, now. There's still time, though, and perhaps more sightings may occur in NC once the migration is in full swing. Wishing you luck!
@@MrLundScience well, I have to take my comment back! I just came back from being a week away, and took a quick look at my milkweed and low and behold, four small caterpillars!
Hey, that's excellent! The milkweed here has been tough to find, but still, I've found it. Can be sparse in some areas, but there's others that are encouraging.
So glad to see you again! Thank you for the BTS update! Your videos have been instrumental in helping me try to help the Monarchs! Can't wait for more videos!
Thank you much! It's great to be back in the swing of it, cleaning out frass each morning! Truly! Editing of the next episode is occurring today, so more is on the way.
Greetings Susan! So cool that you devoted such space to some thriving milkweed! Restoring habitat is the long term solution. Thank you for helping us get there!
Good to see you. It will be exciting to see how you raise urban Monarchs. This year I've been unable to raise any. Life has become a little hectic as such things happen. Maybe next summer. Love your videos!
I can certainly sympathize with the chaos that life can toss our way. Some years, we can focus on the Monarchs, some years we may wish to focus on the milkweed, and some years, we may just need to focus on ourselves so that we can continue to later, focus on the other two. When you're ready to pick it up again, I wish you luck!
Great to see you again! I’ve learned so much from your series! I loved your screened in porch, and I used that concept to house caterpillars the last two years…last year with a pop up tent, and this year with a greenhouse modified with screens and a sun shade for coolness and airflow. Sadly, no monarchs have come by for my milkweed this season. However my other species - the black swallowtail - has arrived in force. I would love for you to go over proper soil conditions for milkweed, as well as some of the leaf conditions. I keep half of my milkweed in containers so I can keep it out for eggs and then move it into my structures for caterpillar food. I have a lot of predatory wasps, earwigs, and birds which get the eggs/cats before I find them on my ground planted milkweed. Because of you, I raised, tested (for OE), tagged, and released 7 monarchs last September. I probably released twenty additional earlier last summer too.
Thank you, Anna! I've reared a few Eastern Black Swallowtails over the years. They are certainly fun! I'm a huge fan of the osmeterium! Proper soil conditions for milkweed would involve some chemistry in the discussion...so you know I'd love that. I'll see what I can find out. Congratulations on your 27 or so Monarchs last year! I'm sorry they haven't swung by your way yet this year, and I hope the optimal word in that previous statement is "yet". Good luck to you, and even if they don't show up this year, thank you so much for the planting and maintaining of the milkweed. The more options they have, the more hope there is!
Mr Lund science Everything that I know about raising Monarchs it's because of Your amazing Five Part Series on How to Raise Monarchs. I live in Chicago urban area there's plenty of Monarchs, I have a huge milkweed patch in my garden where I have been able to successfully raise Hundreds of Monarchs every summer. I also encourage my Public School and neighborhood to plant Milkweed for our struggling Monarch population. I plant Milkweed seeds whenever I can and I also save and transfer milkweed plants from being destroyed. I teach school children the importance of planting native plants and milkweed for our struggling monarchs and pollinators. Thank You so much and Welcome Back You have been Missed 🐛🌿🦋🌿🦋🐛🦋
Wow, Ana. Thank you for all that work of getting your community involved. I know that can be a daunting task at times, attempting to garner support. It takes some hours for sure, even when well received! And if you have successfully transplanted milkweed to new locations and they've lived to tell the tale, you deserve a merit patch I have yet to earn. I've never had success with that! Thanks for the well wishes and emojis. I'd offer some myself, but I'm replying via PC, and thus, my emojis are old school. ;-)
@@MrLundScience Thank You so much for replying it means the world to me. I can tell you how I learned to successfully save Plants after many years of trial and error and transplant Mature Milkweed plants.🦋🐛🦋 1-Dig out about 12 inches of white root system, milkweed root system can go very deep 4 ft deep. You don't have to go as deep as that obviously. 2- Strip off off All remaining leaves off the plant except the very top tiny leaves you need that for photosynthesis, and save for your hungry caterpillars, keep in very cold water in a Yogurt container then refrigerate in a zip lock bag for later use these leaves will keep fresh up to One week. 3- Grab a deep container with good drainage and good quality soil. Plant stripped stems a few inches above white roots with enough (leaf nodes) to ensure root production. 4- keep milkweed stems in a shady area always moist but never soaking wet. (They will rot if too wet) Fresh tender leaves will begin to emerge within a week or two. I usually transplant them into the Garden during late fall. I hope this can help you to successfully save and transplant mature Milkweed plants into your new garden to speed up the process so you can feed hundreds of Monarchs next summer. Best of luck PS I have hundreds of native seeds, perennials , annuals and milkweed seeds for Free if you are interested please let me know 🦋🐛🦋
There's currently a "Pests and Predators" episode which attempts to tackle the more prevalent ones in my previous area. However, in a new location, and also having not covered some of the other possibilities, a follow up episode may be helpful. As for the aphids I'm encountering in my new area, they are in such high amounts, I think they are worthy of possibly their own episode. I've got some learning and testing to do first, though.
Mr Lund, you've taught me SO much about monarchs. Your channel is fabulously informative 😊 Topic idea: What happens when a J hanger's silk button fails and they detach? Is there a way to help them safely form their chrysalis? Keep up the brilliant work 😊
Greetings Brooke! Okay, the good news: I have a potential solution for this. The bad news: I don't have a video, be it my own or another's that shows this. (I did try to, as I've seen a video of it before, but could not locate it.) What I've seen before: A woman showed how she had a J-hanging caterpillar that had not done a great job with the silk button, and had fallen. It was still seemingly in good shape. She was patient and monitored it while it was on it's side until it split the skin, as they normally do when ready to go into the chrysalis stage. Once the skin was split, in her hand, she allowed the caterpillar to molt off the skin, and she rotated her arm so that the caterpillar had some assistance in movement as it became a chrysalis to get the skin off. Once the skin was off, to help the chrysalis form, she then held it by the stem with her fingertips in a hanging way for about half an hour, until the proper shape had been reached and they outer casing had dried. Now, all that said, here is a different video I did end up finding that shows the rehanging of a chrysalis that had formed from a fallen J-hanger: ruclips.net/video/B1EgxN0z0bs/видео.html That video is essentially just a different method for re-hanging a chrysalis. Still, she does say that the caterpillar had been J-hanging, fell, and was able to form the chrysalis while lying on its side. Putting this all together, I myself wish that there was a video showing how the caterpillar was able to form the chrysalis on its side. I would certainly have concerns as to how the proper shape is able to happen if it is lying against a surface while it dries. But also, perhaps it can. The claim in the video also brings into question, did the video I had seen with placing the chrysalis in the palm of the hand, was the motion of the hand necessary in helping the Monarch, or, would it have been able to get the skin off on its own without the help? Still, from two different sources, the chrysalis is still able to form on its side, but it may take monitoring that the skin comes fully off, and it may also take hanging the fresh chrysalis so that it can take the proper shape and dry/harden that way. Final point: Here's what I would do, though... If I know I might need to let it hang in order to form the proper chrysalis shape, I'd like to make sure it was able to hang even before it begins to form the chrysalis. Here's my video on how to reattach a chrysalis, and queued up to the point where it's relevant: ruclips.net/video/mKFq5lYgT5Q/видео.html I see no reason why a fallen J-hanger couldn't be re-hung using this method, and allowed to form its chrysalis naturally. Whew! There's some options! I hope this helps!
Wow! This post has made my week! I really appreciate you taking so much time to reply with a wealth of info on the topic! In the couple of times it's happened to mine, I've left the chrysalis on a soft towel and rotated side to side, but they never formed their shape properly and died within a couple of days. I'm so grateful to be armed with more knowledge, should it happen again. I will refer back to this post in summer. Thank you so much Mr Lund 😊
Coincidentally, I had this issue happen to me yesterday. Some more good news: Next episode will show a successful re-hanging of a fallen J-hanger...I think it'll be exactly what you're looking for. (Some days of editing ahead, though.)
Thank you so much! Learned so much f from you been raising monarchs for four years just want to thanks thank you for all your videos. Very educational learned a lot.
Glad to see you are back on the air and producing more content. I started watching your videos awhile ago and learned a lot from them. I just released my seventh monarch today. I stared with 15 caterpillars. Three disappeared while still very small, two I mishandled when preparing to j-hang, and one j-hung to the side of the container (my first to reach chrysalis) and never emerged. I’ve released seven and have two more to go. I have three swamp milkweed planted in the backyard, which I have gotten all my cats from. I plan on planting more common milkweed in the backyard next spring. I have two local sources of common milkweed to get food from. Now that I’ve chatted your ears off, thanks for all that I’ve learned from your videos. I still have so much to learn from your current videos to be able to suggest any new ones.
Congratulations on your 7 so far! When these videos (or any others, truly) inspire people to devote some of their yards to milkweed, it gives me hope. Milkweed, after all, is the best way to help them, long term. It's also pretty boss that you have plans for even more milkweed. Certainly in the spring, you could plant more, but in case you wanted to do so earlier, I'll mention this: I planted milkweed sprouts once in late August, and with only August, September, and October to establish a root system before the cold lock of November took over, they still were able to shoot up the next spring. Bottom line, it's not too late to plant them now if you wish to get a year's head start on them! Whatever your choice is, I wish you luck with it, and thank you so much for planting more!
@@MrLundScience Released my last two for the season. Im not set up to rear them outside, so I'm done until next year. Lookin' forward to your next video.
Should I ever build such a small shed/facility, I absolutely would make a video (or two) about it and its construction. A reality in the way of that, though, is the current new home's shed needs a full makeover, including floor and roof. So, that project is on the list first. Still, the idea of building a small shed to house chrysalides in that allows for outdoor exposure has very much crossed my mind. And after repairing our current shed, I'll be quite ready to build my own. While I can't promise anything that far in the future, I'm giving it serious consideration.
Welcome back! 💗 I'm excited for this urban version of raising monarchs! I'm out in the expansive suburbs of SoCal. Would love to see how you handle all the pests. 😒 Lol... Also, pseudo-congrats on the move. I'm sure the whole new environment was much needed, unfortunately. I hope the new spot is treating you better. 🙏
Thank you! Life throws curve balls. I'm an "ever forward" kind of guy. So, I'm equally excited to, in a way, go through what others have had to do...try to apply the ideas I show in my own previous videos to a new environment, and see how well it goes. What innovations might spring from that? Not sure yet, but excited to find out!
Glad you’re back! This is my second year raising and I’m on track for releasing 160+ Monarchs in 2023. I’m sanitizing with 5% bleach and testing for OE. So far 85 adults OE free! Getting ready to start tagging in a few weeks. Thank you so much for your videos. Could not have done it without you! A topic I’d like to see covered is alternate food sources. I read that cucumber peels and pumpkin have worked for some when milkweed is in short supply. I’m fortunate to have several neighbors that grow alot of milkweed as well, and are enthusiastic about Monarchs and give me unfettered access to their yards. That said, I’m still curious if you have an opinion about alternatives and if you’d supplement the diet of your cats to increase the number you can raise while your own milkweed patch matures. Thanks again!
I do not refute this. As a video maker, you might understand why I won't be suggesting this one, though. Safety first! ;-) (But yes...I've walked the rails a few times on egg hunts.)
Dude, I have really missed you man. I have been super busy with raising of the Monarch butterflies myself. I have four caterpillars right now and each of them are in different stages of Instar, my oldest, just started to turn into a chrysalis yesterday and i had him for about 14 days, found it on July 12th. For my other ones i found two on July 16th, one is in the 4th Instar and the other is in the 3rd, so thats been 11 days. Then i found another one on July 24th and its in the 1st Instar stage. So yeah been busy, i just checked the one thats in the chrysalis form and noticed it fell off the stick it was attached to, so then we used a binder paper clip to attach it to a stick, hopefully it’s okay. I don’t have a ton of milkweed plants, we have a few in a ditch and 6 or maybe 7 plants on the side of our house.
