Are You Ready For Fall 2010 Migration?

Believe it or not, around this time the Monarch Butterflies in Canada are getting ready to start their fall migration.  They will start to leave Canada around September 1st.  They travel, on average, about 50 miles a day.  It takes them about two months to reach their overwintering sites in the mountains of Central Mexico.  So, Monarchs maybe coming through your area in the near future.

So far this year, I've raised and released 63 Monarchs, bringing my total raised to 2,063.  My goal this fall is to raise and release 100 Monarchs.  Currently, I have 16 chrysalises in my outdoor pavillion.  It's a good start.  The challenge will be to get them to mate as soon as possible so we can get the next generation here.  All my butterflies will be tagged with migration tags, in cooperation with the outreach program at the University of Kansas program called Monarch Watch.  Migration tags can be purchased at the Monarch Watch website: http://www.monarchwatch.org/  The tags are affixed to the right wing of the butterfy in a specific location, and does not harm or inhibit the butterfly's flight whatsoever.  Who knows, maybe some of my tagged butterflies will make it to the migration site this year and be recovered next spring by the scientists in Mexico.  We'll see.

Interestingly, almost all of my current 16 caterpillars made their chrysalises on the underside of the Milkweed plant leaves.  It looks like a butterfly bush for real.  See the photos below.

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

Pupation - A Critical Time For Monarch Caterpillars

Well, all of the caterpillars from Wave 3 are now in chrysalises.  We currently have 14.  One, however, had difficulty shedding its skin entirely when it pupated.  I waited 24 hours and then I removed it manually.  However, the skin had covered up the cremaster and upper tip of the chrysalis.  This area was weak, soggy and wanted to pull away entirely from the chrysalis.  I carefully removed the skin, tied a piece of thread around the cremaster, and hung it on a nail in our mud room.  I am very uncertain if it will make it or not.  However, I have seen worsely formed chrysalises come out as unscathed beautiful adult Monarchs.  So, we will wait and see.  One lesson from this is the importance of the caterpillar fully shedding the skin when it pupates.  It's a critical time for them.  If they don't, it prevents them from forming properly inside the chrysalis.

(Chrysalis with soft top. This is due to not fully shedding the 4th instar skin at time of pupation. The chrysalis may not properly form due to this.)

As for Wave 4, well they're coming on with a vengence.  They are in the outdoor pavillion, and they are almost ready to pupate now!  Literally overnight, about half of the Milkweed plants have been virtually denuded of leaves!  These guys sure can eat.  I have no idea how many are in there.  I won't have a full count for a while yet.  However, many of them are in instar 4 already!  One thing that I have learned from this is that they mature much faster outdoors than indoors.

Happy Monarching!


Caleb & Janae Warren
savethemonarch1@gmail.com

Wet, Wet, Wet!

With Hurricane Alex threatening to hit this area, it's been quite busy the last 24 hours.  I went ahead and released the three female Queen butterflies yesterday.  Even though we've had some rainfall in the last 24 hours, I'm sure they found shelter and are safe and sound.

I have two male Monarchs and one female left.  I'm hoping they will mate soon and she will lay a few more eggs for me.  I have them in a small pavillion with a Milkweed plant.  The presence of the plant encourages them to mate.

It now appears we will not get a direct hit from Hurricane Alex but will merely get some rain and a little wind.  I sure am enjoying the break from the severe heat.  It has been quite rough the last month or so. 

(It seems Hurricane Alex will not hit us directly.  Whew!)

Our new eggs have yet to hatch.  We're watching them closely and will keep you posted.

Happy Monarching!


Caleb & Janae Warren
savethemonarch1@gmail.com

New Monarch Butterfly Has Difficulty Flying

This morning the last two remaining Monarch butterflies in our outdoor pavillion emerged.  They were both males.  We certaining have had plenty of males this season.  I decided to release them both.  One was obviously healthy and strong and took to the skies immediately.  However, the other one appeared weak, and his wings didn't look fully inflated.  They had a slight wavy look to them  I have seen this before.  No doubt what happened was that shortly after he emerged from his chrysalis, he must have fell from his perch.  If you remember, we have had two other Monarchs that fell in this manner, and their wings were so deformed that they couldn't fly.  Fortunately, this butterfly was able to crawl back up to a perched position to finish filling out his wings.  However, the time it took him to do so did affect his wings, so they did not fully inflate and have this slight wavy look to them.  He also appeared weak, so I brought him inside and placed him in my smaller indoor pavillion.  I checked his wings, and they are not stuck together.  Sometimes, that can happen, preventing them from flying.  Tomorrow morning, I will give him some sugar water to strengthen him.  Hopefully, I can release him tomorrow.

