That's right! NICE shot Karen :D

Awe... They're sooo cute!!! Do they usually come this early in your area? I mean the caterpillars. My Asclepias is barely out of the ground. Can't believe how much ahead you are. :O)

Thanks, Vera. My husband took the photo. These caterpillars are so tiny- about 1/4 inch long- I knew I couldn't get a good picture. I am a rotten photographer.

These are wintersown BF weed, now starting their 3rd year. It's the first time I've had cats on them. I see them on 2 of my 3 plants.

Karen

Darn, I didn't see your post, tiffy. I posted again and it didn't show up. I guess because I didn't change the subject line. What a stupid rule.

Tiffy, I don't know when the caterpillars normally show up here because I have never had them before. The BF weed emergence is comparable to last year, though.

I have read about their life cycle on the net but this still doesn't make sense to me. When would the butterfly have to lay these eggs? I never see monarchs here until later in summer.

Karen

Yeah...that is a little weird! For sure the eggs couldn't have wintered over. She would have had to lay those eggs 30 days ago. Was it that warm then?

Vera

...no, I was wrong.
Found this website....

Here is a link that might be useful: Monarch Butterfly USA~ Life Cycle

How cool kqcrna!!
If you could bring him(or her) in it would greatly increase the chance that he would make to the chrysalis stage. They can get eaten by birds or predatory wasps. It doesn't have to a fancy cage, even a mayo jar would work. Check out the butterfly garden forum or Monarchwatch.org -B

Here is a link that might be useful: monarchwatch/rearing cats

I actually discovered that the birds rarely eat the caterpillars because they are poisonous to them, but predatory wasps can harm them. In my gardens, the deers will knock them off as well as the dogs and that is why I've started raising them in the house. It is such a beautiful experience to release a monarch butterfly and so easy. Last year I kept the last one - a male - on my finger until he took flight. Sometimes it takes a couple of hours for their wings to dry, but this one started flying in 15 minutes from emergence. He was gorgeous!

It is early, but not completely out of the ordinary. Two years ago we spotted our first Monarch in late May here.

Thanks for the links Vera and Brandy.

Vera, I had actually seen that link, which is why I don't understand. According to that the butterfly would have had to lay those eggs about a week ago right? And it would have had to migrate here from Mexico or So. Cal. by then? I never see a monarch until around late June or July I think, more in August. Does anyone else in Ohio see them, or have the caterpillars yet?

It also says they only live as butterflies for about 2-6 weeks. Then what? Do they die of natural causes? Get eaten by predators? Where do butterflies go to die? I've never seen a dead butterfly.

Brandy: I don't think I'm ready to raise them in captivity. I can't think of anything to use for one thing. They probably have a better chance in nature than in my hands.

They apparently have voracious appetites. I saw about 8 cats on one plant, 2 cats on another. Will they have enough food from these 2 plants?

Karen

Karen,

I'm a little puzzled by 'they only live as butterflies for about 2-6 weeks'. Monarchs actually can live as long as three years given the right circumstances. I mean, they do have to migrate to Mexico and come back, right?

The caterpillars I've raised stay as such for about 10 days before they make their chrysalis, and then they emarge about 7 days later.

I didn't read the articles but will do so sometime today. Right now I'm battling the end of a Lysimachia Firecraker removal! UGH! :O)

Tiffy: According to that "life cycle" link above, the first through third generation only live 2 to 6 weeks as butterflies. It's the 4th generation that migrates and hibernates, and they live 6 to 8 months, returning in spring to lay eggs, then they die.

But I sure haven't seen monarch butterflies yet, or any for that matter.

I checked them this morning. They're a lot bigger than yesterday!

Karen

Here's a photo of one which went into it's chrysalis a couple of days later. There's even some poop next to it in the photo. :O)

{{gwi:194186}}

here's another cool link.-B

Here is a link that might be useful: monarch migration map

I saw a single Monarch yesterday hanging around the potted Meyer lemon tree (it's full of blossoms right now). Thought it was really odd to see one this early!

Another question for those in the know.

Yesterday most if not all cats were present and accounted for. Now they have almost totally consumed that plant, and some migrated to another plant in a different bed, probably a good 20 to 30 feet away. Some I can't find today- maybe they went into a crysallis but I can't find any.

What will happen to my butterfly weed? Will it grow new foliage? Or just look half-dead all summer?

