Congrats on your first monarchs....I raised them last year and just a couple days ago I found a few final-instar cats while on a 10-mile canoe trip down the creek, and 4 out of 8 survived and now they're going inot pre-pupa stage. I raise them in small containers, but a greenhouse sounds more interesting. Don't have room for one though, so I've got a bunch of little containers with various butterfly and moth larvae and pupae. It's fun raising butteflies and watching them emerge. I got a couple videos last year of my monarchs emerging, as well as close up pics. Think you could post some pics of yours?

Congrats on being able to actually "witness" the metamorphosis! It is exciting! I try to hand raise as many as I can. Last year's crop was not good due to disease, so I let them do their own thing, except for very few. I'm hoping it will be better this year.

Sounds like you have a really good setup, too! Welcome to the forum!

Susan

I'm so happy for you. I remember finding my first eggs. Your officially addicted now :-)

Edna

Isn't it amazing?!
Sherry

I don't know how to do pic's in a reply. Won't let me.

aufin, I share your excitement! I have had the same experience myself, this past month. What started with a two-hour butterfly class, and an interest in converting my old rose beds to a butterfly nectar garden in March, mushroomed when I was talked into added two milkweed plants. Apparently milkweed is in short supply here in Orlando and the Monarchs have plenty of nectar but no host plant. Well, forget the 1 egg per plant, how about 1 egg per leaf! My two milkweed plants were eaten to nubs and I had cats clinging to bare stems. I felt like the old woman who lived in a shoe; I was in over my head! I jumped into the car, went to the nursery, purchased two more plants and a caterpillar castle. I transfered the biggest cats into protective custody and as they moved off the plants to build their chrysalises, I saved a few more. My experience with them was much like yours, when the first Monarch wrapped its skinny feet around my finger like a newborn as it was carried into the sunshine, I was hooked. I am now building a milkweed garden. My poor husband was in the 90 degree sun one day this week clearing an area 20 feet long x 3 feet. I found a Monarch foundation in Boca Raton that will mail free seeds for the Tropical Milkweed, Asclepias Curassavica and mail seedlings for as little as $1.00 each. My question to all members living here in Central Florida is which nectar plants do the Monarch like? Once all my babies few the coop, I felt like an empty-nester all over again, What nectar plants will keep my babies closer to home?

Hey, congratulations -- it's a great experience, and there's enough variety to keep it fresh for many years to come.

If you want to post photos, you have to upload them to photoshack or some other place and then cut-and-paste the URL (the one that is surrounded by the angle brackets ) into your post.

Jeff

If you have any seeds to trade...I would like to trade with you. I will have some marigold seeds, and I have evening primrose.

I love the sound of your set-up!

As Edna said, those first discoveries will get you hooked. Soon, you'll be looking for caterpillars of all kinds and planting all kinds of different host plants.

Have fun!

Congrats! Isn't it absolutely thrilling? I tell you, I can see you are HOOKED! It is so true, once you see the butterflies undergo metamorphosis, you just are COMPELLED to watch the entire life cycle next! Uh oh...you'd best tell your family to watch out! This just MAY consume your life! Are you retired? or as my DH says, "Are you retarded?" tee-hee! Nothing else may get done, once you get started, in the beginning stages at least, with 'raising butts.'

Welcome and we would most definitely love to see some pics!

PS: I upload all of my pics via ImageShack.

Well, here goes. First I'll introduce myself....here I am standing in the doorway of the unfinished GH.
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll176/aufin/greenhaus7.jpg

The GH is now finished and full of stuff...no photos of the finished product....yet. Thought the GH was going to be my little place, but it seems wifey had other plans. I did retain enough space, though, for a few of my bonsais and butterfly/cat station.

tdogmom .....Nope, I'm not retired, just slowing down a bit. Moved back to Fl after a 30+ yr absence just in time for the triple hurricane experience. Changed careers and a change of pace.

marymilkweed ... I know how you feel about the empty nest thing. All of my flutters have gone. I DO have at least 5 eggs, though. Looking forward to the new "family".

