Miracle Monarch Pupation

Here's an interesting story for you.  One of my recent caterpillars in the 3rd Wave was about to pupate.  He was in the J Shape.  For some reason, he fell from his silk pad.  There was no way for me to reattach him.  So, I simply laid him in a tuperware bowl to see what would heppen.  My 9 year old son and I had a lively discussion about the possibilities.  I told him it was possible for the caterpillar to successfully pupate even though it's on its side.  Well, to our great surprise and wonderment, that's exactly what happened.  The caterpillar successfully shed his 4th instar skin while lying on his side!  I've only seen this happen one other time when I was raising Monarchs in Georgia.

(Monarch caterpillar pupates while lying on its side!)

One unexpected side effect of this is that his chrysalis stuck to the side of the tuperware bowl.  So, I simply stood up the bowl.  We'll see if the butterfly emerges properly or not.

So, this batch of Monarchs has some interesting butterflies in it.  It will be interesting to see if all 14 chrysalises make it.  We'll keep you posted.

Happy Monarching!!!


Caleb & Janae Warren
savethemonarch1@gmail.com

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

How to Relocate a Chrysalis

Sometimes, a caterpillar chooses a poor location to pupate.  It could be in a dangerous spot for various reasons, or it might be in your way as you work with other caterpillars.  Also, occasionally, the chrysalises do not hold well and fall from their location.  In the above mentioned senarios, relocation of the chrysalis is needed so that the butterfly can properly develop.  But how can you do that? 

Well, first you will need a needle and sewing thread.  Cut off about 18 inches of thread to insure that you have enough. 

1st.  Tie a loop around the top tip of the chrysalis, known as the cremaster.  Tie a second loop to form a knot in the string.  The thread should be securely knotted to the cremaster.

2nd.  Use the other two ends of the string to tie a knotted loop. 

3rd.  Hand the string on a hook or nail in a safe well lighted location.  Your new butterfly should emerge in 10-12 days.  (see photos below)

Happy Monarching.

Caleb & Janae Warren

savethemonarch1@gmail.com

The Usual Ups and Downs of Butterfly Farming

Well, as usual, today has been a day of ups and downs.  First, the good news.  We have about 50 caterpillars in our second wave.  Two caterpillars successfully pupated today!

Now for the bad news.  One caterpillar did not successfully pupate.  We suspect the parasitic fly has struck again.  Additionally, one of our plants outside the pavillion had Aphids on it.  I tried to kill them as best as I could.  I then took the plant that had Aphids on it and quarantined it in one of my small pavillions.  Well, our new dog ripped into that pavillion when I wasn't looking.  It is ruined.  And, if that isn't bad enough, yesterday, I bumped my hip where it was recently operated on, and it is really bothering me.

So, it hasn't been exactly a stellar day, but we try to keeps our chins up.  There is much work to do to get these 50 caterpillars up to adulthood.

Happy Monarching!


Caleb & Janae

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