Hey hey, great finds, Alex! Yes, that number of new ones to care for, all at different stages can certainly keep one busy. My milkweed, as you see in the video, is just four humble stalks. Yet, I've found eggs on them on three different occasions to date. The egg laying is on, so I'd check the plants each day. Good luck with the ones you're caring for and thank you for helping them out!
Thanks so much for all the help for newbies like us trying to help the monarchs I’ve raced 10 so far thanks all by you but now i’m encountering a big problem down south in Florida is hard to us to find milkweed so I’ve been planting them and racing awareness about it. But my new babies caterpillars 🐛 where running out of food yesterday so I decided to go to the local farmer to get some of them after a long search I finally found some . When I got them yesterday I was so happy but it’s seems strange to me when I got them they didn’t have any butterflies 🦋 around and no eggs or the yellow insects in there either. So I brought 10 plants home and put 2 of them for my caterpillars as food. Unfortunately today
Unfortunately today I’ve found several caterpillars 🐛 dead 😢 I think it’s because the milk weed I bought may be sprayed with some pesticides and my babies are dying now 😔. Do you or anyone in here have any tips for a case like this? I have 60 caterpillars 🐛 at home and it’s so sad for me seining them dying little by little with this situation
Nice to see a new video :) Would Pontiac have any pollinator boulevard initiatives? In some of our communities in Ontario, citizens have gotten together to offer to manage certain areas of the city/town and plant pollinator plants and ensure no herbicidal spraying and obviously no mowing.
I have some connections through our skatepark organization and the City, to the point where I would be pointed in the right direction as to who to ask. Once our skatepark is completed (which is currently being constructed and aims to finish somewhere in mid-August), they are looking to revitalize the surrounding parks. That's when I have some plans to get milkweed areas added to the park plans, and start such conversations. Those are my hopes, anyway.
There certainly can be those years. But, it has meant a lot to those 2! And, the season isn't finished yet. Perhaps more are on the way! Good luck to you!
Welcome back Mr. Lund! I'm interested to know whether you've encountered any issues before with the caterpillars fighting each other? I haven't actually raised monarchs yet, (it's a goal of mine) but I have raised Painted Ladies, and the last bunch I raised were quite feisty with each other! Perhaps this topic won't apply to monarchs, though, so no worries if not :) Happy to see you back!
Greetings RinRin! Let me first commend you on attempting to learn before jumping in. It's awesome when people go about things in such ways. As for caterpillars fighting, it depends upon how we are defining "fighting". Are we using the term as a physical fight, the way humans or dogs or birds might intentionally go after another? Not so much, though there could be rare occasions I haven't encountered, but won't rule out. If we were to say "fighting" includes unintentional injury, be it in self defense or just unwittingly munching, yes, this can happen, and the potential for it is greater with the larger the number of caterpillars you rear together, and how much room you give them. Perhaps more importantly, though, is to think about it in terms of stress for the caterpillars. Truthfully, caterpillars are not much like humans, dogs, or birds. In their world, they aren't likely conscious as to what is touching them, only that they do not like being touched. Whether what is touching them is a human finger, another Monarch caterpillar (even a sibling), some random beetle, or a wasp that might like a meal, they do not want to be touched and will treat it the same. By treat it the same, though, I do mean, they'll respond to it, and part of that response will induce stress. A little of that will happen in rearing Monarchs, as, a little or more of it happens in nature. However, we wish to reduce that stress, as it can affect the health of the animal. The more Monarch caterpillars they are reared with, the more often they will encounter each other, and cause each other a little bit of stress. Too confined and encountering often, this can lead to a lot of stress, and could become unhealthy. And while I don't wish to imagine it, I suppose this could be taken to an extreme where I wouldn't doubt that defensive injuries could occur. The episode on "Overcrowding" attempts to deal with this issue: ruclips.net/video/8HNTq7PEx9E/видео.html I hope that helps! Good luck!
Can I get permission to use a couple of your basic videos when I talk to various groups about the plight of the monarch? I rescue about 300 a year and now am trying to do some public speaking -hoping to educate more…especially kids. Susan B. I have learned so much from your videos. Thanks a bunch! 🐛🦋😀
That's definitely a green light, yes from me. As a science teacher, I use plenty of RUclips videos without asking for permission to help get the point across. My hopes for Raising Monarchs as a series has always been to create an effective educational resource that any could access. My thanks to you for your efforts with the Monarchs, and you can certainly use the videos as you see fit. 🙂👍
I am new to raising monarch caterpillars this is my first season. I had them in the tent on the back porch a contractor moved the swing I had the tent on and the enclosure blew and was in full sun. Sadly, the chrysalis are tangled up. I called all over trying to get help. The nature’s conservatory representative in Oklahoma where I am located turned me on to your channel. I have some work to do and you gave me options. I hope I can get all of the chrysalis hung and nit crowded. I was able to catch the monarch laying eggs then recovering the caterpillars. I made mistakes but learning. Until the incident things were going well with the exception of one. The lady I spoke with told me to not keep so many caterpillars in one enclosure and to nit keep chrysalis and caterpillars together. I cleaned an enclosure and moved some around. I still have to hang the chysalids that fell and are tangled up. I sure wished you were close I would so want your help. Thank you for what you do and sharing your knowledge. I am praying for my success. Have an awesome day! Wendy🧡🎃🐞
Helping Monarch’s successfully because of you in New Jersey ❤️ Here’s a question, there are crop fields near us and on the edge of the fields near the road is some common milkweed. We have never picked any of it because I am afraid that they may have sprayed the fields and there may be pesticide on the milkweed. The question is if we pick the seed pods and plant the seeds next year would they be safe for the caterpillars? Glad your back!
So good to see you again! You have definitely been missed. Can't wait to see your future videos. As far as topics, I'm trying to figure out a balance between bringing some in and leaving some out in nature. Is there a way to protect them a little when left out in nature? I am finding almost all of them get eaten by wasps or brown anoles. Many say that's mother nature, but I'd like to give them a little extra protection if I can. For example I have tried putting organza bags over the caterpillars while they are still on the leaves. There are pros and cons to it.
I’ve been doing just that for years and it works great! Just need to make sure there’s enough food and not too many aphids in which case I’ll move them to another plant. Here’s a walkthrough of my yard and you see the tents (paint strainer bags over a dollar store basket) about half way through: ruclips.net/video/jqzRvOqQoZU/видео.html
Greetings to you, and thanks for your help with the Monarchs! I think trying to find a balance is a very interesting idea to explore more, and may become a more needed option should laws change with potential Endangered Species Act status and protection. (And these changes could happen any day now, or, not at all, or pushed down the road a few years again. We're supposed to have an answer July of this year, and I'm typing this July 29th, still unaware of any news on this.) If protections are granted, depending upon what they are, it may be that organza bags or similar setups on yard milkweed may offer an option for protection that doesn't involve a "take" of the animal. If Monarchs are offered protections, many questions arise depending upon what those protections are, and what is defined as a "take" by those protections. I'm interested, what pros and cons have you found from your own experience?
@@MrLundScienceTechnically I did “take" the majority of these. I’ve had some OE here and wanted to be sure they got sanitized. I collected eggs over the course of a weekend, the one that aligned with them emerging at the window of peak migration in my area (Waukesha, WI). I limit my collection time so I don’t get overwhelmed and know that I have enough milkweed to feed every cat. I clean the eggs (thank you for teaching me how!) and they all usually hatch within a few days. I put them back out on the plants as soon as they hatch, about 3-4 per plant. (But honestly I couldn’t resist raising a small amount of caterpillars I found as well, so there will be some I didn’t really touch. I’ve marked them separately and will have to OE test and hope for the best.) Generally there’s a lot more pros than cons I can think of to raising them on living plants. The first week they are almost no care. You wait until there’s frass building up at the bottom of the bag and then you just open the bottom and let it fall out. (Free fertilizer!) Their food is always fresh and cleanup is super easy. It’s also inexpensive. Supplies are a plant stake, a dollar store wire basket, a paint strainer bag and a garden tie. Cons are that you have to be sure to remove any predators from the plant before you bag it. Trapping them in together = no cats. And you need to be sure to seal the bag tightly so no predators can get in. I found soft garden twist ties do the best job without hurting the milkweed. The one issue I have not been able to solve is aphid buildup because you are also sealing out their predators. I wash them off as best I can but they always manage to survive and multiply. I’ve found that usually needs to be addressed about the same time I need to move them to another plant. I tried less cats per plant so they would have enough food and I would not need to move them but the aphids became overwhelming so I found it works best to move them. By that point they are big enough to easily move. Not sure how you could skip that step so that might be an issue as well if they get more protections. But protections aside, I definitely prefer this method to constantly collecting food and cleaning cages that I had tried before.
Just remembered another con… earwigs. They like to hide in the folds at the bottom of the bag so you have to knock them off as you dump the frass. They are gross but they not in the bags so they don’t hurt anything.
@@MrLundScience I worried about the frass collecting at the bottom of the bag, so started leaving a small opening at the bottom to let it fall through. I thought the predators might still be deterred. Wrong. I soon found a wasp stuck in the bag. The frass still needs to be emptied a couple times per day. I have not let them go all the way to chrysalis yet thinking they would not have a good place to hang. My next step is to leave more hanging space and not crowd in as many leaves as I can. I need to work out eclosing room too. I'd feel the need to be watching more closely for eclosure since the bags are so much smaller than mesh enclosures. Time for more experiments!
I wanted to comment, I have been raising some common milkweed in pots the last 4 years, didn't know if they would do well or not but milk weed on the hill above us have people living there now, and the field beside us is not growing them now either as they no longer balel hay in the fall and trees have taken it over, but I thought about what ifs, and not a lot of root room for common milk weeds so I tried large pots and they have wintered over great, had some set backs from them getting eaten but this year they bloomed for the first time and have 4 seed pods! many plants in one pot.
I haven't tagged in a few years due to pandemic and moving reasons, but will be ordering tags soon. As far as previous years when I have tagged, I have not had any tags reported as found. (As their recovery rate is not high, I'm not fretted by this. Perhaps this year!)
Yea, me too, Ive watched many of ur videos, so helpful, I’ve been saving a question for you, if there is a monarch caterpillars on a leaf, and an egg on the same leaf will the caterpillar ignore the egg or go out of his way and leave it alone 🤔 💜
Greetings! The answer to your question can depend upon what stage the caterpillar involved is in, but in general, it could be bad news for the egg. A freshly hatched, first instar caterpillar will often turn around after hatching and instinctively eat more of the remaining egg shell for the added source of protein. Are such caterpillars, then, capable of munching on the eggshell of an unhatched egg? My honest answer is, I do not know, but I would suspect there's nothing instinctive to stop it, and the young caterpillar if anything, gets the benefit of more protein. Still, due to the small sizes involved of both the egg and 1st instar caterpillar, the likelihood of a chance occurrence like this would be pretty small. Once a caterpillar is at the 2nd instar stage, it's already large enough to eat an entire egg pretty quickly. In no way are they specifically seeking them out, to my knowledge, but if encountered while eating the milkweed leaf, the bonus dose of protein is not likely to be rejected, but consumed. It would be the same for 3rd, 4th, and 5th instar stages to, and once that size, it'd probably only take a swipe of the mandible, and the egg would be munched up with the leaf and consumed. Bottom line - while I don't suspect any Monarch caterpillar is ever seeking them out, an unhatched egg, if encountered, could be potentially snacked on, or even added to the dinner. I hope this helps!
