The Butterfly Project: Update on Mariposa and Luz

What a day for monarchs! Outside it was stormy and raining all day, but on my porch, it was a day for new beginnings. The last you saw caterpillar Mariposa, she was climbing up to the top of the habitat to go into chrysalis. Since then, both Mariposa and the second, Luz, went into chrysalis. Today they eclosed (emerged)!

Mariposa and Luz both turned out to be males! Both are very big, handsome boys with luxurious wings. How do I know they are male?

Look at the picture. See the small black dots in the lower two quadrants of the wings? Those are his pheromone sacs and it indicates a male.

Now it’s a race to the finish for the dozens of other caterpillars in my four habitats. Several chrysalis and lots of hungry cats of all sizes. This group will likely be the generation of monarchs that will make the long journey to the overwintering grounds high in the mountains of Mexico!

Milkweed for Monarchs: Part 2

Okay, so you want to plant milkweed in your garden. Great! The monarchs suffered a blow in their overwintering grounds last winter, suffering as high as a 70% mortality rate. So the more milkweed out there the better!

If you are planting milkweed into your garden for the spring, you can start with seeds. It’s easy and cheap. Click here for a website that offers FREE seeds!


If you want starter plants that are safe, I recommend these sites:

• http://www.livemonarch.com/store_plants.php

• http://www.butterfliesetc.com/butterfly-host-plants/host-plants-h-p/milkweed/tropical.html

• http://www.educationalscience.com/milkweed.htm

What do I mean by “Safe?”

Let’s say you want milkweed immediately so that you can go out and find eggs this season, or you have caterpillars and are running out of milkweed. Please ask your supplier whether the plants have been treated with anything (chemical or organic) that can harm caterpillars. Big store nurseries, like Home Depot, might have milkweed but it will likely have been sprayed with pesticides. Most nurseries will be honest. However, no matter what the reply, ALSO check to see if the plants have been at the nursery for 8 weeks. If not, there is a chance that the nursery that grew the plants used insecticide on the plants. Certified Organic parsley, fennel, and other plants can—and often are-- treated with Bt - deadly to caterpillars.

If your caterpillar plant/food has been treated with any insecticide within the last eight weeks, it can be deadly to your caterpillars. It is heartbreaking to find all your caterpillars dead from ingestion of poisons.

So whether you plan to plant the milkweed in your garden and simply sit back and watch the butterfly saga unfold in nature, or whether you hope to hunt for eggs and caterpillars and raise them in your habitat, please be certain that:

• The milkweed you use is pesticide free
• You have plenty of milkweed for your hungry caterpillars! Or else you’ll be frantically asking your friends, “Do you have milkweed you can spare?”

Next—hunting for monarch eggs. Stay tuned!

Milkweed for Monarchs: Part 1

What is it and where do I get it?

Among monarch caterpillar enthusiasts, a common cry for help is “Do you have milkweed you can spare?”

First off, you have to understand that for monarchs, milkweed is IT. It’s the Holy Grail. Their everything. If you want monarchs to come to your garden, you need to provide nectar plants for food and its particular host plant, milkweed, on which the females will lay their eggs. Nothing else will do.

Monarch caterpillars begin their life as a pearly egg the size of pin drop. (see earlier blog for photo). Eggs are eaten by many predators including wasps, spiders, anoles, and as low as one or two in every one hundred eggs will survive. When the caterpillar emerges three to five days later, it is the size of an eyelash. The average time from larva to chrysalis is 9 – 14 days. (though I find the heat can speed things up) and in that time the cat will grow 2000 times its hatch size!

So be forewarned--your caterpillars will need lots of Asclepius, commonly known as milkweed. There are many varieties of milkweed, hundreds in fact, and like most perennials, the choice of the plant best for you is based on your location.

Some people are worried that milkweed is invasive because of the word “weed.” Again, like most perennials the plant will increase in size and number over years, but if you choose plants suggested at butterfly sites, those varieties are not invasive. I live on the southern coast and use tropical milkweed. I find the two-foot plants with their showy flowers quite pretty in my garden. I have a big patch of it and guests always comment on it --and the monarchs fluttering by!

Interested in planting milkweed?  Next blog entry later today will explain where you can get free seeds or starter plants.

End of Caterpillar Stage!

The recent hot days here in SC have spurred the caterpillars to fast growth. This is normal and I’ve been amazed.

Today two caterpillars left the milkweed leaves and began travelling up to the screen top.  When caterpillars are ready to pupate or go into the chrysalis stage, they will crawl to the top of their cage and form a silken knot. They hang from their feet like an aerialist without a net. Then they form a “J” and begin twisting until they shed off their last skin. This is the end of their time as a caterpillar!

Build It and They Will Come!

Someone asked where I get the monarch eggs from. From Milkweed plants!

Milkweed in my aquarium

All butterflies need both nectar plants—flowers that provide food—and host plants. A host plant is the only place that a specific butterfly will lay her eggs on and the only food that the caterpillar will eat. For example: for the swallowtail, the carrot family, including parsley, is the host. I know many of you might have found a big caterpillar eating your parsley! For the monarch, the host plant is Asclepius, commonly known as milkweed. There are many varieties, but I plant only tropical milkweed here in SC. It is not invasive, as the “weed” name implies. It’s actually a pretty, tall plant with lovely orange and yellow flowers.

This year I planted a butterfly garden and I’ve had so many monarchs come by! They flutter around my milkweed, delighted to find a place to lay eggs. Then they go to my butterfly garden flowers to eat. It makes me happy to watch them and I forget my stress for that glorious moment. I encourage you to plant milkweed in your garden. And please do not spray pesticides! Remember, pesticides kill all insects, including the butterflies!


Checking my milkweed leaves for monarch eggs

I go to the garden each day and hunt for the small, pearly white monarch eggs found on the underside of the leaves. I bring them into my aquarium to raise, because wasps, spiders, and other insects prey upon the eggs. In nature, as low as 1% of eggs will survive to butterfly. So I bring them in to raise. It is critical to have enough milkweed to raise the caterpillars. They eat more than you will anticipate. I suggest one milkweed plant per caterpillar as a good rule of thumb. Next year I’m already planning on doubling my milkweed plants!

It’s a joy to see so many different butterflies visiting my garden this year. I promise—build it and they will come!

My Butterfly Blog: What an Appetite!

It’s amazing how fast these critters grow.  Caterpillar “Mariposa” is already a quarter inch in size. 

The second egg hatched, and I call this one “Luz.”  She’s still quite small but eating, eating, eating.  I’ll need to put more milkweed leaves out and check it twice a day now. 

If you raise a caterpillar at home, the rule of thumb is one milkweed plant per caterpillar! 

The Butterfly Project

My Butterfly Blog is beginning today to parallel the migrating season of the Monarch butterflies. Follow me each Tuesday as I update you on the progress of a monarch butterfly from egg to butterfly!

Today I’m showing you my first egg of the season. I’m calling it “Mariposa” which is the Spanish name for butterfly. It is also the name of the character in my upcoming novel who loves monarchs. I found the egg several days ago.

This amazing photo (thanks Barb Bergwerf!) shows the young, eyelash sized Mariposa and another egg due to hatch soon.

Welcome to the world, Mariposa!