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 Makes It!

A few days ago, I reported on an extremely small caterpillar that, while in the J Shape, fell from its perch.  Amazingly, it pupated while laying on its side.  It's rare to see this since a fall usually results in the caterpillar bursting open and dying.  However, this one did not.

Well, yesterday, the little tiny butterfly emerged, and I'm happy to report that the little female is doing fine.  We released her last night along with four of her brothers and sisters.  Today, two more healthy males emerged, and we released them this evening.

(Very small female Monarch the successfully emerged after having pupated while laying on her side!)

Thus far, we have released a total of 34 Monarchs this year.  Six or seven more are still left in this 3rd wave.  We anxiously await to see how they do.

I went ahead and ordered migration tags for my fall batch of Monarchs this year.  I decided to get 100 of them.  We'll see if I can raise that many this fall.  The tags are afixed to the right wing in a specific location.  If they make it to Mexico, they might be caught and their tag information retreaved.  This info is all housed in a main database at the University of Kansas.  Tagging Monarchs is a fun exercise with your children or students and does not harm the butterflies in any way.  For more information or to order your tags, visit http://www.monarchwatch.org/

Happy Monarching!


Caleb & Janae Warren
savethemonarch1@gmail.com

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

Two More Female Butterflies Emerge Today

Well, yesterday, we decided to release the one female butterfly that had emerged.  Well, this morning we awoke to find two more females have emerged.  You might remember that our first batch of butterflies was mostly male.  So far, this batch is exactly the opposite--all girls so far. 

There is only one caterpillar left to pupate, so this batch is all but done.  My son Joshua found three other chrysalises that are starting so change color.  So, we'll have several butterflies within the next 24 hours if all goes well.,

If you are a teacher or educator in the Corpus Christi Texas area, and are interested in raising Monarchs with your class, feel free to contact me for further information and support.  I'm hoping many will help raise some for release this October for the fall migration.

Happy Monarching!


Caleb, Janae & Joshua Warren

savethemonarch1@gmail.com

(So far, this batch is all females...3 and counting.)

(Two new female Monarchs emerged today.)

Build a Mote Around Your Monarch Butterfly Castle

Dear Reader,

If you have been reading and keeping up with my Blog, you might be thinking, with so many predators, is it really feasable to raise Monarch butterflies?  Yes, it is.  You just have to learn what predators are out there and then devise a strategy to protect them.  That's largely what this Blog is dedicated to doing.  So, whether you are a teacher, parent, student or butterfly enthusiast, you will find helpful suggestions to help you avoid the problems that one can encounter when raising Monarch butterflies.

Today, as I stewed about how many caterpillars I had lost to fire ants, I decided to try a technique I had read about to try and protect them.  It involves building a water mote around your butterfly pavillion.  This is very helpful if your caterpillars are outdoors, because even in a pavillion, ants can crawl through the little holes and kill your Monarch cats.  Here's what you do:

1.  Get four extra large matching bowls and four flat faced stones.  (I used two bricks cut in half.)
2.  Place a stone in each bowl.
3.  Set your table legs on top of the stones.
4.  Fill the bowls with water.
5.  Make sure your table/pavillion is not in contact with anything except the stones it is setting on.

The water acts like a castle mote and prevents the fire ants from getting to the table legs and into your pavillion.  Please note, though, that this is not always a perfect fix.  Ants are very persistant.  In some cases, they have been known to plunge into the water and drown by the thousands until their dead bodies accumulated to the point where they made a bridge across the water, and the remaining living ants could cross over.  However, it is a good place to start. 

(Water Mote protecting your Monarch Butterfly pavillion from fire ants.)

Lastly, you can spray some ant poison on the table legs or on the rocks in the bowls to add an additional deterent.  However, let me add that you must be very cautious in using any kind of poison or pesticide, since the Monarch butterflies are very susceptible to any such chemicals and will die quickly if they come into contact with them.  Also, make sure that no children, pets or other wild animals come into contact with such contaminants either.

Some folks chose to try and avoid the predators by raising the caterpillars totally indoors.  This is possible, but if you want to raise large numbers of Monarchs, you'll probably end up having to do much of it outdoors.  If that's the case, hopefully this Blog entry and others like it will help you protect your precious Monarchs.

Happy Monarching!