@@MrLundScience WOW thanks for such a detailed answer, very helpful indeed, it’s so kind of you to take the time to answer my question, I’ll be watching for more videos, thanks again, 💜🫵
Glad to find your latest video. Location wise, I’m in HawaI’i so there are monarchs most of the time, as for me, I’m an avid novice. My question, I found a Chrysalis that is damaged towards the top., similar to a crack in an egg. Is there anything I can do to help repair it?
I'd love to know which milkweed type Monarchs like best. I have common MW that they love, but its very invasive. Swamp MW that I prefer, but I never find eggs on. I'm going to try & grow common MW in a flower pot & see how it goes. Thank you for your videos! ....edited for location: I'm in the downriver area of SE Michigan.
Hi Mr. Lund. So happy to see you back. Like many others, I started raising monarch butterflies, getting a lot of information from your previous videos. Could not raise them for a couple of years due to major landscaping work being done around our home. So with new garden beds I planted domestic milkweed plants from our local nursery, hoping the monarch’s would come along & lay their eggs & they didn’t disappoint me. However😢 I’ve run into a problem where I’ve lost 2 cats so far & 3 more are very lethargic. My question is I’ve been feeding them the milkweed leaves from the wild source & not my garden…due to supply & demand on my 2 domestic plants. Would that cause a problem & make them not want to eat & make them so lethargic. Should I just feed them leaves from my own plants. I’m finding, on average, 2-3 each morning. Don’t really want to leave them on their own, as I found a chrysalis attached to a boulder in our flower bed & it was covered in a spider web & needless to say the poor thing was devoured. Not sure what to do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Since you are looking for milkweed, maybe start a mapping project for locating it in Michigan and other areas too? Check with this guy, Steve Bushey, (article in Modern Farmer, "Meet the Milkweed Man on a Quest to Help Monarch Butterflies"). He makes maps. And is doing them in his area for Monarchs. He has a wwbsite, Map Adventures.
Greetings, Just! So...this comment occurred three days ago...how does the chrysalis look now? Let's face it, any black coloration occurring that early into the chrysalis stage is not a good sign. I'm typically a person who's willing to isolate such a questionable chrysalis (in case of parasite or other contagion) and give life the chance to surprise me, but go in with eyes open, chances aren't good. I hope that one result, though, does not discourage your efforts!
Is there any chance you could do an episode on where you raise them? I'd like to build or buy an enclosure and start raising them. I'm not far from you, near Flint.
Greetings Mike! It may be that what questions you may have are answered in some previous episodes. In the "core" of the series, Raising Monarchs Parts 1 - 5, I show in detail my method for locating eggs, taking them into controlled environments (containers), rearing them to adults, and releasing. Part 1 begins here, and contains links to the other Parts, up through Part 5: ruclips.net/video/_I5F4AHyQHs/видео.html In addition, there are methods of rearing the Monarchs in a setting that tries to maximize outdoor conditions, and one such method is explored in "Outdoor Rearing": ruclips.net/video/LjEgU0Ub5hY/видео.html These videos show essentially where and how I raise them. Is there something further you are curious about, though, that isn't discussed in these episodes? Many thanks for your interest in the Monarchs!
@@MrLundScience Thanks for your reply. It was mostly because of your videos that I started growing milkweed. I have quite a bunch now. No monarchs this year that I have seen in my yard, although I see a tone of them in my work. I think I'll wait till next year to start raising them at home. Thanks again.
Happy to see you back and creating more monarch habitat! Episode idea - raising monarch on living milkweed. I see your milkweed is too young for this method yet, but please check out the method I’ve been using for the last few years with great success: ruclips.net/video/jqzRvOqQoZU/видео.html I walk through my Monarch Waystation first, but you see the tents when I walk up to the house. I wanted to raise them outdoors to maximize their chances of making migration. I was also thinking the nutritional benefits of living milkweed could play an important role that’s been overlooked. My solution is cheap and simple. I’m basically just keeping predators away. I think it’s the closest to matching a wild cats life while still increasing the odds of their survival. Not to mention this has been less work both feeding and cleaning!
Hey, I think that's a pretty cool innovation. It may be something that can bridge the gap between rearing Monarchs, yet still not "taking" them, which may be something we need to be aware of should they receive ESA protections. But, you are correct, it might be a couple of years before I could test out such a method with my current home plants. ;-)
My mom lives outside Murfreesboro and loves raising monarchs. Her problem no monarchs eggs or caterpillars!! She walks thru Hugh fields of common milkweed and has plants of her own in her yard but alas none. I visited for 2 weeks from calif where we have good numbers and didn't see any the entire 2 weeks Any suggestions or advice u can offer? Perhaps it will increase as they fly south? On a different note best of luck in your new home+ I'm sure the butterflies are glad ur there
Greetings Mary. I definitely feel for your mother, having experienced years where the season can be very sparse of Monarchs or even seemingly absent. There's been seasons where people I know who have milkweed patches in their yards will easily take in about 20 eggs a year (and leave others to the backyard nature), but then will have a season where no eggs show up. It can be a shame, as it's easily something that we do look forward to. Other than more pollinating flowers, I don't know that I have strong advice on how to attract Monarch butterflies, female or otherwise. However, the season isn't over yet. Plenty of summer still, and the chance to find eggs. And yes, when migration is in full swing, there's definitely an increased chance in sightings. I wish her luck!
Nice to see you back and hear an update. My concern is it was not until the 3rd week of July that I finally found a few eggs this year. I am hearing from the subReddit on Monarchs many other people are in the same boat; they usually have quite a number in June but either still have not seen any, or are finding eggs/cats 6-8 weeks later than the norm. Except for the ones I released yesterday, I have not seen a monarch yet in PA. Any ideas what caused this; was it the fires in Canada? Will this mean I’ll be finding eggs/cats 6-8 weeks later in to the year than is normal? I don’t have a grasp on the generations, but if I normally am finding 1st gen in June, was the first eggs/cats I found in late July now the 1st gen or a later generation?
I have a screened in patio but it only gets sun in the morning. How successfully would milkweed grow in pots with only this amount of sunlight? Oklahoma City area.
Greetings! Certainly the species matters to some degree, but if we are discussing Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, from my experience, they are tolerant to both shaded areas and direct sunlight areas, and all in between. It's definitely worth mentioning, though, my experience is not with potted milkweed. While I can't attach a number to it, I would say, successful enough to make it worth testing out.👍
I can’t raise monarchs inside so I raise them outside. I cover the milkweed with 5 gallon paint strainer bags BUT I have issues. Most notably spiders will sting baby cats through the mesh bags. And somehow little tiny bugs get in and still eat the eggs. Do you have any suggestions on how to raise them outside with a better survival rate? Thank you!
Greetings Margie, and I'm sorry about your difficulties. I, myself, have zero experience with raising Monarchs without taking them into controlled settings. I maintain outdoor rearing containers so that they receive the most outdoor exposure, but still, without ways for pests or predators to have a chance at them. At the same time, I do feel that these methods that you and others are experimenting with, rearing Monarchs on home plants with a type of mesh bag over top, it may be something needed in the future. Should the Monarch receive protections from the Endangered Species Act (still being decided), and depending upon what those protections are, rearing in this outdoor way on home plants may be a feasible option that isn't considered a "take" of the animal. It's certainly something I'm willing to experiment with myself, but as you can see from this video, my home milkweed will need a few years before it is ready. I'm sorry that I don't have much advice in this realm, but having not experienced this, I'd feel pretentious to advise on it. The best I can offer is that if pests/predators are still affecting the caterpillars, I'd want to try for a smaller size mesh (smaller holes) and try to detect any imperfections in the way I was securing the mouth of the bag to the milkweed stalk. Likely the solution resides in approaching the problem not as the pest/predators being the problem, as they will always be there, but identifying the problem as that the pests/predators have access to the caterpillars. Investigating the logistics of what that access is would be the next step. I hope that helps in some way! Good luck!
What’s your success rate with a smaller number of caterpillars in this new setting? Like from the 11 last year were there additional that didn’t make it?
I'd first preface this with saying, as my numbers are so small, not much can really be gleamed from this, but, the year I raised just two, and the year I reared 11, all 13 made it to released adults. Thus, 100% both years. But again, with such small numbers, I wouldn't say they're worth much comment.
Greetings Tim and Karen! I'm sorry to hear of your milkweed bugs. To help try and find a solution, though, more info might be needed. What is the specific problem that you're experiencing because of the milkweed bugs? Are they in large enough numbers to be harming the milkweed? Or is it more in the category that you fear they are deterring females from laying eggs on your plants, or some other type of interference?
@@MrLundScience Thanks for replying, There were a lot of bugs, and they were destroying the milkweed plants. I cut the plants down to ground level and still had many bugs that were just all over the stumps. I dug the plants up and they are gone now. I did some research and found that the milkweed we planted are not native to Florida. When the heat subsides we are going to purchase some plants that are native to Florida. The plants were in their 2nd year and up until recently looked great and attracted lots of butterflies. We did get to raise some on our lanai and we are looking forward to keeping up the project. Really enjoy your you tube videos and you have taught us a lot. We moved here from Michigan, west side, Holland about 2 and a half years ago. Retirement is great, highly recommend it. Thanks again, Tim
Hey Tim. I'm not sure if you've seen the "Pests & Predators" episode, but I examine some of the common ones I had been finding in Michigan, including the Milkweed Bug. (Not to be confused with the Milkweed Beetle, which comes first in the episode.) It is here if you haven't seen it and so desire: ruclips.net/video/aae5Tkziex4/видео.html I haven't had Milkweed Bugs to the extent that you have where they are harming the milkweed beyond just a slight amount. Typically, I've let them be, but when the seed pods would start to grow, that's when I'd be more willing to look them over each day and "rub out" any of the Milkweed Bug nymphs in order to protect the seed development. It sounds like, though, you're experiencing much higher numbers, and that you've already tried what would be the recommendation in such cases and cut down the stalks as an attempt at a "reset". Perhaps there is more luck that can come from a native milkweed? I'm not sure on this one, but I do wish you luck with it. And while I doubt I'll complain about retiring when I do, I still love being in the classroom for sure!
I have 10 caterpillars in a plastic bin with a homemade screen top. Is this okay? The bin is 20” L x 15” W x 5” D. They are probably about 2 weeks old, 1 inch or more long. Thanks
It can always be tough to give a 100% definitive "yes" or "no" on housing of caterpillars and the idea of overcrowding. Certainly the dimensions play a role (appreciated) and the number of caterpillars and what instar they are in are factors as well. Two weeks in, they are likely 4th or already 5th instar. An episode that delves into this topic of overcrowding, called "Overcrowding" is here: ruclips.net/video/8HNTq7PEx9E/видео.html If you haven't seen this, it may help answer this question more thoroughly for you, and other questions amidst the topic. In a shorter way, I am willing to say that if the volume is as you say, and it's 10 caterpillars, as long as they've had enough leaves (surface area) to not disturb each other, and frass has been cleaned out often, I myself wouldn't feel uncomfortable doing such, though I would be more comfortable with fewer. I hope that both makes sense, and helps! I wish you luck with your ten!
Greetings Dawn! I have indeed found egg drops, from time to time. How many constitutes an "egg drop" versus an "egg dump", or just a lucky find of eggs, I suppose I can't say. Still, plenty of times over the years, I have found 6 - 20 eggs, all in some nearby stalks. In some of these cases, it could just be eggs from different females choosing a similarly appealing spot to lay. However, at other times it has been on home plants that I had recently checked, and thus, had knowledge that all 15 or so eggs had not been there just hours prior. Of course, there's been many times over the years I've found just one isolated egg amidst many plants I've checked, so that easily happens too. But if a female has found a place she enjoys, is undisturbed, and feels comfortable to lay eggs in, she may just lay several before taking off.
