cAROL - I've seen just one monarch BF this year so far. In fact, I haven't seen many BFs of any sort except the one in the photo below that I know the name of but can't think of it.

{{gwi:416623}}

I've checked some of the milkweed leaves but haven't seen anything that could be eggs.

Good luck raising your monarch cat! And be sure to keep us up-to-date on his progress!

Carol, I'm raising my first cat right now. I hadn't planned on it this year, but when I saw him crawling away from the dill, I had to intervene. To see pictures, check out my post on the Butterfly Forum entitled..Help,.Quick

I've seen a couple of monarchs, but mainly Black Swallowtail and Tiger Swallowtail.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Help..Quick

Gardenweed, That is a beautiful Great Spangled Fritillary!!

Carol,
Nice to see you are helping our butterfly royalty. :O) In the winter of 2009/2010, the population which of Monarchs which returned to Mexico was the lowest ever recorded - they record it in number of hectares they cover - but in the winter of 2010/2011, the population had doubled so there is hope. There's no doubt that weather has much to do with their survival and this year the heat wave hitting all of us is a big worry. 2010 was just the perfect summer for most of the population.

Keep giving them a chance. I was floored when I discovered that only 2% of eggs laid in the wild make it to adulthood.

Someday I'll be raising Monarchs again with many winter sown plants!! :O)

Hi Tiffy, man, it is sooooooooooo nice to see you again, how are you doing?And your daughter?Have you adjusted to a new life some what? I think of you all the time, and send you silent thoughts when I am in the garden working.
The last couple of days, I have a few more Monarchs,I will be checking for eggs tomorrow, it was Hot today.
Bev, didn't you plant for them this year,I seem to remember you talking about raising them last year.Good luck, how are you feeding yours?I put my milkweed in a vitamin bottle/with a hole in the lid, and it seems to keep it fresh.He is getting nice and fat.
Thanks for posting Tiffy,I can't wait to hear from you more often.
cAROL

I have seen a few, but found no cats on my asclepias. I started some swamp milkweed, so maybe that will yield more cats. My praying mantis babies are only about 2 inches long, so I don't think they are the culprits. Living one block from the Ohio State golf course doesn't help.

Carol,

I've been WSing for butterflies for three years. I thought I would start raising them this year, but haven't had the time. I had been watching this fellow on my dill plants for several days and caught him crawling off the plant, so I figured he was getting ready to pupate. I brought him in and in a few hours he attached himself to the stick in the bowl. All day today I have been watching him. It is such a miracle, and this is the first time I've done this.

He'll probably pupate overnight and I will miss it, but at least he has a good chance of making it.

I've never seen an egg on a plant, although I have looked. I'll keep adding plants. I think I need a spicebush for the Tiger Swallowtails. I'm going to check with my garden center to see if they can get me one.

Well, butterfly season started for me back in mid-June, when I found 2 little cats on the common milkweed in the yard. I just stumbled across the first one and was shocked that a Monarch had made its way here in early June to lay some eggs. I don't usually see Monarchs until July and last year it was mid-August.

I also found Black Swallowtail eggs on the Dill and am now raising 6 BST cats (3rd instar) and 13 tiny Monarch cats and 3 eggs. Hope they keep coming.

The funny thing is, I haven't seen a single Monarch in the yard, but obviously female(s) have been here laying eggs. So I am checking the milkweed regularly. Mama Monarch particularly loves the 1st year Swamp milkweed plants (WS and reseeds).

Bev, Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is host plant for the Spicebush Swallowtail.

Awesome shot Carol!!! Love it!!! :)

Terren, I know the first thought for the spicebush is the Spicebush butterfly, but I had found the link below which also lists it as a host plant for the Tiger. I thought it would be easier to put in a new bush, rather than a tree.

Has anyone heard of the spicebush being used by a Tiger? I thought maybe I could get both butterflies with it. Although if I do that, I'll have to bring back the lantana for the Spicebush butterfly.(I tried to over winter it in the garage, but it died.) I really only have a small amount of milkweed (swamp milkweed and butterfly weed).

