Our Average Is Down a Bit

This A.M., I checked my outdoor pavillion and found the following.  Three caterpillars had attempted to pupate.  Two made it and one failed.  (Yes, Tachinid Fly strikes again.  See photo below.)  I've enclosed a photo so that you teachers, parents and students can see what the caterpillar looks like if its been infested with the fly larvae.  Additionally, I found two other smaller dead caterpillars.  One was in a pot, and the other was in the bottom of the pavillion.  I'm unsure what caused their demise.  Hopefully, it is not disease.  I quickly removed all dead caterpillars.

The two caterpillars that successfully pupated did so on the underside of Milkweed leaves.  The leaves look good and strong, so I will leave them for now.  If the leaves start to die or look like they will detach from the plant, I will relocate the chrysalises to another location.

Inside my house, I suddenly developed a problem with flies last night.  Some of them may be the predatory flies that are killing my babies, so I am desperately trying to get rid of all of them so I can bring my Milkweed plants inside and examine them.

Several other caterpillars are searching for a place to pupate.  I'll keep you updated on their progress.  (See photos below.)  Our current average is just below 50% success rate.  Hopefully, we can get that back up soon.

Happy Monarching,


Caleb & Janae Warren

The Tachina or Tachinid Fly Strikes Again

As usual, I'll give you the good news first.  Another chrysalis formed early this morning, and 3 more caterpillars are ready to pupate.  In addition, 3 more are almosted finished eating and will be ready to pupate within the next 24 hours.

Next, the bad news.  A couple of days ago, one of our caterpillars made its chrysalis on one of our Milkweed flower pots.  Yesterday, I noticed that one spot on it was turning a slight brownish color.  I thought maybe it had gotten injured or something but would be ok.  However, this morning, it is clearly dead.  (see photo below)

(Silky string from chrysalis to the ground / Tachinid fly larvae kill a Monarch chrysalis)

The Tachinid fly lays eggs on the caterpillar.  The fly larvae eventually kill the Monarch caterpillar around the time it tries to pupate.  Or, sometimes they wait until the caterpillar has become a chrysalis, as shown in the above photo.  The silky string connected from the chrysalis to the ground is the tell tale sign that the Tachinid fly has struck.

This is probably the 6th or 7th caterpillar of mine that has died due to this parasitic fly.  At the nursery where I'm currently getting my Milkweed plants, the plants are out in the open, and the flies can openly get to the developing caterpillars there.  So, my wife suggested that in the future when we buy more plants, that we remove all caterpillars and put them on other plants.  However, any eggs we could leave, and these would not have been infected with the fly larvae yet.  I think it's a marvelous idea.  This will help us to get the most out of our Milkweed leaves too.  You just hate to invest all of that Milkweed and then get nothing out of it.

I don't mean to say that the Tachinid Fly is all bad.  It preys on other garden pests such as Japanese Beetles, Squash Bugs, Stink Bugs and more.  However, since it preys on my beautiful Monarch caterpillars, it is a neusance to me.  Hopefully, keeping my babies in an enclosure will do the most help.

One note: Please be careful not to use any poisons or pesticides to get rid of pests such as these flies because it will kill your butterflies too.  The Milkweed sap they consume is poisonous, and therefore, the Monarch is full of poison already.  It's body just can't tolerate any more.  So, look for natural ways to control pests and predators.

Perhaps these observations will help you too.  Be sure to keep your caterpillars in a protective enclosure at all times.  In my next Blog entry, I'll show you a pavilion that I have that has worked great for me.

Happy Monarching!

Caleb & Janae Warren

savethemonarch1@gmail.com

New Butterflies Emerged Today!

06/10/09

Well, yesterday, five Monarch butterflies emerged from their chrysalises here in our home! We are so excited. We have 4 males and 1 female. But this experience is not our first in rearing Monarchs, so let me back up a moment and give you a little background.

My family and I moved here to South Texas in 2008. Prior to that, we had lived in South Georgia. There, I raised over 2,000 Monarchs in less than 2 years. I was a high school teacher back then, and we had a nice program going at the school that I taught at. However, due to a lifelong debilitating bout with crippling arthritis, I had to quit my job. Additionally, my wife and I had a new baby girl in the family. So, my wife felt it best to relocate to be closer to family for help and support, so off to Corpus Christi Texas we moved, where my wife was born and raised.

Both my wife and I were saddened by the fact that we had to suspend our butterfly rearing project. It brought such great joy to all who were involved with it, both children and adults.

Well, last fall, I had artificial hip revision surgery, and I am currently recooperating from that. The arthritis is in all parts of my body now, and it greatly limits what I can do. However, my wife and I decided to try and rear a few Monarch Butterflies here and there, and yesterday morning, our first 5 emerged! What joy!

We purchased some Milkweed plants from a local nursery, and to our delight, there were caterpillars and eggs already on the plants. Our joy soon turned to sadness and our first 5 caterpillars mysteriously died when they tried to pupate. They all died at the exact same time in their final stage of pupation. This prompted me to do some research on the internet, and I found out that there is a certain predatory fly called the Tachinid fly that lays it's eggs on caterpillars. They feed on the insides of the caterpillar but do not kill it until around the time it pupates.

So, the first 5 were a loss. We were off to a bad start. However, a couple of days later, we notice more caterpillars on the plants. They must have been eggs when we bought the Milkweed. We immediately took the plants inside and placed them in a protective pavillion. There were 8 in number, and 5 emerged yesterday. One fell as it was pupating and died. It looks like the remaining 2 will emerge in the next day or two. We are thrilled!

Lastly, we got a few more Milkweed plants. Again, they have caterpillars on them, so here we go again. Sometimes, it seems the hardest part in rearing Monarchs is keeping sufficient Milkweed for the caterpillars to eat. They have such big appetites.

So, our Texas count for rearing Monarchs in 2010 is 5 and counting. We'll keep you posted.

Warm Regards,

Caleb Warren

SaveTheMonarch1@gmail.com