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Butterfly Garden

Not too hopeful for these late season Monarch cats

10 years ago

I have green vomit all over the netting, I have two that are going into the "J" which I think is too early... I have one that is the size of a week old larva.. and they are simply not behaving like normal cats. I have looked for the OE spots but am not seeing any so far. Could be another infection.. I just don't know, The milkweed that was fed is poison free, I raise it by my pond and allow nothing toxic.. well... anywhere in my yard.

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Comments (8)

Liz
10 years ago
So sorry to hear your news. We get so fond of the little guys, and have such high hopes for them. What a disappointment when things go wrong.
Liz
hawaiiponder34
10 years ago
sorry about your cats, I hope the rest will be ok. good luck on the next one..I myself lost 4 cats from eating host plants I bought from home depot.. ugh, will never do that again.
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Too late in the season to post garden pics? :)
Q
Comments (9)
Oh man!! I'm so sorry!! You must live near me, I was in the Milwaukie fred meyers when it was coming down today, and the sound of the hail hitting the ceiling there was crazy. I was sure Id have garden damage, but came home and it didn't hit me here in SE Portland.
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Do some Monarchs emerge too late to migrate?
Q
Comments (3)
Great question, Linda. It is true, but has more to do with the temperatures. Monarchs can not fly at temps below 55 degrees, and they can not live for long at temps below freezing. Sandy gave you a great resource for your newsletter at Monarchwatch.org. You will find a wealth of reliable information on their website. There is a small window of opportunity for them to have the best chance to migrate to Mexico, and succeed. Here's some info. Fall migration http://monarchwatch.org/tagmig/index.htm Peak migration Find your latitude, and plug it into here. http://monarchwatch.org/tagmig/peak.html This gives you a 12 day leeway, as it is only an estimate. This gives you a rough estimate as to when they should be migrating in your area. Remember that there may be some older females full of eggs, that may be unable to make the journey. They will continue to live out their life in your yard, happily laying eggs everywhere until they die. The eggs will hatch, and the caterpillars will eat, but they will probably develope slower, because your temperatures have cooled off, and their metabolism has gotten slower. They may or may not make it to a chrys., or emerge and not be able to fly if your temps are below 60 during the day, and close to freezing at night. I have had Monarchs in November before when we've had really nice weather in the fall, but they lived out their life in my garden, and did not try to migrate. When do you usally have your first hard freeze? With all of your nectar sources gone, even if they were protected enough to survive the freeze, they would not have food to survive. Hope that helped to answer your question. :) Do research the Monarch website to find lots of information.
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Monarch season is starting too early
Q
Comments (8)
I have about a dozen newly hatched cats and they seem a little reluctant to move to a different type of mikweed, but they they do get it and start eating. I have sevearl types and nearly all are smaller than I would like right now -- beggars can't be chosers here. If they are hungry, they will eat. They are programmed to survive. And I have read that instar 5 cats may eat pumpkin or something else. We may both need to find that again!
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Hoping I'm not too late to start indoors!
Q
Comments (11)
daninthedirt, I've found that tomatoes transplanted before it gets too hot in my area seem to do better, too. I live in the north, however, but the summers are still extremely hot (I know not all northern areas are like that, though, but there are at least a few). I've found that the opposite seems to be the case for watermelon, though: they seem to appreciate a later transplant than tomatoes, even if they have protection (which surprised me a little). The earlier spring weather seems to stunt their growth somewhat, and cause other issues (plus, the survival rates don't seem as great). But yeah, I also agree that it's not too late to seed tomatoes. I probably live in a lower hardiness zone than the katiekat2739, and I still did fine seeding tomatoes in my unheated greenhouse in early April, last year (although I tend to think March is better for the greenhouse). Seeding indoor tomatoes should be fine to do right now. If you have growlights, you're even better off (they can grow really fast with growlights, especially if they're close to them).
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butterflymomok
10 years ago
Did you bring these in as eggs or caterpillars? I have lots of problems with caterpillars I find and bring in. And my yard is herbicide/pesticide free. The only way I can guarantee healthy butterflies is to bring in the eggs.

Sorry you are having such a bad time. I think we all have been through it one time or another, and it is depressing. Hang in there.

Sandy
NaturesFolly
Original Author
10 years ago
These were brought in as eggs moments after the momma laid them. Two managed to form a chrysalis, I walked in just in time to watch the end and the shake off of the skin. The one who vomited everywhere is now in the J position. Time will tell I suppose but if I do see those black spots on the chrysalis' then I will freeze them even tho it will make me very sad to have to do so. Thank you for the encouraging words.
wifey2mikey
10 years ago
This is what happened to one of my batches - I had 19 and I had raised every one of them from eggs. They got about half way - and some of them started vomiting - some of them attached themselves to the side of the container as if to molt and then just hung there, vomiting until they died. One caterpillar formed a chrysalis, but the butterfly was unable emerge - she was "stuck" to the shell of the chrysalis. There had been no dark spots on the chrysalis to indicate OE. Shortly after they all started dying I realized that the city trucks that spray for mosquitoes had been in our neighborhood. So either I fed them leaves that had pesticide on them (though I was rinsing the leaves) or the pesticide itself had gotten into the container. Broke my heart.

~Laura
Leafhead
10 years ago
Oh Shoot:( I hate hearing stories like that...Sorry for the loss of your caterpillars.
I would rather have mosquito bites head to toe than to lose my butterflies. Fortunately for us, we have no such mosquito spray program on our cul de sac, but the spraying for Gypsy Moths c Bt in Madison and surrounding areas has me concerned...
I've seen fewer butterflies than ever this year, and it's not just the Monarchs that are low in number either.
NaturesFolly
Original Author
10 years ago
Three managed to pupa, I found a cat this morning that was spinning it's floss when I went to bed, dead on the floor of the cage, still had a mouthful of floss.. 2 more are trying to spin also... sigh....
floridafrass
10 years ago
I too have had similar problems. I raise tons of my own milkweed and have had some luck bringing in late stage cats that I stumble upon. Many times when I bring in eggs, they hatch but the little cats just don't seem to thrive. Also, I know that a lot of eggs are being deposited in my garden, but something seems to be cleaning them up, as I rarely see hatchlings. My luck seems to wax and wane. I am hopeful that as things cool down, down here, my luck will improve. I live in an area where lawns are sprayed all around me. I guard my garden from poison in every way I know how, but we all know how adults love to cruise the neighborhood...even though several adults spend much of their time in my back yard. Good luck to you....Fred

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