Wow, thanks javiwa. I think I remember this being discussed on here before a while back. I'm glad there is a method for saving the eggs. Of course, all my milkweeds are new snd fresh, and the Monarchs have'nt made it here yet, so hopefully I won't need to go through that whole process. For everybody in the deep south hope you're paying close attention.

I may not have read the literature closely enough (and, so, could be misunderstanding how all this works), but technically the first batch of female Monarchs that come through and lay eggs could very well drop spores onto your MW leaves. And if the hatchlings eat those leaves, they'll ingest the OE spores and become infected.

I just like to play it safe -- that's just me. Many years ago I released plenty of healthy butterflies and never even knew the OE problem existed.

javiwa, thanks, I had'nt considered that. Usually the Monsrchs that would lay eggs here, and/ or their ofspring keep heading north toward Canada, and on the return trip all my milkweeds have already bloomed. I wish there was something I could just spray the plants with, because if I were to cut then down or drastically defoliate them, they probably would'nt grow back in the spring.

Jay: I think your Chicago winter freezes would take the place of my cutting my MWs down in November. If we get a freeze, though, I won't need to do any hard pruning. I wouldn't worry; we can only do so much. :) Perhaps just an occasional hosing down will wash off some of the spores that might be sitting on the leaf surfaces.

I was thinking. If a Monarch is flying around the garden, it could leave spores on other plants besides milkweeds. I guess all you can do is work at ridding the milkweeds of pathogens and hope for the best. The eastern population is the leased infected, the southern non migratory population is more infected, and the population west of the rockies is the most heavily infected.

Yes, I would presume OE spores are strewn all over as the Monarch flutter about. Since milkweeds are the only Monarch host plants, those are what everyone focuses on -- doubly so, since Monarchs are endangered.

At first I found hope in the article, as it seems to have split the US into western and eastern. Given that, I thought, we/Houston area would qualify as eastern. Then it isolates the southern tip of Florida: wouldn't want to be a Monarch there, I suppose. But now I wonder (only a bit) if there are separate stats for Southern states -- not that it would drastically affect what I'm doing at this point, I suppose. An 89% success rate isn't too shabby. :)

You are doing a lot for them and that makes me happy. I sleep better at night, knowing there are dedicated people like you out there. I think scientists will eventually find a cure for OE. There is the Hawaiian population, and a New Zealand population, so all the eggs aren't in one basket.

Thanks, Jay. I'm very, very small-scale at this point (esp compared to so many other dedicated folks). But, we do what we can, right? Every little bit helps.

Amen to that!!!

Jay: If you haven't already come across this article in your reading, please have a look particularly at the Comments/Responses section beneath the article. The more I've read, the more I realize that the 5% bleach solution I'm using isn't strong enough to kill the OE spores. (Apparently, the % solution required to kill OE would also kill the eggs you're trying to 'sterilize'.) Pertinent to nancee's comments, regular rinsing (with plain water) is the best way to keep spores off the leaf surfaces. Makes sense. I may very well dispense with the bleach solution for leaves I provide to my indoor monarch cats -- repeated rinses with water and surface agitation should do the trick.