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Florida Gardening

What's happeing to my Monarch ' Cats ?

13 years ago

I's managed to get an area with abt. 15 Milk-Weed plants for the Monarch Butterflys, and have lots of caterpillars chewing on the plants... however, they just disappear, different sizes of 'cats will be there and awhile later the same day they are gone..... I don't see any 'cocoons', and am thinking there is a predator at work, but I don't see any bird or wasp or anything, I check back several times a day and the 'cats will just be gone.... does anybody out there have an idea what is happening to them, or what could be 'grabbing' them... they are all stages of growth, and size, so not all are ready for the next stage where they morph into the Butterfly.... Thanks, sally

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Comments (6)

fagopher
13 years ago
It could be wasps, birds, or that they are just hiding somewhere... Before moving to a cocoon phase they take a couple of days just "preparing".. no eating
User
13 years ago
I've never seen them cocoon anywhere close to where they hatch. Every year, they are there, then they are gone, and the next year, they come back. It's amazing.
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:) I love it! Now, what do you have around the base to collect all the falling frass? ;P When we had a potted plant with Monarch cats in my classroom I remember all of the frass all around the base on the table...the kids would all say, "Look at the frass! What a mess!" So, we had paper towels under the plant tray as well!
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These aren't Monarchs. What similar cats would be on milkweed?
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Comments (9)
If you have enough milkweed, there shouldn't be a problem. But if you have enough, you just as well seperate them just in case there is any kind of OE virus but I don't think they would have a problem getting along. It's more of a rearing container problem, actually... my other one's full of herbs and swallowtails (two or three kinds, on fennell, rue, and parsley; I'm hoping they get along, too!), so I've only got one available for milkweed right now. Here's a picture I took today, for anybody wanting to see the differences between a monarch (left) and a queen (right): No, that milkweed isn't the healthiest I've grown, but it looks worse in this shot than it is, and none of the cats seem to mind. Short of pesticides, I'm doing everything I can for that milkweed; the cats don't seem to mind, they chomp away obliviously.
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monarch cats and aphids and oh my!
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Comments (6)
Gather those cats up immediately and keep them fed. You can try raising them inside. I start c some of that Oasis wet block floral foam. I wet that and stick my milkweed cutting into it and cover with a wide mouth vase or bell jar. I place the block on a clay saucer to help control humidity. Every two to three days or as needed, replace the milkweed. Defrass the cage and wash and wipe the clay bottom and glassware daily. Do not disturb cats while molting. You'll know when this is happening when they stop eating and become inactive for 12-24 hours. Sometimes they'll crawl off the milkweed and onto the glassware. An hour or so after they molt, they'll be hungry again. Move final stage cats into an eclosing house with lots of milkweed. They will crawl off in a few days to the top of the cage and pupate Remove all milkweed and frass (poop) at this point. A week or so later, they should eclose. Releasing a Monarch butterfly is a beautiful experience.
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Whtat's wrong with my monarch cats?
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Comments (1)
The ones that are hanging limply I'd euthanize immediately, remove any other larvae from their presence, and sterilize the container. The scree (liquid droppings) contain crystals that, if eaten, can contaminate any other larvae you have. Chances are these larvae have some sort of bacterial or viral infection. Sorry. Have you checked my blog? I have some info on some of this there. Here is a link that might be useful: tdogmom's Monarch blog
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garyfla_gw
13 years ago
Hi
There is a bug called an assassin beetle that figured out a way to get around the poisonous skin. They will certainly thin out the caterpillars but never seem to wipe them out completely.. Have a ?? for you/. How do you keep the cats from completely destroyiing the milkweed??
I recently added a couple of plants and they've chewed them to the ground already!!! lol gary
User
13 years ago
The cats are supposed to destroy the milkweed. It comes back quickly. They strip all the leaves, but they return when the cats are gone.
saldut
Original Author
13 years ago
I started with 2 small Milk-weed plants, before the Butterflys found them they got big, and produced seed-pods... I gathered the pods and pulled off the 'floss' around the seeds and planted them in little pots, maybe 20-25 of them, and brought them inside under the gro-lights.... I then planted them out in the back yard....they grow fast and now are flowering.... the 'cats eat some of them down to the ground, but there are more than they can devour, also the 'cats seem to just disappear and that has me worried and is the reason I asked for information here.... I don't see that many more butterflys around, in relation to the number of 'cats that had been on the plants.... and the 'cats just disappear, I see them in the morning and by evening they are mostly all gone.... I have a few Milkweed in the front that have been eaten down to the ground, and have been gathering 'cats from there and taking them out back and putting them on the Milkweed out back and they just disappear..... can there be some predator hiding around that is grabbing them ? I don't see anything ! Gary, gather the seed-pods and plant the seeds, there are hundreds of seeds in one pod, it is amazing... if the 'cats overrun the plant, take a plant and grow it where the 'cats can't have access to it, and then utilize the seed-pods to multiply the plants... this is what I did and it sure works.... good luck, sally
tomncath
13 years ago
Well Sally, that settles it. You're going to have to get a security camera setup and aim one of the cameras on the cats ;-)

Tom

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