Thanks,

Karen

I'm not at expert at all, but wanted to chime in anyway and say how cool! Brings back wonderful memories. When I was a child, we used to find them as eggs on milkweed and put them in a jar, just something simple like a mayo one, and watch them hatch, give them milkweed leaves to eat, grow, and form a crysallis, and when they emerged as butterflies, let them go. And yes, they ate like crazy and grew fast as catepillars, and pooped a LOT! I remember going to camp for a week and my dad writing me how much it had eaten, grown, and pooped! lol This was all in summer in Iowa, so I imagine couldn't have been longer than a few months? I remember once we went on a road trip and the butterfly emerged on vacation and letting it go. Such great memories.

Now I live in the bay area in California and in the winter we visit Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz which is a Monarch habitat and you can see literally thousands. It's amazing. They have a little video about their life cycle. It is so incredible. It takes several generations to complete a migration. I mean, it's just so incredible to me how they instictively know how to go along a route not only they have never been on, but neither have their parents, but yet they do and it completes and continues.

Thanks for sharing. I'm definately making plans to plant something edible for monarchs. :)

Aww...this warms my heart :-)
I had my first Monarch cats (on an Ascelpias I planted specifically for them). It was a great sense of pleasure, knowing I helped give them a place to carry out a part of their life cycle.
My Ascelpias is only four inches high right now.
I saw a Swallowtail two days ago though, headed straight for the Lilac bushes.
Thanks everyone for sharing the maps, infos, and pictures!
Linda

Karen,

I would think that the plants would grow right back.

The 'cats' will go on to other plants to form their chrysalis sometimes, so be careful with the neighbouring plants. The reason they do this is because there's not much left to hang on to after they've eaten the Asclepias. I've found a couple of chrysalis on Buddleias next to the Asclepias in the past.

That's a good point Tiffy!!

Right now my Milkweed is about 1.5' tall....I've never seen Monarchs around here ever... before or after planting the Milkweeds. I'm am hopeful though LOL! The largest butterfly to make frequent visits to my garden are the Oregon Swallowtails and boy are they ever beautiful!! The Cats feed on Wild Terragon AKA Dragon Wormwood....quite plentiful so no need to grow it. I'm just satisfied to grow nectar plants for the adults :D
{{gwi:392529}}

Thanks, I do hope the plant comes back. It's just about naked now.

Karen

Hi Karen,
I have had the same experience here in the Kansas City area this spring. My "host plants", 2 Asclepias, were eaten down to stalks only. The caterpillars doubled their size every day then "poof" they disappeared. I have looked under the leaves of the adjacent plants and didn't see a single crysalis. Can't stand the thought of wasps or birds eating them all. That would be too sad. The Asclepias are coming back. After they were defoliated I watered them thoroughly and new leaves are emerging. I will keep my eyes peeled for butterflies, hope they are still here.
Tina

My first time finding a cat. I went out to check on my basil I had planted and did I get a surprise here was a little cat He is still around after 3 days. I didn't know they liked Basil. I have no experience with this so Im'just letting it be. Potted Basil is on my south porch. I hope that's not to hot for it. Been having temps down 55 and close to 80 in the day.

I planted a parsley plant in my garden this year and it was absolutely covered in monarch caterpillars. I'll be planting several more next year now that I know they'll eat that type of plant.

Love this info. A co-worker of mine who is an avid outdoorsmen, brought in several last year in mason jars that we can watched transform from caterpillar, to the final beautiful monarch. Which we released at work. When my children were younger, we took them to Paul Smith College in the Saranacs, NY to there nature preserve. They had a butterfly house there. They told us that we had arrived at the right moment, the monarchs were just about to hatch. We stood in awe, as the opend the cocoon, unfolded their wings, pumped them up and tried them out. I have been hooked ever since. I have a dozen or so in my back yard every evening. I wintersowed butterfly weed this past winter, transplanted in my garden and found 6 cats out there had munched the poor plant to nothing. We brought 2 in the house, my 19 year old daughter wanted to raise one to release it and one for my outdoorsmen co-worker. He has to forest around in fields for hours trying to find his. He could not believe that we had so many in out back yard. I had an extra butterfly weed plant that I brought to him for his back yard. He was so excited, and still is having a hard time grasping that they eat butterfly weed. He is of the school that they only can be found on the old fashioned milkweed. Everybody at work will walk by and check on the jar, and stop what they are doing to wander outside to watch in amazement when it finds its wings and flies away.
Everyone should experience this with their children

Aklinda,
If the caterpillars you have are eating the parsley, they aren't Monarchs. Monarchs only eat milkweed varieties. I think Black Swallowtails and/or Giant Swallowtails eat parsley. Dill and fennel are also host plants for certain butterflies. Visit the butterfly forum. They're happy to educate new converts to raising/enjoying butterflies.

Martha