Two comments. I have concluded that if a "cat'' damages it's antennae, it does not eat. I have had some that their antenna gets bent over and it just doesn't move (doesn't eat). I have taken a tooth pick and unstuck some bent antennae and the cat activity returns to normal. Any comment/verification on this? Second comment, I have a cat which I believe is in 4th in-star that looks healthy, but is not straight. It bulges out on one side as though some one had taken a stitch in one side and that side has not released. I have segregated it into it's own enclosure, so I can track it's development (if it can go into "J" and then chrysalis), but wondered if you have ever experienced this with a cat and what the end result was. This is my 3rd year raising Monarchs - last year I only had two, this year, I am up to over 30 in various stages and have already released 11.
I've wanted too... But such a discussion and how useful it could be was hinging on what ESA decisions were supposed to happen in July. Those decisions, to my knowledge, haven't been made (or at least, news on them hasn't broke yet). Now we're in August... A Pop Status vid could still be made, but it might be a bit of a different feel than previous ones. I'll see what I can do!
Video suggestion: making small garden in your new space!! I’d love to watch that
Well, it's been almost 2 years since I started this journey seeing my first catarpillar and raising it to my first butterfly. Currently, I have 3 large butterfly enclosures and about 7 medium sized milkweed plants. I see monarchs all the time and always take the baby cats inside my screen in porch so they're safe. About 3 months back I had my most successful 'crop' for lack of a better term. I had about 15 going at the same time. They completely cleaned my biggest milkweed. It was absolutely amazing and never would have happened without MrLund. Thank you MrLund and all the subscribers/commenters for all the great info.
That's a pretty invigorating story! Congrats! It can get very exciting at times, right?
Much appreciation for your efforts in this, and interest in the Monarchs!
Rich, you will never know how happy I am to see everything working out for you..............and new monarch videos too.
I appreciate the heartfelt sentiment. I'm certainly pleased to be back at it. 😊
So glad to see you filming again! I watched so many of your earlier videos when I got started raising Monarchs years ago. I'm in Hudsonville MI in west MI
Why thank you. Very cool DIY projects on your channel. I'll have to peruse more.
Yay, Rich! So nice to see you back. Yep, the pandemic was a weird time. Glad you made it through.
Hey, thank you much! A crazy time indeed, and with plenty new things unfolding because of it. Gotta make it through, as the Monarchs still need help.
I'm so excited to see you back! You've been missed!
🙏 Thank you, Ashley! It's good to be back!
Yay!!! You’re back!! I’m so glad to see you’re still raising monarchs!!
And I'm glad that they're still letting me, so to speak. As seen in this video, these four stalks I have are pretty humble, yet, a female still is giving me some eggs to help. ;-)
Good to see you're still raising Monarchs.look forward to more of your tips.
Many thanks! I'll do my best for ya!
Good to see you back on. Your series on monarchs was a tremendous help in raising monarchs in South Texas. I get milkweed from a nursery it starts out beautiful but then ends up with tons of aphids. Could you do a video on ways to get rid of them without damaging my butterflies/eggs etc..
While it's not likely to be this season, I already have aphids in my crosshairs. I encountered them where I lived before, but they are much more prevalent in my current location. They are worthy of their own episode, I think. However, I have much to learn and then experiment with before that can happen. Thank you for your continued efforts in Texas! Those first generation Monarchs each season are so important!
I’m in central Texas and I was having the same issues, until this year. I have a couple varieties (common, swamp and butterfly weed). All of them collected oleander aphids. This spring I got 6 antelope horn plugs which are more native than any of my other options. So far I have not found one aphid on those plants. I have no idea why. I continue to fight aphids on the others. I spray with water when I don’t expect eggs and use a lint roller sticky thing to spot treat. Also, I order ladybugs when it’s not too hot.
I've lived my whole life in Chicago proper and we definitely have monarchs around! I planted my own milkweed and there are several community gardens and random people who plant it. I've raised 20 so far this year and so many over the last 4 years, and seriously, all thanks to this channel.
I'm very pleased that these videos could help inspire such. Congrats on your years put in and the Monarchs you've helped. The Windy City is awesome!
I'm so happy you're back! You helped me so much when I started my butterfly rearing 5 years ago. You have answered every question I had along the way. I'm glad things are working out for you.
Hey, thanks Kat! I appreciate that feedback. I'm always hoping that the episodes are useful, or what's the point? Not looking to waste anyone's time. Five years deep? Great to have you! Thank you for putting in the time and giving it a go!
Plant it and they will come . . ., Good to see you back, and thank you for your informative videos
Do I detect an allusion to a Planting Milkweed episode that had an allusion to a movie about baseball ghosts?
Great to be back! Thanks for hanging with it!
Good to see you again!! You are the reason why I have had the most success raising these wondrous creatures. To date over 120 reared and released, thank you 🐛🙏 ❤
Hey, that's awesome! Those 120, their progeny, and everyone who enjoys them (including myself) thank you very much! Excellent work! Feels great to be back.
Welcome back! This was our first spring/summer raising Monarchs. We successfully raised 11 out of the 15 caterpillars we fostered. Your videos have been a Godsend during my new journey. i hope you're well, healthy and THANK YOU for your videos.
Hey hey, Joel! Welcome aboard! Fair warning: It is an addictive hobby, for sure! Glad my videos could help troubleshoot. I appreciate you rolling up the sleeves and finding good use of the information!
Greetings from Belleville, MI. Love your videos so much and happy to see a new one. Your videos have been a great resource for helping me expand my pollinator garden and raise the healthiest monarch’s possible. Keep up the good work Mr.Lund!
Greetings Kelly, and bravo on expansion of your pollinator garden. Those can be plenty of work and upkeep at times. I hope that you're having some visitors this year. I've been finding eggs in Metro Detroit at some random "gas station" milkweed. They're out there!
Glad to see you again. Downtown Columbus OH here, yup we have milkweed and monarchs visiting us frequently. Urban monarchs forever!
I'm happy to be back with the sleeves rolled up! And be they urban, rural, or all in-betweens, we'll get to forever one generation at a time. And thank you so much for your efforts with the Monarchs!
Our family just found you. Probably because it is our first year of discovering the amazing life cycle of Monarchs here in Minnesota. We hatched 4 this year and planted 60 new milkweed. Thank you for all your knowledge and help
Glad to see you're back!
Great to be back, Stephen! I hope your season has been well!
Wonderful to see you again... I've learned so much from you...N.E. OHIO I'm still waiting😢
Greetings Debra! I'm sorry that you're still waiting, but they are definitely out there. Admittedly, it can be spotty from year to year, but here's hope your way that they're soon to say hello!
Glad to see you back on YT, Rich! I skipped raising this year in favor of growing a ton of milkweed. I have seen lots of monarchs here landing on the milkweed, feeding on the flowers, probably laying eggs.
Thank you, Mary! Not raising Monarchs in order to raise the milkweed is truly helping them even more, so thank you for getting more milkweed out there!
Welcome back Mr. Lund!!!! Future topic suggestions: Best placement for milkweed. Identifying different varieties of milkweed. Controlling aphids, ants and other pests. Securing your plants from falling in the wind. Methods of seed gathering, and where to plant (regionally). How and when to plant milkweed seeds. What to do if you find an injured butterfly? Anatomy of the caterpillars and butterflies. A high school level explanation of what actually happens during metamorphosis. . . . Is that a good start?
Ha ha! Thanks, Grim! You've got a smashing list of topics there, and some excellent ones at that. Aphids have already convinced me themselves that they deserve they're own episode. They are constantly trying to hog the camera in my current area, anyway. Dealing with them isn't fun, and I'm trying to do some research on the options for handling them. Also, there may be reason for a "Pests and Predators" sequel to flesh out some of the others that weren't covered in the first, and to delve more into some new ones I'm encountering in the area. Further, I can also say that the anatomy and specific terms of the stages is already on the list too. Been wanting to delve into that for some time now.
Hope things are well! And that's definitely a great start!
Great video ideas! Same questions we have!
You're back!! I'm so happy to see that you're still passionate about helping the monarch butterfly. Your videos have been priceless to me and all of the monarchs I have been able to help thanks to you. I know many others who feel the same way.
Yay, Mr. Lund is back! Detroit area Monarchs are happy, I'm sure. We are having a super Monarch year on the South Side of Chicago! I've released 40 so far, and have another 35 in the pipeline!
That's great news from Chicago! It would seem like the Great Lakes area is experiencing the Monarchs in a more plentiful amount than the east side of the country. I'm hearing of sparse sightings and tough luck egg hunts from those areas. Many from Chicago are reporting like you are, though, that the Monarchs are saying hello. Great to hear that you're having a good season with them! Feels great to be back!
What great timing for us that you are BACK! Welcome back! ~Chantal and Hildi in Grand Rapids.
Happy to oblige! Great to be back Chantal and Hildi!
Great to see you back! 💚🌱🐛🐛🐛🌱🌱🌱🐛🐛🐛💚
Thank you, thank you! It's great to be back!
I'd return the emojis, but as I'm typing from a PC, you get an old school one...here's a skateboarder on his side: :[>--}-o
@@MrLundScience Noice! :D
Great to see you back. I too relocated from a more rural area in Michigan to metro Detroit in 2022. Finding milkweed has been a challenge but I am currently raising 35. I learned everything I know about raising Monarchs from you. Thank you!!!!
Greetings Leslie! It has indeed been a challenge finding the milkweed, but I've found a few "hot spots" that ensure I'll have food for the numbers taken in. I've also been able to mentally keep track of which gas stations and other parking lot areas I venture have some random milkweed in them. And, I've found eggs at these parking lot stalks and shoots multiple times this season already. (Next episode will be showing much of that.)
Congrats on your 35, and I hope your season continues to do well!
Glad to see you posting again🐛5th year as a Monarch Guardian (as the butterfly club calls it here.)
Started with 5 eggs this year--two forming J today. We've let some milkweed grow under our side porch that gets a decent amount of sun because of how crazy hot it's been in case wild instars I missed the eggs for might prefer plants with partial shade. This year it grew through the boards and we found a fifth instar munching away. I shooed a katydid that seemed to be hunting it (which I felt a bit bad doing--but this year in central MA not as many Monarch butterfly sightings by far). I was worried about cross contamination if I brought it in, so kept an eye on it--recently it seemed to be scouting to J on the recycling bin's handle where the truck picks them up. Made a temp outdoor "safehouse" from a small cardboard box with bits cut out for a clean repurposed mesh onion bag over it to walk up if the cardboard proved too smooth. Put a milkweed clipping inside in case I guessed wrong about it scouting for a place to J. Within a day it was on the ceiling of the enclosure and looking to J. I checked today and the chrysalis seems to have formed well. So relieved!
Thank you for being you. 😁
Glad to see you back. Looking forward to your updates.
Happy to supply them! There's definitely topics now and on the horizon to flesh out, so we'll see what I can do this season. Feels great to be back!
So happy to so you back supporting the Monarchs and us who are trying our best to help them. Thanks so much from a new Monarch Mama in Grand Blanc.
Greetings Linda, and welcome aboard! I'll do my best to do what I can, but now with some home milkweed established, I can certainly do a lot more. Cheers!
Sun's out Lund's out! Nice to see you again. You got my pollinator garden/ butterfly journey started and it's been transformative. Thank you.
Greetings Steve! My students might change that to, "Lund's out, puns out." Ha! Congratulations on the pollinator garden! Those can take a lot of work, as we both know.
@@MrLundScienceI bet your students love you and your passion for science and teaching it.
So excited to see you back!!!!! I`ve learned so much from you and passed on the info to new people
Many thanks, Sandy! It's great to be back! Got some new footage yesterday, in fact.