(Monarch butterfly with slightly wavy wings, though you can't see it in this picture's angle.  He's having difficulty flying. No doubt his wings were slightly deformed due to an interruption during the drying process.)

We have three Monarchs left to emerge from this second batch.  One of them is hanging from a nail in our Mud Room.  (see photo below.)  Additionally, we have three Queen butterflies that we are looking forward to seeing emerge from their chrysalises.  This will be a first for all of us.

(Monarch chrysalis in our Mud Room. Note the wings are showing through now. It will emerge tomorrow morning.)

There are several eggs on our Milkweed plants that one of our females laid.  So, batch three will be up and running in a few days.  My current operation is much smaller that what I used to do in Georgia, but we are having fun with it.

I first began raising Monarchs in spring 2005.  In a span of three years, I raised 2000 Monarch butterflies.  Then, due to health problems, I was unable to raise any for the next two years.  Man did I miss it.  This Spring, I started again, and as of today, we have successfully raised 17 butterflies so far this year.  Thus, my grand total is currently 2017 Monarch butterflies and counting.  Please feel free to write my with your success stories in raising Monarchs.  I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Monarching!


Caleb & Janae Warren
savethemonarch1@gmail.com

One Is Fertile & The Other One Just Thinks She Is

Well, there is lots of news to share today.  First, two more Monarchs emerged today in the outdoor pavillion.  One was successful, but sadly, the other fell from its perch before its wings could fully dry.  I fear he was accidentally knocked off by one of the other adult Monarchs in the pavillion.  That is always a cause for concern when you have a large number of butterflies and chrysalises in the pavillion at the same time.  I plan to purchase two additional small pavillions in the near future so that I'll have room to bring in my adult butterflies if I need to.

Yesterday, I reported that one of our females was mating with a male, but I wasn't sure if he fully fertilized her eggs because they were interrupted before they could fully connect.  Well, interestingly, that female today is busily flying around in the pavillion from Milkweed plant to plant attempting to lay eggs.  However, nothing is deposited.  It seems she thinks she's fertilized, but she's not.  I've never seen this behavior before.  It's very interesting.  However, our other female Monarch has successfully mated and is laying eggs on our Milkweed plants right now! 

It doesn't seem like it will be a problem having enough Milkweed this time, especially since we have found an abundance of it in our yard.  So, for the first time, we are fully ready for this next batch of babies.  Perhaps the 3rd time will be the charm, and we will have a high success rate. 

Finally, while I love birds, I don't try to encourage them to hang out in our yard.  The reason is simple; most birds eat butterflies.  While it is true that most birds avoid eating Monarchs because they are poisonous and will give the bird a horrible stomach ache, the birds are not born with this knowledge.  So, for them to learn this life lesson, they must consume at least one Monarch.  That's a lot of Monarchs lost just so a bird can learn a lesson.  Therefore, I normally don't set my yard up especially for them.  I don't discourage them from visiting, but I don't encourage them either.  However, the Hummingbird is an exception.  It only feeds on nectar, and it doesn't hunt butterflies.  The two coexist very peacefully.  So, I do put out nectar feeders for the hummingbirds.

Today, I had to replenish their supply.  To my surprise, the same ants that had earlier killed so many of my caterpillars were literally covering the hummingbird feeder so it couldn't feed.  We temporarily corrected the problem with a little hot water, but I know they will be back.  Hopefully, I can find their nest and do away with them.  One encouraging note though is that since I have installed my mote around my outdoor pavillion, and put bleach in the mote, I have had no further problems with ants or any other insects getting into the pavillion.

(Hummingbird feeders in my backyard. I like hummingbirds because they don't try to kill my butterflies.)

Happy Monarching!


Caleb & Janae Warren
savethemonarch1@gmail.com

More baby Monarchs Soon To Come...Maybe.

Today has been once again an interesting day.  First, two new males emerged from their chrysalises this morning.  I went ahead and placed them in with the others, so there are now 5 Monarchs in the outdoor pavillion.  There are three males and two females.

After taking care of some morning errands, I came home to find that there had been an afternoon shower here.  What a welcomed relief.  We need the rain here so badly.  As I was looking in my outdoor pavillion, I noticed that I only saw three butterflies.  I knew that I had a total of five in there as of this morning, so my mind started to race, and I began to fear the worst.  However, to my great relief, I found the other two together on a Milkweed plant.  Yes, you guessed it, they were mating, or at least attempting to.

(Two Monarchs mating in my outdoor pavillion.)

I'm not entirely sure if the mating attempt was successful or not.  When I found them, I immediately ran and got my camera.  But by the time I returned, they had already separated.  This is unusual.  In my experience, mating pairs stay connected for 12-24 hours.  So, perhaps they got interrupted for one reason or another.  However, it certainly is a promising sign.  If they do successfully mate, then we should have a new batch of babies in about a week or so.