Here is a link that might be useful: Tiger

Thanks for the compliment Neil,I am sure Eileen will say so as well, teehee, it is her photo.
Bev, I read your "Help" after I posted,tryed to replay, but I was Rejected, can you believe THAT!.
My cat has spun.My notes were not very good from last year,I did not record how long before they emerge as a butterfly, I need to learn the correct language,I will work on that.
I will keep you all posted,this is So. exciting,isn't it.
cAROL

So far 1-White Swallowtail, 2-Monarch, 3-Fritillaries, a host of white sulphurs. No Luna Moths sightings.

ladyrose,are these all cats you have?
cAROL

No monar-hs in 3 yrs now, were plentiful and got photos easily. One tiger swallowtail, a thrill, and the usual little white ones and one spe-kled one not as pretty (didn't look klose) so may-e it was like that ni-e photo.

If I'm lu-ky enough to see some -aterpillars, I ha-e some -olunteer milkweed ready to go and -an -he-k -a-k to this thread.

3 keys stu-k. new key-oard ordered. sorry.

Your funny Aliska, I thought you were talking in code, :0)
I still have only the one,so far, so good, how about you bev?
cAROL

Well, if you want a fastidious message as is my usual style (not), I can copy and paste the broken letters in which I have done herein.

Nuf of that, got into my email that way though in an ingenious rounda-out way.

No. Just butterfly sightings.

Only a few butterflies, no more cats. I've never found the eggs for any, but I don't look often for the monarchs. I have to climb into the garden to get to the milkweed.

Carol,

I found my first egg today. Check out my post on the Butterfly forum.

Bev

Here is a link that might be useful: BST egg

Bev congrats on your egg/cats! Yes those look like 2nd instar. In my experience, BSTs are laid-back caterpillars, don't seem to move around or eat much until they are 4th/5th instar. Once in awhile if you irritate a large one, it will "stink" you, but that is unusual. I enjoy raising them.

Well butterfly season is humming along here. Not overwhelming numbers but enough to keep me busy. Haven't found any eggs in the past week? The most exciting thing lately, a friend and I were out walking in the woods yesterday, and we collected 2 Spicebush swallowtail caterpillars on some small Sassafras trees! So a new butterfly to raise. :)

Currently I have:

13 Monarch chrysalises
5 Monarch cats, 4 ready to pupate, 1 3rd instar
7 Black Swallowtail chrysalises (1 from last year, still hasn't eclosed)
2 Black swallowtail cats, 3rd & 4th instar
2 Spicebush swallowtail cats, 2nd & 3rd instar

I am taking some pics, and would post some, but am behind on my photo editing this year. By the time the photos get uploaded and edited, it is weeks later and they are out of date! I will try.

Bev2009,I did read your posting on the BF. forum, great to seee some pictures as well,I am going out in a few, to check my plants,and hoping to find Something,anything,has not been a good year for Monarchs.
Terrene,you have been a busy collector for sure, I would love to see your pictures, even if they are out of date, I planted Dill, parsley,and fennel, last year, and this year,hoping to attract some BST's, nothing so far.
Lets all keep up the good work,
cAROL

I'm having my best Monarch butterfly summer ever, but it didn't start until recent weeks. I grow tons of milkweed and had found a single egg in July. This week, when I went out to get fresh leaves for the caterpillar, I couldn't cut a plant without finding more eggs or cats. Now I have at least 35 eggs or cats and three chrysalids. And I find more every time I go out. I hope I can keep up with all the feeding and cleaning, but I enjoy it so much. Good luck to the rest of you!

Martha

Martha, good for you! I haven't found one Monarch egg or cat and only a couple of Monarch butterflies in the garden all summer. But I am inundated with Black Swallowtails!

Question--When monarchs get ready to pupate, do they leave their host plant to find somewhere else to form their chrysalis? I had several that were getting really big, then just disappeared yesterday, and I can't find any chrysalis's on the milkweed. I hope nothing made a snack out of them.

Karen

I'm no expert but last year I had monarch cats on my milkweed and after they disappeared I began looking for the chrysalis. Found one attached to the underside of my rain gutter off the back of the breezeway. So the answer to your question is yes, they do find somewhere else to form their chrysalis but hopefully those with more hands-on experience will post with their results as well.

Yes, they definitely find somewhere else to pupate rather that on the milkweed. I've never found a chrysalis in my yard, though I keep a close eye on the milkweed most of the time. I also do a pretty thorough search for cats, so hopefully I'm raising most of them inside. So, that might explain it as well.

Martha