Hi Rich. Glad to see you are doing well. As I have said before, I learned a lot from you and have reached out to you with regard to the use of critter keepers in the past. There are many people who look to you for guidance but I respectfully disagree with the use of glass or plastic habitats. The holes in the tops of critter keepers can let parasitic insects in and small caterpillars out. However, the biggest issue is their use for a chrysalis and eclosing butterfly. Their tarsal claws cannot grip the plastic if they fall off the chrysalis. I encourage anyone who only has a glass or plastic habitat to modify it by lining the sides with tulle or paper towels. As you know, if they cannot climb, their wings will dry crumpled up. Mesh habitats are on the market and have been designed for this. Wishing you well in your new location.
Greetings Donna. I hope your summer is treating you well, and the Monarchs are plentiful in your area and saying hello!
For a good amount of time, I was using plastic containers for caterpillar stages, but such containers were kept indoors, and thus, parasitic insects were never an issue for me. Also, such containers were only used once the caterpillar has reached a size where escape would no longer be possible. And I certainly agree, should a Monarch eclose within a plastic container and fall, it has a pretty low chance of being able to properly spread and form the wings. For such reasons, this is why I've recommended in many videos the relocation of the chrysalis.
Still, those were the days prior to the outdoor capable mesh enclosures that you speak of became more widely available. Due to studies about outdoor exposure during development and the Monarch's ability to migrate, the majority of rearing I perform involves such tents.
If you have not seen it, the "Outdoor Rearing" episode addresses the study, some of the elements you bring up here, and also shows how one can be used as a separate place to house chrysalides, giving the Monarchs a place to eclose, and mesh sides should they fall and need them. (I've queued the video to the time when eclosing is discussed.): ruclips.net/video/LjEgU0Ub5hY/видео.html
I hope this helps with some of these concerns, but certainly, further recommendations are welcome!
Thank you for your help with these amazing animals!
@@MrLundScience Hi Rich. I feel honored you have taken the time to provide such a well thought out reply. When I started rearing 8 years ago, I watched all of your video series and learned everything from your teaching. I purchased a critter keeper then a glass aquarium. One day I found one sitting at the bottom of the aquarium with crumpled, dried wings. I had to euthanize it. Sometimes experiences like this change us! It had an impact on me.
Over the years I have participated in many monarch FB groups and would bring this issue up. All I got was arguments, "I've been doing it like this for X years, I've never had a problem..." Yeah, until one falls, then you'll have a problem. It became so frustrating I leaf those groups due to the toxic members. I just want to help the Monarchs, following your suggestions but I want to do it right and not create a problem, doing more harm than good.
You have thousands of followers who look up to you for your guidance. You are known in the butterfly world for which I have a great deal of respect and admiration. Every time I see those critter keepers I want to cringe because I know there are people who will go out and purchase them. As you know, they are fine for caterpillars but not for a chrysalis to eclose. I'm not a big fan of hanging them as high off the ground as seen in the original video series. That's a big fall if they do, and again, they need to be able to climb back up to inflate those wings.
I do not claim to be an expert or authority on any of this but this is one thing that is a non-negotiable rule in our butterfly group. No glass or plastic habitats. This could actually be a great topic for another video for you in the future.
Not that you have time, but our group, Donna's Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary has grown to 3900 since July, 2021. We are proud of the friendly and supportive environment we have created.
Bless you and thank you again for your thoughtful reply. Donna T.
Greetings Donna!
These days, there's oodles of topics that could and should be done for episodes. It can be difficult to choose what to focus on when faced with the reality of limited time. Still, I think that you've brought up an excellent point that deserves some more discussion, specifically about the risks the Monarch experiences during eclosure, and how to minimize them. So, my prediction is, you're going to very much enjoy the next episode (likely coming out today).
Along with some other topics discussed, the episode focuses on the outdoor rearing of the chrysalis stage, and ensuring safer eclosures. It's an episode meant to handle multiple items that needed more details, but it was also engineered to be one that you could easily use, should you need to point out some of the pitfalls of plastic terrariums. I hope you find it worthy. ;-)
Thank you again for your efforts and passion with the Monarchs. And thank you for giving me some inspiration as to shaping some healthier eclosures for the future!
Ever Forward,
Rich
Awesome Mr Rich!! I just got 24 common milkweed plants planted. Wish me luck. 👍👍
24 is a beautiful number, as it is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 (and 1 and itself, of course)! Good luck!
@@MrLundScience Thanks!
Congratulations on getting started up again with raising Monarchs. This is my first year raising Monarchs and your videos have really been helpful in making sure I don’t overlook something important. I stumbled into raising Monarchs accidentally as two years ago I had a milkweed start growing in a flower bed. Knowing it was some kind of weed I cut it down. Last year it came up again growing very rapidly and had expanded to several plants. Before I knew it I found a caterpillar eating a leaf and decided I should find out what it was. That’s when I found out about Monarchs and milkweed. The apparently fully grown caterpillar was gone the next day and I presumed a bird had found it. Now I presume it had relocated and entered the chrysalis stage.
This year my common milkweed plants have expanded into milkweed forest composed of 32 plants that range in height from 3 feet to about two dizen that are over 6 feet tall. I drove to Pennsylvania and brought back 25 caterpillars and several, swamp milkweed, tropical milkweed, butterfly weed and the “harry balls” milkweed. So far (July 27) I’ve seen no migratory Monarchs, but I’m hoping to see some in August or September. One of my caterpillars came out of chrysalis last night (female). I released it this morning on a cone flower and it immediately exercised its wings and flew away. I was really hoping it would stay around for a while as I have over two dozen preferred flowering plants surrounding the area I released in. I’m setting up nectar feeders as a supplement before the rest come out in hopes they might stay in the area and maybe give me some eggs for the next cycle in August (Northern New Jersey here)
Wishing you good luck at your new location!
Hearing people's discovery of the Monarch situation is always interesting. My accidental stumble upon the problem was due to researching things for the Science Olympiad team I was coaching at the time.
Sounds like you have a thriving supply of milkweed! That's pretty awesome. I wish you luck with some eggs this coming month, but, it does sound like you have a lot of leaves to check! Good luck!
Hey, nice to hear from you!!
Many thanks! Great to be back!
Good to see you back, Rich!
Great to be back, Kris! Cool to see you around these parts, as well!
I’m so happy you’re back! You have taught me so much about raising monarchs. Last fall we released 14 during our first year as a Waystation. We hope to do more this year , awaiting end of Sep as we are down in TX. We have been looking at moving back up to WI for a while now so all my milkweed is going to have to change and I’ll have to learn all new plants.
Just like you said on IG, here you are. I’m sorry that dark time in our world dealt you such a blow. It will be so interesting to hear about the urban Monarch. I’m so excited to see you posting again. My challenge is simple. I have not had an egg lain on my milkweed since 2021 here in southwestern NJ. And this year, I don’t even have aphids. I won’t give up hope, but something has changed and it’s sad. No, no one around me sprays and neither does our borough. Thank goodness, we are 90 minutes away from Cape May, so we can visit them there if none show up here, again. 😢
Greetings Cindi! I appreciate your sentiments offered. I'm an ever forward kind of guy, so, onward we are!
I wish I had a great answer for your situation, as it's something we look forward to, and it can be such a bummer when it's a sparse or even absent year. Taking a few absent years in a row must be frustrating. Despite that, there's others in NJ who have been asking some questions through Instagram who are finding eggs and rearing. Knowing that they are in your state and having some success is encouraging. Best advice I can offer would only be what I would do in your situation. If means allow it, it could be a time to see what nearby parks or trails haven't been walked or examined in a while. Is there milkweed there to check? Or, if you're up for it, doing as I have been and scouting "parking lot" milkweed that is growing in random areas. I have been finding 2-6 eggs each time I've tried to specifically find such random milkweed.
If they're out there (and we know they are) they're laying eggs somewhere. If you're willing to explore for more milkweed, perhaps there's luck in the search? I hope so for you. At any rate, it's still quite awesome that you have the milkweed as an option and are maintaining it. And here's hoping, as there's still some summer left!
Glad you are back! Can't wait to see more episodes. I am in NC, and haven't seen any monarchs here at all. In fact, haven't seen much of any butterflies at all this season. Maybe the weather? Last year monarchs didn't show up here until late August, early September. For a couple years before that, there were basically two waves- Around early June, and then end of July.
I'm sorry to hear that. My sis is also in NC, and from what she's told me, it's similar in Raleigh. It's been a sparse years for others on the east side, too. I must say, I'm feeling pretty lucky for these four home plants having experienced eggs. I've had eggs lain on them four times, now.
There's still time, though, and perhaps more sightings may occur in NC once the migration is in full swing. Wishing you luck!
@@MrLundScience well, I have to take my comment back! I just came back from being a week away, and took a quick look at my milkweed and low and behold, four small caterpillars!
Ha! I moved to GR Michigan and I am finding a lot of urban monarchs. And a lot of milkweed around. Happy to report.
Hey, that's excellent! The milkweed here has been tough to find, but still, I've found it. Can be sparse in some areas, but there's others that are encouraging.
So glad to see you again! Thank you for the BTS update! Your videos have been instrumental in helping me try to help the Monarchs! Can't wait for more videos!
Thank you much! It's great to be back in the swing of it, cleaning out frass each morning! Truly! Editing of the next episode is occurring today, so more is on the way.
It's nice to see you back!
Many thanks, Alicia! Feels great to be back!
You're back, because of your videos I have two mega milkweed patches. Helping Monarch butterflies here in Northern Ohio.
Greetings Susan! So cool that you devoted such space to some thriving milkweed! Restoring habitat is the long term solution. Thank you for helping us get there!
Good to see you. It will be exciting to see how you raise urban Monarchs. This year I've been unable to raise any. Life has become a little hectic as such things happen. Maybe next summer. Love your videos!
I can certainly sympathize with the chaos that life can toss our way. Some years, we can focus on the Monarchs, some years we may wish to focus on the milkweed, and some years, we may just need to focus on ourselves so that we can continue to later, focus on the other two. When you're ready to pick it up again, I wish you luck!
@@MrLundScience You as well. Thank you.
Great to see you are still raising Monarchs and that you have moved on. Smile looks good on you. From
Florida.
Thank you, Tracy. The Monarchs and those supporting them, such as yourself, shall keep the smile right where it is. Ever Forward!
Great to see you again! I’ve learned so much from your series!
I loved your screened in porch, and I used that concept to house caterpillars the last two years…last year with a pop up tent, and this year with a greenhouse modified with screens and a sun shade for coolness and airflow. Sadly, no monarchs have come by for my milkweed this season. However my other species - the black swallowtail - has arrived in force.
I would love for you to go over proper soil conditions for milkweed, as well as some of the leaf conditions. I keep half of my milkweed in containers so I can keep it out for eggs and then move it into my structures for caterpillar food. I have a lot of predatory wasps, earwigs, and birds which get the eggs/cats before I find them on my ground planted milkweed.
Because of you, I raised, tested (for OE), tagged, and released 7 monarchs last September. I probably released twenty additional earlier last summer too.
Thank you, Anna! I've reared a few Eastern Black Swallowtails over the years. They are certainly fun! I'm a huge fan of the osmeterium!
Proper soil conditions for milkweed would involve some chemistry in the discussion...so you know I'd love that. I'll see what I can find out.
Congratulations on your 27 or so Monarchs last year! I'm sorry they haven't swung by your way yet this year, and I hope the optimal word in that previous statement is "yet".
Good luck to you, and even if they don't show up this year, thank you so much for the planting and maintaining of the milkweed. The more options they have, the more hope there is!
Mr Lund science
Everything that I know about raising Monarchs it's because of Your amazing
Five Part Series on How to Raise Monarchs.
I live in Chicago urban area there's plenty of Monarchs, I have a huge milkweed patch in my garden where I have been able to successfully raise Hundreds of Monarchs every summer. I also encourage my Public School and neighborhood to plant Milkweed for our struggling Monarch population.