Happy Monarching!

Caleb & Janae Warren

 

One Triumph! One Tragedy.

Yesterday evening, I noticed two chrysalises were changing color.  They are located in the corridor between our back door and back entrance to our house.  This small area is called the "Mud Room" by my wife.  Well, this morning, I awoke to a triumph and a tragedy.  Two Male Monarchs had indeed emerged, but one had fallen from its perch.  The fall damaged its abdomen which contains the fluid for the wings.  It couldn't manage to crawl back up to its perch.  Its wings were deformed.  It would never fly.  Even if I had been standing right there, I'm not sure if I could have saved it, since its abdomen was damaged in the fall.

(Male Monarch fallen from its perch.)

This raises a question I hear often.  What should you do if you know a butterfly is injured beyond recovery?  Is there a humane way to help end its suffering?  The answer is yes.  The most humane way is to put it in a container with an enclosed lid and place it in the freezer.  The cold slowly and gently puts them to sleep.  If you see they are suffering, this is the most humane way to end their pain. 

Believe it or not, there are a lot of emotions that well up when you lose a butterfly this way.  This is especially so if you have hand reared them, provided them a lot of care, and helped them to get to this point.  And, then, when they are so close to being a successful adult flying Monarch butterfly, so see them die this way is heartbreaking.  However, we still have nearly a dozen Monarchs remaining to emerge from this batch, not to mention three Queen butterflies on the way.  And let's not forget, one male Monarch made it this morning!  So, withstanding this tragedy, we still have a lot of exciting things to look forward to.

(One Male Monarch made it!)

Happy Monarching,


Caleb & Janae Warren
savethemonarch1@gmail.com

The Runt of the Litter Emerges

This morning, I awoke to a wonderful suprise.  The last of our 7 chrysalises emerged as a small but beautiful male Monarch.  Since he was the last one, and we had already released the other six, he got our full attention.  We saw him emerge from the chrysalis, which is always a wonderful treat.  I've enclosed some pictures and video clips of him emerging, but here is a brief synapsis of what occurs.

When the butterfly first emerges, his wings are all moise and crumpled, and his abdomen appears bloated.  It is filled with a special fluid which must be immediately pumped into his wings in the first 10-15 minutes after emerging.  If not, he/she will never fly.  It is amazing to watch the wings slowly fill up to their full state.  Thereafter, the butterfly will hang upside down for two to four hours allowing the wings to dry.  Then, the butterfly will take off to the skies.

If after emerging from its chrysalis, it falls from it to the ground, it is imperative that the butterfly quickly be placed back up there so it can continue to fill and dry its wings properly.  Most butterflies do not fall in this way, but if you observe this happen, quickly but gently pick it up and help it grasp its chrysalis again.  If for some reason, the chrysalis is not available for the butterfly to cling to, help it to cling to any object that it can hang from in an upside down position.

In the above photos, you can see how engorged the abdomen is when they first emerge.  Then, as they pump that abdominal fluid into their wings over the next 10-15 minutes, they finally take on their full shape.  Thus far, I've raised over 2,000 Monarchs, and I never get tired of seeing them emerge from their chrysalises as new butterflies.  I hope you get to experience this many times over as you raise your own Monarchs.

Monarch Butterfly Emerging (1 of 3)

Monarch Butterfly Emerging (2 of 3)

Monarch Butterfly Emerging (3 of 3)

So, our first batch of Monarchs is finished.  To recap, we had a total of 13 caterpillars.  The first 5 died due to the parasitic worms of a predatory fly.  Fortunately, the remaining caterpillars were still in their eggs when the first 5 were infected.  Thereafter, the remaining 8 hatched out and began their cycle.  We were able to protect them in our covered pavilions.  Of them, 7 made it to butterflies!  Only one died, and that was due to an accident.  When he pupated, his chrysalis fell and burst open.  So, 7 lived and 6 died.  Believe it or not, that's not a bad start for raising Monarchs.  In the wild, on the average, only one would have made it.

Already our next batch of caterpillars are developing and munching away.  Again, we have a variety of ages, varying from eggs to almost ready to pupate.  We'll keep you updated on the progress of the 2nd wave.

Happy Monarching!

Caleb & Janae Warren

Photography and video shots by E. Janae Warren

P.S.  Note to all educators, teachers, students, children, etc: One of the main goals of this site is to provide you with helpful information and support as you endeavor to raise Monarch butterflies and help restore their habitat in your community.  If you do not find an answer to your questions here on my Blog, or at my website: http://www.savethemonarch.calebwarren.com/, feel free to email me and I will do my best to help.

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