Caleb & Janae Warren

Heavy Losses Due To Fireants

Well, much has been happening in the last three days, but I didn't fully understand until today.  Fireants are terrible predators and kill many living creatures and insects.  I had noticed that an occasional caterpillar was on the bottom of the pavillion and that ants were feeding on it.  At first, the ants were sugar ants, and they were not harming the caterpillars at all.  They would simply get nectar from the Milkweed plants.  However, somehow the sugar ants dissipated, and without me noticing, small fireants took there place and began killing my caterpillars.  I didn't realize they were fireants until today.  The ants killed 10 caterpillars overnight.  I've lost close to 20 cats due to the ants alone.  This isn't counting the number that the predatory flies have killed.  I started this batch with over 50 cats.  If all goes well, I hope to get 16 butterflies out of it.  It is rough here in South Texas, but the lessons I'm learning now will help me better protect them in the future and have higher butterfly yeilds.

One last tragedy of the day occured when I was cleaning out my outdoor pavillion.  We live on the coast here in Corpus Christi, and it is always windy.  Well, a strong gust of wind came by and blew over my pavillion.  One of my chrysalises was ripped from its silk pad.  It's cremaster was torn lose, and the bottom of the chrysalis was slightly damaged too.  There was no saving it.

Well, enough bad news.  Check out my next Blog entry for some very exciting news!

Happy Monarching!


Caleb & Janae Warren

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

Looking For Milkweed? Don't Forget To Look In Your Own Yard

Late in the afternoon, I checked my outdoor pavillion one last time.  I noticed that one of the caterpillars was dead on the dirt in the pot of its host plant.  As I picked it up and examined it, I noticed evidence that yes, once again, the Tachinid fly larvae had struck again.  I was feeling a bit blue, because a good number of my caterpillars were not making it to adulthood, yet a lot of my Milkweed was being consumed.

Before I continue with my story, let me give you a little background information.  My family and I just purchased a house this year.  It was built in 1955, and we did a little remodeling before we moved in.  The lady that previously owned it lived in it from the day it was built until the day she died.  The house and yard had been unkept for 1-2 years by the time we purchased it.  I'm still trying to get the grounds under control, and we're getting close.  I'm watching very close to see what plants come up this year.  That will give me some kind of idea as to what the previous owner did to beautify the yard, and I'll start to make some choices from there.  I'm sure our new dog will no doubt influence my decisions too.  In fact, she already has.  *smile*

Anyway, as I was walking through my yard, thinking about my normal shortage of Milkweed, I noticed a plant next to my garden hose.  I would have passed it by, but I noticed two Milkweed bugs on it.  Milkweed bugs are orange and black insects that feed exclusively on Milkweed plants.  (See photo below).  If you see them on a plant, you've no doubt just found a Milkweed plant.  Although they won't hurt your Monarch caterpillars, they do consume their host plant, and for that reason, they are in competition with the Monarchs.  For that reason, I did a double take.  All of a sudden, something popped into my brain.  If those are Milkweed bugs, they would only be on Milkweed plants.  Could it be that I have wild Milkweed plants growing on my recently purchased property?  Well, I told my wife there is one easy way to find out.  I pinched off one of the leaves of the mystery plant, and you guessed it, a white milky fluid leaked out!  It indeed appears to be Milkweed.  However, it is definitely not Tropical Milkweed, one of the most commonly known Milkweed species.  By its appearance, if I had to take a guess, I'd say it looks like Sand Milkweed.  It does have flower buds under its leaves, so hopefully it will be blooming soon.  At that point, I should know exactly which species of Milkweed it is. 

One thing is for sure, if you're running low on Milkweed, it never hurts to look around your local area, including your own back yard.  You might be surprised what you will find there.

(Unknown species of Milkweed growing wild in my back yard!)

(Leaf of the wild Milkweed plant growing in my back yard.)

(Wild Milkweed plant growing in my back yard with Milkweed bug on it.)

(Milkweed Bug)

A few more caterpillars are getting ready to pupate.  I'll see what we got in the morning and let you know.

Happy Monarching!

Caleb & Janae Warren

The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies

This weekend, I purchased a new dvd on the Migration of the Monarch butterflies.  It was  PBS NOVA special aired last year.  It is available on regular dvd or Blu-Ray high definition.















(Regular DVD)         (Blu-Ray DVD)

The video photagraphy is stunning.  They researched their subject well.  The tracing of the annual migration of Monarchs is true aweinspiring.  They also highlight the dangers that Monarchs face as they migrate - both natural and manmade.  I know you will enjoy it. It will make a great teaching tool for parents and teachers alike.  It's a great video to help you learn the basics about this facinating creature.  Like they say in the movie, there really isn't anything else in the natural world that quite compares with the Monarch butterfly.

Happy Monarching!


Caleb & Janae Warren
savethemonarch1@gmail.com