I plant Milkweed seeds whenever I can and
I also save and transfer milkweed plants from being destroyed.
I teach school children the importance of planting native plants and milkweed for our struggling monarchs and pollinators.
Thank You so much and Welcome Back You have been Missed 🐛🌿🦋🌿🦋🐛🦋
Wow, Ana. Thank you for all that work of getting your community involved. I know that can be a daunting task at times, attempting to garner support. It takes some hours for sure, even when well received! And if you have successfully transplanted milkweed to new locations and they've lived to tell the tale, you deserve a merit patch I have yet to earn. I've never had success with that!
Thanks for the well wishes and emojis. I'd offer some myself, but I'm replying via PC, and thus, my emojis are old school. ;-)
@@MrLundScience
Thank You so much for replying it means the world to me.
I can tell you how
I learned to successfully save Plants after many years of trial and error and transplant Mature Milkweed plants.🦋🐛🦋
1-Dig out about 12 inches of white root system, milkweed root system can go very deep 4 ft deep.
You don't have to go as deep as that obviously.
2- Strip off off All remaining leaves off the plant except the very top tiny leaves you need that for photosynthesis, and save for your hungry caterpillars, keep in very cold water in a Yogurt container then refrigerate in a
zip lock bag for later use these leaves will keep fresh up to One week.
3- Grab a deep container with good drainage and good quality soil.
Plant stripped stems a few inches above white roots with enough (leaf nodes)
to ensure root production.
4- keep milkweed stems in a shady area always moist but never soaking wet.
(They will rot if too wet)
Fresh tender leaves will begin to emerge within a week or two.
I usually transplant them into the Garden during late fall.
I hope this can help you to successfully save and transplant mature Milkweed plants into your
new garden to speed up the process so you can feed hundreds of Monarchs next summer.
Best of luck
PS
I have hundreds of native seeds, perennials , annuals and milkweed seeds for Free if you are interested please let me know 🦋🐛🦋
Episode idea: what other insects attach the monarch eggs and caterpillars? I see ants, beetles, etc in my milkweed. Bees too
Mr Lund has a video covering Milkweed pests and Ecosystem.
Milkweed has it's own ecosystem which many beneficial insects depend on including monarchs.
There's currently a "Pests and Predators" episode which attempts to tackle the more prevalent ones in my previous area. However, in a new location, and also having not covered some of the other possibilities, a follow up episode may be helpful. As for the aphids I'm encountering in my new area, they are in such high amounts, I think they are worthy of possibly their own episode. I've got some learning and testing to do first, though.
Mr Lund, you've taught me SO much about monarchs. Your channel is fabulously informative 😊
Topic idea:
What happens when a J hanger's silk button fails and they detach? Is there a way to help them safely form their chrysalis?
Keep up the brilliant work 😊
Greetings Brooke!
Okay, the good news: I have a potential solution for this.
The bad news: I don't have a video, be it my own or another's that shows this. (I did try to, as I've seen a video of it before, but could not locate it.)
What I've seen before: A woman showed how she had a J-hanging caterpillar that had not done a great job with the silk button, and had fallen. It was still seemingly in good shape. She was patient and monitored it while it was on it's side until it split the skin, as they normally do when ready to go into the chrysalis stage. Once the skin was split, in her hand, she allowed the caterpillar to molt off the skin, and she rotated her arm so that the caterpillar had some assistance in movement as it became a chrysalis to get the skin off. Once the skin was off, to help the chrysalis form, she then held it by the stem with her fingertips in a hanging way for about half an hour, until the proper shape had been reached and they outer casing had dried.
Now, all that said, here is a different video I did end up finding that shows the rehanging of a chrysalis that had formed from a fallen J-hanger:
ruclips.net/video/B1EgxN0z0bs/видео.html
That video is essentially just a different method for re-hanging a chrysalis. Still, she does say that the caterpillar had been J-hanging, fell, and was able to form the chrysalis while lying on its side.
Putting this all together, I myself wish that there was a video showing how the caterpillar was able to form the chrysalis on its side. I would certainly have concerns as to how the proper shape is able to happen if it is lying against a surface while it dries. But also, perhaps it can. The claim in the video also brings into question, did the video I had seen with placing the chrysalis in the palm of the hand, was the motion of the hand necessary in helping the Monarch, or, would it have been able to get the skin off on its own without the help?
Still, from two different sources, the chrysalis is still able to form on its side, but it may take monitoring that the skin comes fully off, and it may also take hanging the fresh chrysalis so that it can take the proper shape and dry/harden that way.
Final point: Here's what I would do, though... If I know I might need to let it hang in order to form the proper chrysalis shape, I'd like to make sure it was able to hang even before it begins to form the chrysalis. Here's my video on how to reattach a chrysalis, and queued up to the point where it's relevant:
ruclips.net/video/mKFq5lYgT5Q/видео.html
I see no reason why a fallen J-hanger couldn't be re-hung using this method, and allowed to form its chrysalis naturally.
Whew! There's some options!
I hope this helps!
Wow! This post has made my week! I really appreciate you taking so much time to reply with a wealth of info on the topic!
In the couple of times it's happened to mine, I've left the chrysalis on a soft towel and rotated side to side, but they never formed their shape properly and died within a couple of days.
I'm so grateful to be armed with more knowledge, should it happen again. I will refer back to this post in summer.
Thank you so much Mr Lund 😊
Coincidentally, I had this issue happen to me yesterday. Some more good news: Next episode will show a successful re-hanging of a fallen J-hanger...I think it'll be exactly what you're looking for. (Some days of editing ahead, though.)
That's fantastic!!
Well done on your success Mr Lund 😊
Look forward to seeing it!
Thank you so much! Learned so much f from you been raising monarchs for four years just want to thanks thank you for all your videos. Very educational learned a lot.
Howell Michigan
Glad to see you are back on the air and producing more content. I started watching your videos awhile ago and learned a lot from them. I just released my seventh monarch today. I stared with 15 caterpillars. Three disappeared while still very small, two I mishandled when preparing to j-hang, and one j-hung to the side of the container (my first to reach chrysalis) and never emerged. I’ve released seven and have two more to go. I have three swamp milkweed planted in the backyard, which I have gotten all my cats from. I plan on planting more common milkweed in the backyard next spring. I have two local sources of common milkweed to get food from. Now that I’ve chatted your ears off, thanks for all that I’ve learned from your videos. I still have so much to learn from your current videos to be able to suggest any new ones.
Congratulations on your 7 so far! When these videos (or any others, truly) inspire people to devote some of their yards to milkweed, it gives me hope. Milkweed, after all, is the best way to help them, long term.
It's also pretty boss that you have plans for even more milkweed. Certainly in the spring, you could plant more, but in case you wanted to do so earlier, I'll mention this: I planted milkweed sprouts once in late August, and with only August, September, and October to establish a root system before the cold lock of November took over, they still were able to shoot up the next spring. Bottom line, it's not too late to plant them now if you wish to get a year's head start on them! Whatever your choice is, I wish you luck with it, and thank you so much for planting more!
@@MrLundScience Released my last two for the season. Im not set up to rear them outside, so I'm done until next year. Lookin' forward to your next video.
Since you now lack (like me) a screened in porch, perhaps building and/or choosing an enclosure would be a great topic?
Should I ever build such a small shed/facility, I absolutely would make a video (or two) about it and its construction. A reality in the way of that, though, is the current new home's shed needs a full makeover, including floor and roof. So, that project is on the list first. Still, the idea of building a small shed to house chrysalides in that allows for outdoor exposure has very much crossed my mind. And after repairing our current shed, I'll be quite ready to build my own. While I can't promise anything that far in the future, I'm giving it serious consideration.
Welcome back! 💗 I'm excited for this urban version of raising monarchs! I'm out in the expansive suburbs of SoCal. Would love to see how you handle all the pests. 😒 Lol... Also, pseudo-congrats on the move. I'm sure the whole new environment was much needed, unfortunately. I hope the new spot is treating you better. 🙏
Thank you! Life throws curve balls. I'm an "ever forward" kind of guy. So, I'm equally excited to, in a way, go through what others have had to do...try to apply the ideas I show in my own previous videos to a new environment, and see how well it goes. What innovations might spring from that? Not sure yet, but excited to find out!
Awe I missed this two weeks ago, but great video, great info for anyone living in a similar setting.
Glad you’re back!
This is my second year raising and I’m on track for releasing 160+ Monarchs in 2023. I’m sanitizing with 5% bleach and testing for OE. So far 85 adults OE free!
Getting ready to start tagging in a few weeks. Thank you so much for your videos. Could not have done it without you!
A topic I’d like to see covered is alternate food sources. I read that cucumber peels and pumpkin have worked for some when milkweed is in short supply. I’m fortunate to have several neighbors that grow alot of milkweed as well, and are enthusiastic about Monarchs and give me unfettered access to their yards. That said, I’m still curious if you have an opinion about alternatives and if you’d supplement the diet of your cats to increase the number you can raise while your own milkweed patch matures. Thanks again!
Michigan railroads/roads are also a great place to find milkweed
I do not refute this. As a video maker, you might understand why I won't be suggesting this one, though. Safety first! ;-)
(But yes...I've walked the rails a few times on egg hunts.)
@@MrLundScience I am simply proud that MI allows milkweed to grow on the railroad easements and highway easements. I appreciate your advocacy.
Dude, I have really missed you man. I have been super busy with raising of the Monarch butterflies myself. I have four caterpillars right now and each of them are in different stages of Instar, my oldest, just started to turn into a chrysalis yesterday and i had him for about 14 days, found it on July 12th. For my other ones i found two on July 16th, one is in the 4th Instar and the other is in the 3rd, so thats been 11 days. Then i found another one on July 24th and its in the 1st Instar stage. So yeah been busy, i just checked the one thats in the chrysalis form and noticed it fell off the stick it was attached to, so then we used a binder paper clip to attach it to a stick, hopefully it’s okay. I don’t have a ton of milkweed plants, we have a few in a ditch and 6 or maybe 7 plants on the side of our house.
@MrLundScience sorry I have 10 milkweed plants.
Hey hey, great finds, Alex! Yes, that number of new ones to care for, all at different stages can certainly keep one busy. My milkweed, as you see in the video, is just four humble stalks. Yet, I've found eggs on them on three different occasions to date. The egg laying is on, so I'd check the plants each day. Good luck with the ones you're caring for and thank you for helping them out!
Amazing video so glad your back it’s been so long congrats
Thanks so much for all the help for newbies like us trying to help the monarchs I’ve raced 10 so far thanks all by you but now i’m encountering a big problem down south in Florida is hard to us to find milkweed so I’ve been planting them and racing awareness about it. But my new babies caterpillars 🐛 where running out of food yesterday so I decided to go to the local farmer to get some of them after a long search I finally found some . When I got them yesterday I was so happy but it’s seems strange to me when I got them they didn’t have any butterflies 🦋 around and no eggs or the yellow insects in there either. So I brought 10 plants home and put 2 of them for my caterpillars as food. Unfortunately today
Unfortunately today I’ve found several caterpillars 🐛 dead 😢 I think it’s because the milk weed I bought may be sprayed with some pesticides and my babies are dying now 😔. Do you or anyone in here have any tips for a case like this? I have 60 caterpillars 🐛 at home and it’s so sad for me seining them dying little by little with this situation
Nice to see a new video :) Would Pontiac have any pollinator boulevard initiatives? In some of our communities in Ontario, citizens have gotten together to offer to manage certain areas of the city/town and plant pollinator plants and ensure no herbicidal spraying and obviously no mowing.
I have some connections through our skatepark organization and the City, to the point where I would be pointed in the right direction as to who to ask. Once our skatepark is completed (which is currently being constructed and aims to finish somewhere in mid-August), they are looking to revitalize the surrounding parks. That's when I have some plans to get milkweed areas added to the park plans, and start such conversations. Those are my hopes, anyway.