This is pretty much what the GH looks like....all screened in, now.
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll176/aufin/greenhaus6.jpg

This is the first one....a male.
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll176/aufin/MonarchCat01g.jpg
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll176/aufin/MonarchCat01j.jpg

This is the second one....the lady. #4 butterfly is underneath. #4 emerged yesterday, but was gone before I had the opportunity to see it.
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll176/aufin/MonarchCat02b.jpg
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll176/aufin/MonarchCat02d.jpg
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll176/aufin/MonarchCat02F.jpg

Aufin, if you're using photobucket, click on "share" above the photo. Scroll down the next page and click on copy. Then you paste it into the message here and when you click on "Preview Message" your photos will show up.

Susan

AHH!!! Good to know, susan. I will try that next time. Thanks very much. Did this way work?

Great picture. Can I borrow you to build me a greenhouse? *LOL*

I loved reading the excitement in your post. It's very much like you said, "Not too difficult, a bit like a treasure hunt".

Edna

Aufin - I am in Lakeland, too. I live on the South side, off of Hallam. I raise Monarchs, Zebra Longwings, Polydamas Swallowtails, Spicebush Swallowtails, Eastern Blacks, Sulphurs, Gulf Frits, and an occasional Giant Swallowtail and Pipevine. Of course that is when they come to lay on my hostplants.

It is great to hear of someone else in my neck of the woods. Would love to chat about the flutterbys.

mboston, I'm a newbie to this board and also to raising butterflies, see my above message to read how I got hooked. My question to you and Aufin - which host plants are you using to attract the Spicebush, Polydamas, and Pipevines. Also, Aufin, would you by chance have a drawing of your greenhouse and material list? Your greenhouse is exactly what I had in mind for my husband to build.

marymilkweed .... don't have a list at present, but can have something shortly. To answer your first question, all I have right now is the milkweed for the Monarchs.

mboston..... I'm off Shepherd Rd. Would LOVE to see your setup.

I can be contacted - aufin@tampabay.rr.com. Don't need to tie up this forum for personal chatting.

Spicebush - I planted a Redbay and had some success with it but then several Camphor seedlings came up as volunteers and the Spicebush use it more now than the Redbay. However, Camphors can be invasive so many people would say they should be pulled up.

Polydamas use the tropical types of Pipevine as well as the other types like Tomentosa and Serpentenia (sp?). I have lots of the Calico, which is tropical, and they love it.

Pipevine Swallowtails can't survive on the Calico even though they will lay their eggs on it. I have to move them onto the Tomentosa, which I find hard to keep alive and it grows much slower for it so it doesn't get time to recover when even one cat eats it down. That is why I only occasionally raise the Pipevines.

Zebra Longwings use the Passionvines - BUT not the red ones, only the blues/purples. They prefer Maypops or Incarnata in my yard when it is in the shade. They are now feeding on Carelua, as well.

Gulf Frits use Passionvines too. They like it in the sun though so they can share the Incarnata. They also lay on the Suberosa, which most people consider a weed since it will grow over shrubs and kill them out. It looks more like an ivy and has tiny whitish flowers. GFs use it year round for me here. However, they have been scarce this spring in my yard. I seem to be going through a lull in the numbers right now.

Go the the FAQ at the top of the forum page. There is lots of good info there for host plants.

Thank you, mboston, your list is very helpful and now I have a shopping list. Aufin, I will be in touch thru your email, thank you, everyone, for such an informative message board. Before long, I will have all my neighbors growing milkweed and putting in nectar gardens.

I love your set-up aufin; a real flutterbye house!

Great pictures. BTW, I didn't know about the 'share' thing on Photobucket. I just click on the third line under the picture that says 'HTML Code' and it automatically copies When that is pasted into the message page, and the message is previewed -- voila -- there's the picture.

Rosalee - for some reason that doesn't work for me or Sandy. She told me how to get it, which is only one more step. Don't know why?????

Susan

Interesting Susan, they both worked for me when I tried it just now.

Oh well, if ever the method I've been using doesn't work I'll know what to try next.

Yeah, I click (copy) the HTML code then paste it on to the forum and then the pictures show up when you press preview message, it only works for pictures not videos though... well at least for me
BTW I am making a "GH" (not as good as yours) for my monarchs to! Just not nearly as big as yours, I'm just putting screen around the bed where the MWs are with a wood frame... well I plan to do that!
S.B.