I'm disappointed. I've been keeping close track of my 6 Monarch cats, and changing their milkweed supply daily. Unfortunately, two have already exhibited stunted growth followed by death. There are still 4 living, but one is very stunted like the first two. One is easily three times the size of the smaller one. I'm hoping she for the best, but bracing for disappointment. Hope everyone else is having good results.

Martha

Im so sorry! Ive release my 88th Monarch today! They are just little piggies

I only saw my 2nd Monarch of the season today. I have been waiting for so long. My first was last week. I cried when I found one lying in my yard. He's buried under a patch of milkweed in my front bed.

On a happier note, I spotted what I believe to be a Diana butterfly. I'd never seen one before.

Let us know how they progress, Martha. I'm hoping the rest do well. I know they will be getting good care.

Thanks for checking in with me and for the support. Jacob, I'm so thrilled that someone is seeing good numbers and making the effort to help them survive. Tom, I will definitely keep you posted. Weirwood, the generation of reproducing Monarchs do have a very short natural lifespan, since they expend their energy on reproduction. So, maybe your buried Monarch already left it's legacy. At least it wasn't eaten by a predator. Happy gardening to all.

Martha

I truly hope so. Finding a surprise cat would be so exciting.

The only milkweed I've seen this past month has been my own personal stand. This is only it's first year. Last year I found a dozen wild ones on my road alone. They're all gone now. When will people understand?

Wish I could offer something in the way of good news but despite my efforts the past 10+ years, I've not seen a single monarch the past year or two. It's depressing and discouraging. I designed, winter sowed and planted my garden beds to sustain pollinators but the pollinators haven't survived Round-Up.

Well, two more died, so I have two left from the original six eggs. They were all found in the same patch of A incarnata by my sister. The big cat that I found has been a chrysalis for about a week. The cats are in I think the fourth and fifth instar, but not eating as ravenously as I would like. All I can do is keep them fed and clean.

You are lucky. Had a lot of monarchs and caterpillars last year. This year I am lucky to see one adult a week. Same with the gulf fritillary. Everything else seems in the normal numbers. More black swallowtail caterpillars since I added more Rue and Parsley.

Irisstoiser,

I do consider myself very lucky. Every year I fear that I will not get a chance to enjoy this amazing process. But, so far I have managed to find at least a few eggs. Unfortunately, the numbers are fewer and fewer every year.

Martha

I've only seen 2 adult monarchs this year. I usually get tons and the milkweed in my yard is usually defoliated by all of the caterpillars, but not this year.

I *may* have just seen a monarch flap past me in my little city garden. Darn thing was moving too fast to be sure, but I got an impression of an orange and black pattern and white spots.

Do you all buy cats (caterpillars) or find them and keep them close to watch their progression? This looks like fun to me and not sure where to start if I wanted to next year. Heidi

I'm sure most, if not all of us, find the caterpillars on our plants and then either watch them where they are or put them in enclosures of some kind and feed them the plants they were on. The first thing to do I'm sure you are already doing, and that is get plants that attract butterflies. If you want caterpillars you will need to get plants that they lay their eggs on (larval plants.) For Monarchs that means milkweeds.

The best things in life are free! Well, not totally free as you have to provide the right plants, somehow. But with the right plants it's amazing how the butterflies will come and find you.

I haven't gotten into monarchs (yet) or managed to build up a lot of butterfly flowers on my tiny garden yet, but I've had black swallowtails come and find my fairly small outdoor potted parsley plants to lay their eggs. That's how I got interested in catching caterpillars again, after a hiatus of some decades since I was 8. :-)

Hi Docmom, long time no see! Sorry about your losses and hope you have many successful eclosures.

Between
the plummet in Monarch numbers, and the relatively low numbers that
make it here to the Northeast, I have wondered too, if my Monarch
rearing days were over. But this year in early August a female came
through and laid eggs in the garden, and then I decided to check some
local fields and there was a lot of egg-laying going on in one of them
(this field is hayed in early summer so that there are many fresh stalks that sprout up
afterwards and the Mama Monarchs LOVE this).

I've released about
50 so far, got another 70 or so in process. This will be my 2nd
biggest year of raising Monarchs since 2008 (2012 was the biggest - 233
Monarchs released, but a couple years, zero). Ordered 25 tags from
Monarch Watch but it turns out I could have used more.

There
has been some mortality this year, quite a few eggs failed to hatch
(which is unusual), and a fair number (approx 5%?) that have
died at some stage along the way. I also always accidentally squish a
few myself, not meaning to of course :(.

Hello, Terrene! And everyone else. Well, I was lucky again. I was weeding my neglected butterfly garden and found three more Monarch cats. They were all sitting still on some of the scruffiest milkweed, all eaten and covered with aphids. So, I brought them in and gave them fresh milkweed from my new backyard butterfly garden. I just installed it this spring/summer. The soil in the new spot is much richer and loamy. But, there isn't nearly as much sun. I also saw another adult Monarch cruising by what is left of my Liatris ligualistylus, and then stopping at the Verbena boniarensis.

I was sad to see my last two monarch caterpillars leave my one syriaca plant outside. I did have about six. Not bad for one plant.

I've released 11, mostly male, this fall and I have 5 or 6 left inside in various stages of growth. I watched two Monarchs feeding today and about two days ago one Monarch was feeding. Obviously other Monarchs have visited, since I found eggs and babies. Still, last fall I had Monarchs daily over a period of several weeks. I sure hope most are just giving me a pass this season.

Mary