We’ve had a slow Monarch summer in MN - only seen and raised 2.
There certainly can be those years. But, it has meant a lot to those 2! And, the season isn't finished yet. Perhaps more are on the way! Good luck to you!
@@MrLundScienceFound 2 more yesterday! A much needed hit of dopamine.
That’s cool I’ve been raising monarch for 4 years now
Welcome back Mr. Lund! I'm interested to know whether you've encountered any issues before with the caterpillars fighting each other? I haven't actually raised monarchs yet, (it's a goal of mine) but I have raised Painted Ladies, and the last bunch I raised were quite feisty with each other! Perhaps this topic won't apply to monarchs, though, so no worries if not :) Happy to see you back!
Greetings RinRin! Let me first commend you on attempting to learn before jumping in. It's awesome when people go about things in such ways.
As for caterpillars fighting, it depends upon how we are defining "fighting". Are we using the term as a physical fight, the way humans or dogs or birds might intentionally go after another? Not so much, though there could be rare occasions I haven't encountered, but won't rule out.
If we were to say "fighting" includes unintentional injury, be it in self defense or just unwittingly munching, yes, this can happen, and the potential for it is greater with the larger the number of caterpillars you rear together, and how much room you give them.
Perhaps more importantly, though, is to think about it in terms of stress for the caterpillars. Truthfully, caterpillars are not much like humans, dogs, or birds. In their world, they aren't likely conscious as to what is touching them, only that they do not like being touched. Whether what is touching them is a human finger, another Monarch caterpillar (even a sibling), some random beetle, or a wasp that might like a meal, they do not want to be touched and will treat it the same. By treat it the same, though, I do mean, they'll respond to it, and part of that response will induce stress. A little of that will happen in rearing Monarchs, as, a little or more of it happens in nature. However, we wish to reduce that stress, as it can affect the health of the animal. The more Monarch caterpillars they are reared with, the more often they will encounter each other, and cause each other a little bit of stress. Too confined and encountering often, this can lead to a lot of stress, and could become unhealthy. And while I don't wish to imagine it, I suppose this could be taken to an extreme where I wouldn't doubt that defensive injuries could occur.
The episode on "Overcrowding" attempts to deal with this issue: ruclips.net/video/8HNTq7PEx9E/видео.html
I hope that helps! Good luck!
Can I get permission to use a couple of your basic videos when I talk to various groups about the plight of the monarch? I rescue about 300 a year and now am trying to do some public speaking -hoping to educate more…especially kids. Susan B.
I have learned so much from your videos. Thanks a bunch! 🐛🦋😀
That's definitely a green light, yes from me. As a science teacher, I use plenty of RUclips videos without asking for permission to help get the point across. My hopes for Raising Monarchs as a series has always been to create an effective educational resource that any could access. My thanks to you for your efforts with the Monarchs, and you can certainly use the videos as you see fit. 🙂👍
Education is the key! Especially the children THEY ARE THE FUTURE!
Mr. Lund you're back!!!!
I'm back, I'm front, I'm sideways, and all ways in-between! Let's go!
I am new to raising monarch caterpillars this is my first season. I had them in the tent on the back porch a contractor moved the swing I had the tent on and the enclosure blew and was in full sun. Sadly, the chrysalis are tangled up. I called all over trying to get help. The nature’s conservatory representative in Oklahoma where I am located turned me on to your channel. I have some work to do and you gave me options. I hope I can get all of the chrysalis hung and nit crowded. I was able to catch the monarch laying eggs then recovering the caterpillars. I made mistakes but learning. Until the incident things were going well with the exception of one. The lady I spoke with told me to not keep so many caterpillars in one enclosure and to nit keep chrysalis and caterpillars together. I cleaned an enclosure and moved some around. I still have to hang the chysalids that fell and are tangled up. I sure wished you were close I would so want your help. Thank you for what you do and sharing your knowledge. I am praying for my success. Have an awesome day! Wendy🧡🎃🐞
Helping Monarch’s successfully because of you in New Jersey ❤️ Here’s a question, there are crop fields near us and on the edge of the fields near the road is some common milkweed. We have never picked any of it because I am afraid that they may have sprayed the fields and there may be pesticide on the milkweed. The question is if we pick the seed pods and plant the seeds next year would they be safe for the caterpillars? Glad your back!
So good to see you again! You have definitely been missed. Can't wait to see your future videos. As far as topics, I'm trying to figure out a balance between bringing some in and leaving some out in nature. Is there a way to protect them a little when left out in nature? I am finding almost all of them get eaten by wasps or brown anoles. Many say that's mother nature, but I'd like to give them a little extra protection if I can. For example I have tried putting organza bags over the caterpillars while they are still on the leaves. There are pros and cons to it.
I’ve been doing just that for years and it works great! Just need to make sure there’s enough food and not too many aphids in which case I’ll move them to another plant. Here’s a walkthrough of my yard and you see the tents (paint strainer bags over a dollar store basket) about half way through: ruclips.net/video/jqzRvOqQoZU/видео.html
Greetings to you, and thanks for your help with the Monarchs! I think trying to find a balance is a very interesting idea to explore more, and may become a more needed option should laws change with potential Endangered Species Act status and protection. (And these changes could happen any day now, or, not at all, or pushed down the road a few years again. We're supposed to have an answer July of this year, and I'm typing this July 29th, still unaware of any news on this.) If protections are granted, depending upon what they are, it may be that organza bags or similar setups on yard milkweed may offer an option for protection that doesn't involve a "take" of the animal. If Monarchs are offered protections, many questions arise depending upon what those protections are, and what is defined as a "take" by those protections.
I'm interested, what pros and cons have you found from your own experience?
@@MrLundScienceTechnically I did “take" the majority of these. I’ve had some OE here and wanted to be sure they got sanitized. I collected eggs over the course of a weekend, the one that aligned with them emerging at the window of peak migration in my area (Waukesha, WI). I limit my collection time so I don’t get overwhelmed and know that I have enough milkweed to feed every cat. I clean the eggs (thank you for teaching me how!) and they all usually hatch within a few days. I put them back out on the plants as soon as they hatch, about 3-4 per plant. (But honestly I couldn’t resist raising a small amount of caterpillars I found as well, so there will be some I didn’t really touch. I’ve marked them separately and will have to OE test and hope for the best.)
Generally there’s a lot more pros than cons I can think of to raising them on living plants. The first week they are almost no care. You wait until there’s frass building up at the bottom of the bag and then you just open the bottom and let it fall out. (Free fertilizer!) Their food is always fresh and cleanup is super easy. It’s also inexpensive. Supplies are a plant stake, a dollar store wire basket, a paint strainer bag and a garden tie.
Cons are that you have to be sure to remove any predators from the plant before you bag it. Trapping them in together = no cats. And you need to be sure to seal the bag tightly so no predators can get in. I found soft garden twist ties do the best job without hurting the milkweed. The one issue I have not been able to solve is aphid buildup because you are also sealing out their predators. I wash them off as best I can but they always manage to survive and multiply. I’ve found that usually needs to be addressed about the same time I need to move them to another plant. I tried less cats per plant so they would have enough food and I would not need to move them but the aphids became overwhelming so I found it works best to move them. By that point they are big enough to easily move. Not sure how you could skip that step so that might be an issue as well if they get more protections. But protections aside, I definitely prefer this method to constantly collecting food and cleaning cages that I had tried before.
Just remembered another con… earwigs. They like to hide in the folds at the bottom of the bag so you have to knock them off as you dump the frass. They are gross but they not in the bags so they don’t hurt anything.
@@MrLundScience I worried about the frass collecting at the bottom of the bag, so started leaving a small opening at the bottom to let it fall through. I thought the predators might still be deterred. Wrong. I soon found a wasp stuck in the bag. The frass still needs to be emptied a couple times per day. I have not let them go all the way to chrysalis yet thinking they would not have a good place to hang. My next step is to leave more hanging space and not crowd in as many leaves as I can. I need to work out eclosing room too. I'd feel the need to be watching more closely for eclosure since the bags are so much smaller than mesh enclosures. Time for more experiments!
I wanted to comment, I have been raising some common milkweed in pots the last 4 years, didn't know if they would do well or not but milk weed on the hill above us have people living there now, and the field beside us is not growing them now either as they no longer balel hay in the fall and trees have taken it over, but I thought about what ifs, and not a lot of root room for common milk weeds so I tried large pots and they have wintered over great, had some set backs from them getting eaten but this year they bloomed for the first time and have 4 seed pods! many plants in one pot.
Episode idea: if you’ve been tagging your monarchs would love to know where they end up throughout the season
I haven't tagged in a few years due to pandemic and moving reasons, but will be ordering tags soon. As far as previous years when I have tagged, I have not had any tags reported as found. (As their recovery rate is not high, I'm not fretted by this. Perhaps this year!)
Yea, me too, Ive watched many of ur videos, so helpful, I’ve been saving a question for you, if there is a monarch caterpillars on a leaf, and an egg on the same leaf will the caterpillar ignore the egg or go out of his way and leave it alone 🤔 💜
Greetings! The answer to your question can depend upon what stage the caterpillar involved is in, but in general, it could be bad news for the egg. A freshly hatched, first instar caterpillar will often turn around after hatching and instinctively eat more of the remaining egg shell for the added source of protein. Are such caterpillars, then, capable of munching on the eggshell of an unhatched egg? My honest answer is, I do not know, but I would suspect there's nothing instinctive to stop it, and the young caterpillar if anything, gets the benefit of more protein. Still, due to the small sizes involved of both the egg and 1st instar caterpillar, the likelihood of a chance occurrence like this would be pretty small.
Once a caterpillar is at the 2nd instar stage, it's already large enough to eat an entire egg pretty quickly. In no way are they specifically seeking them out, to my knowledge, but if encountered while eating the milkweed leaf, the bonus dose of protein is not likely to be rejected, but consumed.
It would be the same for 3rd, 4th, and 5th instar stages to, and once that size, it'd probably only take a swipe of the mandible, and the egg would be munched up with the leaf and consumed.
Bottom line - while I don't suspect any Monarch caterpillar is ever seeking them out, an unhatched egg, if encountered, could be potentially snacked on, or even added to the dinner.
I hope this helps!
@@MrLundScience WOW thanks for such a detailed answer, very helpful indeed, it’s so kind of you to take the time to answer my question, I’ll be watching for more videos, thanks again, 💜🫵
Glad to find your latest video. Location wise, I’m in HawaI’i so there are monarchs most of the time, as for me, I’m an avid novice. My question, I found a Chrysalis that is damaged towards the top., similar to a crack in an egg. Is there anything I can do to help repair it?
I'd love to know which milkweed type Monarchs like best. I have common MW that they love, but its very invasive. Swamp MW that I prefer, but I never find eggs on. I'm going to try & grow common MW in a flower pot & see how it goes. Thank you for your videos! ....edited for location: I'm in the downriver area of SE Michigan.
Hi Mr. Lund. So happy to see you back. Like many others, I started raising monarch butterflies, getting a lot of information from your previous videos. Could not raise them for a couple of years due to major landscaping work being done around our home. So with new garden beds I planted domestic milkweed plants from our local nursery, hoping the monarch’s would come along & lay their eggs & they didn’t disappoint me. However😢 I’ve run into a problem where I’ve lost 2 cats so far & 3 more are very lethargic. My question is I’ve been feeding them the milkweed leaves from the wild source & not my garden…due to supply & demand on my 2 domestic plants. Would that cause a problem & make them not want to eat & make them so lethargic. Should I just feed them leaves from my own plants. I’m finding, on average, 2-3 each morning. Don’t really want to leave them on their own, as I found a chrysalis attached to a boulder in our flower bed & it was covered in a spider web & needless to say the poor thing was devoured. Not sure what to do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Since you are looking for milkweed, maybe start a mapping project for locating it in Michigan and other areas too? Check with this guy, Steve Bushey, (article in Modern Farmer, "Meet the Milkweed Man on a Quest to Help Monarch Butterflies"). He makes maps. And is doing them in his area for Monarchs. He has a wwbsite, Map Adventures.
