That's cool. 2015 was the first year I've had Monarchs since I planted milkweed 3 yrs ago. Its so nice!!

~SJN

Very cool to hear.

I had to pull out all my milkweed a couple months ago. Through the summer I saw a few Monarchs in my yard and I even had some caterpillars, but I noticed that the monarchs would avoid any plants with Milkweed bugs on them, which was about 98% of my plants. I had tried neem oil, soapy water, soapy water with neem oil, knocking nymphs into a bucket of soapy water, clipping the tips with nymphs and dunking them in soapy water and good, old-fashioned crushing, all while waiting for whatever naturally fed on milkweed bugs to show up. Nothing worked. So after the Day of the Dead, which usually coincides with the Mexican migration, I cut out all my plants. The milkweed bugs also did a fair job of preventing my plants from ever flowering, so I don't even know if I will get reseeds this year. Around March I will start scouring the plant sales for potted milkweeds to bring home and let them reseed as they wish. I have gotten milkweed to grow from seed before, but it is incredibly difficult to transplant them without killing them.

I usually try to cut down my milkweed before fall, so the monarchs will fly south for the winter like they are supposed to, but this year, there was one, big, fat juicy larva on the plant, so I left him, even moved him to an area where he hadn't stripped the leaves, which is where he hung his chrysalis. I've had lots of caterpillars and lots of butterflies, but never could find a chrysalis. They tend not to put them on the milkweed plant itself, but this one did.

HE'S OUT! I got pics, and I'll make an album tomorrow, but here's a pic of him at the top of the milkweed, just before he tried to take off. He tried to fly and fell down into a small rosemary plant. It was a struggle for him to get out of it and I wanted so much to help, but was told not to touch him after he emerged, so I didn't. He seemed to be stuck up against a pot, so I moved that, and he was able to climb up the plant.

My milkweed plants don't carry over well through the summer. I haven't seen any chrysalises yet this fall or winter. I have seen caterpillars (not this month). It makes me sad when the butterfly never emerges.

I think there are local populations of monarchs in south Florida that never migrate to Mexico.

The non-native milkweed is what keeps them here. There is a move to get people to not plant it, or to cut it back in the fall so they'll fly away

Tropical Milkweed Bad for Monarchs

Michael, about milkweed bugs: thanks for bringing it up, as I was not aware & am only starting my 2nd year of growing tropical milkweed. That sounds like a terrible infestation you had. Advice online says, just crush/smash - which is one of your listed attempted remedies. I'm wondering if you didn't do that frequently enough (but applied a coating and waited...meanwhile, they devoured). In my small group of milkweed plants, I was surprised this fall how the flowers, monarchs, and cats did not match the spring/summer production -- and I had no bugs or other (recognized by me) probable cause. Seemed like it would have been perfect weather... but, perhaps the rain and cloudy days disrupted plant/monarch cycle?

Not to totally dispute that, but researchers are on the fence as to just what keeps some of them in South Florida. Some say that there has always been a strain of Monarch that have over-wintered in South Florida. Some think that it was just a matter of a migrating group that got sidetracked due to changing landscapes and ended up in South Florida. Supposedly, some Monarchs have made it to Hawaii (or were released there) and are now year-round residents of those islands. They even have Monarchs over in Australia that have a similar, but upside down migration.

Personally, I do not know, but I would hazard a guess that the food isn't what is keeping them here. I have a friend up in Michigan who grows milkweed in her yard for the Monarchs and many of her neighbors also grow it, but the Monarchs always leave long before hers is killed off by a frost. So she ends up having a month or more of the milkweed growing unhindered and reseeding itself. If they took their cues from the food, then they would stick around until the frosts come in. And supposedly once they go through the hormonal change for the long flight to Mexico as well as their extended lifespan (that really is an amazing feat on their part), they don't switch back until they have migrated back and are ready to breed again. So the idea that they switch to Migration Mode, travel to South Florida, switch to Breeding Mode and then switch back to Migration Mode in the Spring just seems off to me. If anything, I would say it is probably a number of factors that have put a year-round group in South Florida and no one plant or any other one thing is to blame.

My butterfly is still hanging out on that tomato plant. I don't know if it's the temperatures, or if he just isn't strong enough to fly, but I hope he's o.k. tonight. I wish I could move him to a more sheltered place. He's just out there in the open. Shouldn't he have flown away by now?

Probably the temperatures. Butterflies need to warm up to be able to fly. This is why some butterfly garden guides suggest a rock or some other heatsink placed in a location where it will catch morning sunlight. Butterflies will use that warmth to dry their wings and warm their bodies before a day of fluttering. I have seen this behavior in some places, but in my own yard they seem to prefer finding a high spot where they can slowly open and close their wings. If yours makes it through the night, try to move it to a sunny spot. It is supposed to be a warmish night, so your little butterfly just needs to worry about predators and rain.

It was in a sunny spot, and it was 70 degrees. I think it will make it through the night; only going down to upper 50s. It's in what will be a sunny spot tomorrow. I hope he'll be o.k. I keep checking on him, and he just looks like he's sleeping, hanging there.

I raise Monarchs and Swallowtails also. I always let them emerge in my screened lanai. They usually leave the Milkweed and attach to other plants or even tables or screens on the lanai. I watch them. When they emerge they need to hang to let fluid fill their wings. Sometimes they hang for a full day.

I move them out of the lanai when I'm sure they can hang and fly outside. If the weather is cold I keep them in the lanai. Otherwise, I move them outside to hang on a bush. They need sunlight to dry their wings.

I also tag them. I live in Sarasota and work with the Southwest Monarch Society which actively helps people learn to raise and tag Monarchs.

Milkweed should not be cut back South of Orlando. These butterflies do not migrate to Mexico. They need Milkweedand nectar plants to feed.

You did a great job. I'm sure this butterfly will survive. They tend to stay near where they lived and hopefully you have some nectar plants for it to gain strength. A little sugar water in a shallow dish will help until it can find flowers.

Great job,

Jane

some info

Thanks, Jane. I looked up how to use the scrubbies with sugar water or Gatorade to feed them. The only nectar plants still blooming around here in Gainesville is the milkweed (which isn't large enough to be a real nectar plant) and a couple of tropical hibiscus right outside my courtyard. I'm going to make him a feeding tray tomorrow and show him where it is, then I'll hang him on the hibiscus bush where he can get plenty of sunshine.

He's still hanging on this morning, and flaps his wings every time I go outside, as if to say hi. So sweet. I'm leaving him where he is for now, because he's safe from the rain. Put two freshly opened wet hibiscus blossoms near him in case he gets hungry. Just letting him hang out right now. Wish I had a screen porch to put him in, but I don't, so he's just gotta stay where he is for now. He's under the eaves and under an outdoor table, so safe and dry for now, and right next to the house, so it's probably a little warmer there too.

I stuck a stick into one of the pots, because the tiny tomato plant was bending over, and he climbed up on it and is hanging there, safe and dry under the table. If he's still there tomorrow, I'm going to cover the table at night with a blanket to keep him a little warmer, since it's going down into the 30s, that is, if he doesn't fly away tomorrow. It's supposed to be very sunny, and he's been hanging out exercising his wings for a couple of days now.