Monarch Larva and Milkweed Observation

[street]

In the spring of 2019 I brought home some milkweed seed from the ranch where I have a patch of it growing. Nothing came up in 2019 but this spring it started to grow and now I have about 8 plants out back.

Any way today, I was inspecting for larva and plant eating and low in behold I found 3 yellow/white/black striped larva which is a monarch larva. Also holes in leaves where they been eaten and it is the only plant they eat to survive.

I was hoping this would be the outcome to watch and hopefully be part of the process to help the monarch survive.

Not sure how many know or even studied the process involved in life of a monarch, but is interesting to me. If not and interested goggle it for an interesting nature lesson.

I will follow with pictures if anyone is interested.

 

[Winemaker]

I wanted to plant some milkweed in the empty field behind the house but just haven't gotten around to it. Yesterday on my daily 3 mile walk, I noticed about 20 monarchs in 3 butterfly bushes. Never noticed them before, so I better get off my duff.

 

[f35phixer]

very cool, we have some on our golf course, brought seeds home, did all the right thigns cold soak etc, threw in ground, nothing.

COngrats !

 

[pacergal]

thats great!
I have thought of doing that, but don't have much property and understand that it spreads easily.
I would enjoy seeing pictures.

 

[audreyh1]

Sure. We have several butterfly friends who follow the life cycle of caterpillars (which is what they call the larvae). Here is the Monarch life cycle in photos one of them posted http://thedauphins.net/id124.html

Milkweed spreads by seed. Our plants only seem to last 2-3 years. We don’t have enough come up that it’s a nuisance. We often relocate “volunteers” to a better location.

 

[FI50]

Last year we had quite a population of Monarch in our backyard. Sadly, the population isn't quite as healthy this year. Will try to put down some milkweeds in the back.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Audreyh1 very cool pictures.
Thank you

 

[f35phixer]

Mexican Milkweed - Asclepias curassavica is a caterpillar food plant/host plant of the Monarch. Of the many milkweeds in the LRGV, Mexican Milkweed seems to be their preferred choice.

Going to see if i can find this online..

 

[street]

Just back home and glad to see others have interest in natures magical happens. I will follow the progression and post with pictures till a butterfly appear.

Thanks audreyh1 and others.

 

[target2019]

Within the last few days I became interested in Milkweed, and read a few articles. One should be careful which species you're planting. Check out the maps which show what's indigenous to certain areas.

 

[Ronstar]

I’ve been chasing monarchs and monarch caterpillars with my camera for the last 5 years. They are elusive. I generally look for milkweed plants along my hiking routes. I’ve found several milkweed plants, but no evidence of monarchs in any stage yet.

I’ve only been able to photograph butterflies. I can’t wait to find and photograph a full grown caterpillar.

Street - please post photos!

 

[cathy63]

I love monarchs. Last time we were in Santa Barbara in the winter, we stopped by the preserve in Goleta where they overwinter during their migration. It's pretty interesting to see them clustering together in the trees. They look like clumps of dead leaves until you realize that they're moving and every once in a while one opens its wings and you get a flash of orange.

 

[street]

Here is the milkweed I planted and hoed out but just 8 or so plants. You can see the holes where they been eaten and also the seed/silk pod that contains the seed.
There is 3 total and a picture of each one. I also have a butterfly cage to collect the cocoon to watch the process.

 

[Ronstar]

^ awesome! Thanks for posting!

 

[Palmtree]

I've tried for several years to grow weeds....I'm sorry, I mean milkweed for the Monarch butterflies in a natural but sunny area of our property. I've ordered seeds from different vendors. Tilled dirt and "conditioned" the seeds in the fridge for the required time. Watered and watched. Never had a single seed sprout.

 

[street]

https://youtu.be/zdwiyM_41A0[/URL]

 

[street]

Here is how you get milkweed to grow. It may take some patients but finally the conditions will be right for it to start.
https://monarchjointventure.org/res...milkweed seeds,(cold treated) before planting.

Here is a great video of the cycle of life from birth to death of the Monarch.
https://youtu.be/zdwiyM_41A0

I'm not sure how to have the video show up on post. If anyone can post these, so they are ready to play instead of the link I posted I would appreciate that.
Thank You

 

[braumeister]

Like this:

 

[braumeister]

While attending the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA I was lucky enough to spend considerable time in the adjoining town of Pacific Grove. The monarchs were just incredible to see.

Every Year Thousands of Monarchs Overwinter in Pacific Grove
Arriving in October, monarch butterflies cluster together on pine, cypress and eucalyptus trees in the Sanctuary. Their migration to Pacific Grove is so unique that Pacific Grove is nicknamed "Butterfly Town, U.S.A." The community has always welcomed the butterflies and advocated for their protection. Citizens of Pacific Grove voted to create an additional tax to create the Monarch Grove Sanctuary which is cared for by dedicated volunteers.

Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary

 

[jimbee]

Nice pictures, street, thanks for uploading. We have a bunch of milkweed in our field, here are a couple of shots taken with my phone.

 

[street]

braumeister >>> Beautiful, thanks!

jimbee >>> Thanks for those pictures. Won't be long for them to be flying away.

 

[audreyh1]

One thing at our place we’ve noticed the monarch caterpillars often travel quite far to make their cocoon. They seem to like buildings. They’ve often crawled up house walls to the soffits to make their cocoons, or even up some 16 foot columns.

 

[6miths]

We are lucky to have many milkweed plants come up without help at home and at the cottage. We've planted many Rudbeckia, Echinachea and butterfly bushes. Yesterday I counted 15 butterflies on one of the bushes. Last year I noticed a chrysalis on a kayak I was about to use and gently removed it and repositioned it on a nearby tree. Was fascinating to see the changes over the following two weeks culminating in the monarch emerging. Beautiful creatures.

 

[John Galt III]

I've tried for several years to grow weeds....I'm sorry, I mean milkweed for the Monarch butterflies in a natural but sunny area of our property. I've ordered seeds from different vendors. Tilled dirt and "conditioned" the seeds in the fridge for the required time. Watered and watched. Never had a single seed sprout.

I have Echinancea flowers along my fence. I've tried to pant seeds in the bare sports, and they only grew once, and only in one patch. However, the birds eat the seeds from the flower pods, and the bird droppings make new Echinaceas sprout at random along the fence line. I see plenty of different butterflies on the flowers. Even saw a pair of hummingbirds feeding on them once, years ago.

 

[Ronstar]

I inspected about a hundred milkweed plants this morning on my hike. Saw nothing monarch related on the plants. Have seen a lot of monarchs flying around recently though.