My first chrysalis is forming a black swirl. It's been in chrysalis 4 days.
Greetings, Just!
So...this comment occurred three days ago...how does the chrysalis look now?
Let's face it, any black coloration occurring that early into the chrysalis stage is not a good sign. I'm typically a person who's willing to isolate such a questionable chrysalis (in case of parasite or other contagion) and give life the chance to surprise me, but go in with eyes open, chances aren't good.
I hope that one result, though, does not discourage your efforts!
Is there any chance you could do an episode on where you raise them? I'd like to build or buy an enclosure and start raising them. I'm not far from you, near Flint.
Greetings Mike! It may be that what questions you may have are answered in some previous episodes.
In the "core" of the series, Raising Monarchs Parts 1 - 5, I show in detail my method for locating eggs, taking them into controlled environments (containers), rearing them to adults, and releasing.
Part 1 begins here, and contains links to the other Parts, up through Part 5:
ruclips.net/video/_I5F4AHyQHs/видео.html
In addition, there are methods of rearing the Monarchs in a setting that tries to maximize outdoor conditions, and one such method is explored in "Outdoor Rearing": ruclips.net/video/LjEgU0Ub5hY/видео.html
These videos show essentially where and how I raise them. Is there something further you are curious about, though, that isn't discussed in these episodes?
Many thanks for your interest in the Monarchs!
@@MrLundScience Thanks for your reply. It was mostly because of your videos that I started growing milkweed. I have quite a bunch now. No monarchs this year that I have seen in my yard, although I see a tone of them in my work. I think I'll wait till next year to start raising them at home. Thanks again.
Happy to see you back and creating more monarch habitat! Episode idea - raising monarch on living milkweed. I see your milkweed is too young for this method yet, but please check out the method I’ve been using for the last few years with great success: ruclips.net/video/jqzRvOqQoZU/видео.html
I walk through my Monarch Waystation first, but you see the tents when I walk up to the house. I wanted to raise them outdoors to maximize their chances of making migration. I was also thinking the nutritional benefits of living milkweed could play an important role that’s been overlooked. My solution is cheap and simple. I’m basically just keeping predators away. I think it’s the closest to matching a wild cats life while still increasing the odds of their survival. Not to mention this has been less work both feeding and cleaning!
Hey, I think that's a pretty cool innovation. It may be something that can bridge the gap between rearing Monarchs, yet still not "taking" them, which may be something we need to be aware of should they receive ESA protections. But, you are correct, it might be a couple of years before I could test out such a method with my current home plants. ;-)
My mom lives outside Murfreesboro and loves raising monarchs. Her problem no monarchs eggs or caterpillars!! She walks thru Hugh fields of common milkweed and has plants of her own in her yard but alas none. I visited for 2 weeks from calif where we have good numbers and didn't see any the entire 2 weeks Any suggestions or advice u can offer? Perhaps it will increase as they fly south?
On a different note best of luck in your new home+ I'm sure the butterflies are glad ur there
Greetings Mary. I definitely feel for your mother, having experienced years where the season can be very sparse of Monarchs or even seemingly absent. There's been seasons where people I know who have milkweed patches in their yards will easily take in about 20 eggs a year (and leave others to the backyard nature), but then will have a season where no eggs show up. It can be a shame, as it's easily something that we do look forward to.
Other than more pollinating flowers, I don't know that I have strong advice on how to attract Monarch butterflies, female or otherwise. However, the season isn't over yet. Plenty of summer still, and the chance to find eggs. And yes, when migration is in full swing, there's definitely an increased chance in sightings. I wish her luck!
Nice to see you back and hear an update. My concern is it was not until the 3rd week of July that I finally found a few eggs this year. I am hearing from the subReddit on Monarchs many other people are in the same boat; they usually have quite a number in June but either still have not seen any, or are finding eggs/cats 6-8 weeks later than the norm. Except for the ones I released yesterday, I have not seen a monarch yet in PA. Any ideas what caused this; was it the fires in Canada? Will this mean I’ll be finding eggs/cats 6-8 weeks later in to the year than is normal? I don’t have a grasp on the generations, but if I normally am finding 1st gen in June, was the first eggs/cats I found in late July now the 1st gen or a later generation?
What is the best way to clean and disinfect the pop up mesh cages?
I have a screened in patio but it only gets sun in the morning. How successfully would milkweed grow in pots with only this amount of sunlight? Oklahoma City area.
Greetings! Certainly the species matters to some degree, but if we are discussing Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, from my experience, they are tolerant to both shaded areas and direct sunlight areas, and all in between. It's definitely worth mentioning, though, my experience is not with potted milkweed. While I can't attach a number to it, I would say, successful enough to make it worth testing out.👍
I can’t raise monarchs inside so I raise them outside. I cover the milkweed with 5 gallon paint strainer bags BUT I have issues. Most notably spiders will sting baby cats through the mesh bags. And somehow little tiny bugs get in and still eat the eggs. Do you have any suggestions on how to raise them outside with a better survival rate? Thank you!
Greetings Margie, and I'm sorry about your difficulties. I, myself, have zero experience with raising Monarchs without taking them into controlled settings. I maintain outdoor rearing containers so that they receive the most outdoor exposure, but still, without ways for pests or predators to have a chance at them.
At the same time, I do feel that these methods that you and others are experimenting with, rearing Monarchs on home plants with a type of mesh bag over top, it may be something needed in the future. Should the Monarch receive protections from the Endangered Species Act (still being decided), and depending upon what those protections are, rearing in this outdoor way on home plants may be a feasible option that isn't considered a "take" of the animal.
It's certainly something I'm willing to experiment with myself, but as you can see from this video, my home milkweed will need a few years before it is ready. I'm sorry that I don't have much advice in this realm, but having not experienced this, I'd feel pretentious to advise on it. The best I can offer is that if pests/predators are still affecting the caterpillars, I'd want to try for a smaller size mesh (smaller holes) and try to detect any imperfections in the way I was securing the mouth of the bag to the milkweed stalk. Likely the solution resides in approaching the problem not as the pest/predators being the problem, as they will always be there, but identifying the problem as that the pests/predators have access to the caterpillars. Investigating the logistics of what that access is would be the next step.
I hope that helps in some way! Good luck!
What’s your success rate with a smaller number of caterpillars in this new setting? Like from the 11 last year were there additional that didn’t make it?
I'd first preface this with saying, as my numbers are so small, not much can really be gleamed from this, but, the year I raised just two, and the year I reared 11, all 13 made it to released adults. Thus, 100% both years. But again, with such small numbers, I wouldn't say they're worth much comment.
We live in Florida and our milkweed plants are loaded with milkweed bugs, help, what can I do??
Greetings Tim and Karen! I'm sorry to hear of your milkweed bugs. To help try and find a solution, though, more info might be needed. What is the specific problem that you're experiencing because of the milkweed bugs? Are they in large enough numbers to be harming the milkweed? Or is it more in the category that you fear they are deterring females from laying eggs on your plants, or some other type of interference?
@@MrLundScience Thanks for replying, There were a lot of bugs, and they were destroying the milkweed plants. I cut the plants down to ground level and still had many bugs that were just all over the stumps. I dug the plants up and they are gone now. I did some research and found that the milkweed we planted are not native to Florida. When the heat subsides we are going to purchase some plants that are native to Florida. The plants were in their 2nd year and up until recently looked great and attracted lots of butterflies. We did get to raise some on our lanai and we are looking forward to keeping up the project. Really enjoy your you tube videos and you have taught us a lot. We moved here from Michigan, west side, Holland about 2 and a half years ago. Retirement is great, highly recommend it. Thanks again, Tim
Hey Tim. I'm not sure if you've seen the "Pests & Predators" episode, but I examine some of the common ones I had been finding in Michigan, including the Milkweed Bug. (Not to be confused with the Milkweed Beetle, which comes first in the episode.) It is here if you haven't seen it and so desire: ruclips.net/video/aae5Tkziex4/видео.html
I haven't had Milkweed Bugs to the extent that you have where they are harming the milkweed beyond just a slight amount. Typically, I've let them be, but when the seed pods would start to grow, that's when I'd be more willing to look them over each day and "rub out" any of the Milkweed Bug nymphs in order to protect the seed development. It sounds like, though, you're experiencing much higher numbers, and that you've already tried what would be the recommendation in such cases and cut down the stalks as an attempt at a "reset". Perhaps there is more luck that can come from a native milkweed? I'm not sure on this one, but I do wish you luck with it. And while I doubt I'll complain about retiring when I do, I still love being in the classroom for sure!
I have 10 caterpillars in a plastic bin with a homemade screen top. Is this okay? The bin is 20” L x 15” W x 5” D. They are probably about 2 weeks old, 1 inch or more long. Thanks
It can always be tough to give a 100% definitive "yes" or "no" on housing of caterpillars and the idea of overcrowding. Certainly the dimensions play a role (appreciated) and the number of caterpillars and what instar they are in are factors as well. Two weeks in, they are likely 4th or already 5th instar.
An episode that delves into this topic of overcrowding, called "Overcrowding" is here: ruclips.net/video/8HNTq7PEx9E/видео.html
If you haven't seen this, it may help answer this question more thoroughly for you, and other questions amidst the topic.
In a shorter way, I am willing to say that if the volume is as you say, and it's 10 caterpillars, as long as they've had enough leaves (surface area) to not disturb each other, and frass has been cleaned out often, I myself wouldn't feel uncomfortable doing such, though I would be more comfortable with fewer. I hope that both makes sense, and helps!
I wish you luck with your ten!
Another question….one of the cats (only 3 in this container) was hanging from a chrysalis and eating it. Is the chrysalis doomed?
Have you ever found a cluster of eggs? I guess is called an “egg drop”
Greetings Dawn!
I have indeed found egg drops, from time to time. How many constitutes an "egg drop" versus an "egg dump", or just a lucky find of eggs, I suppose I can't say. Still, plenty of times over the years, I have found 6 - 20 eggs, all in some nearby stalks. In some of these cases, it could just be eggs from different females choosing a similarly appealing spot to lay. However, at other times it has been on home plants that I had recently checked, and thus, had knowledge that all 15 or so eggs had not been there just hours prior.
Of course, there's been many times over the years I've found just one isolated egg amidst many plants I've checked, so that easily happens too. But if a female has found a place she enjoys, is undisturbed, and feels comfortable to lay eggs in, she may just lay several before taking off.
Two comments. I have concluded that if a "cat'' damages it's antennae, it does not eat. I have had some that their antenna gets bent over and it just doesn't move (doesn't eat). I have taken a tooth pick and unstuck some bent antennae and the cat activity returns to normal. Any comment/verification on this? Second comment, I have a cat which I believe is in 4th in-star that looks healthy, but is not straight. It bulges out on one side as though some one had taken a stitch in one side and that side has not released. I have segregated it into it's own enclosure, so I can track it's development (if it can go into "J" and then chrysalis), but wondered if you have ever experienced this with a cat and what the end result was. This is my 3rd year raising Monarchs - last year I only had two, this year, I am up to over 30 in various stages and have already released 11.
Raising Monarchs population stats 2023
I've wanted too... But such a discussion and how useful it could be was hinging on what ESA decisions were supposed to happen in July. Those decisions, to my knowledge, haven't been made (or at least, news on them hasn't broke yet). Now we're in August... A Pop Status vid could still be made, but it might be a bit of a different feel than previous ones. I'll see what I can do!