Most scientists seem to think that what they are now calling CCD is actually a 'disorder' (because they don't know what else to call it) that has long been observed in the bee keeping community, both here and abroad. For generations, though in much smaller numbers, bees have been doing this same thing. Long before cell phones, by the way! (lol) The term CCD is a new one, just to make sure that everyone is on the same page. As you can imagine, deceased bees are being evaluated like crazy all over the world! A lot of similarities have cropped up, but nothing (yet) points to any ONE causal agent. Mites are not the instigator of CCD, but can take away from the general well-being of the hive. Bees are also prone to a wide variety of other fungal and bacterial diseases. It could be an instance where the world's bees have just been bombarded by so much that their immune systems are compromised. Some of the articles I've read seem to focus on a fungal strain, Nosema ceranae, as a contributing factor.

What a cool find. There must be some Flat-topped Aster somewhere near you because these butterflies only exist near their host plants. These caterpillars will overwinter, which can be tricky because there is a high risk of them drying out. (I tried to overwinter a few one year--failed and didn't want to try it again because I didn't want to harm the local populations). I guess I would encourage you to find the stand of asters somewhere and release most of the caterpillars. They make a web and feed together--hundreds (so you will need a lot of the plant); they stop feeding about August and rest at the base of the plant for the fall/winter. They re-awaken in spring and resume feeding about the time the host plants have re-leafed. There are resources about rearing overwintering caterpillars. If you search on this site for a Ladobe's posts, he gave a detailed explantation of a technique he used to get most overwintering larvae to survive winter. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Overwintering techniques

Spiders go after them as well. I have had a hard time finding any monarch eggs or cats, the wasps have been on patrol this year. I watched as Momma monarch laid her eggs today and went out and collected almost as soon as she laid them on the leaf, the only bad thing about collecting that quickly is I chased Momma off. At least I saved 3 eggs. Mechelle

Hello Out about, It's very possible that the babies fledged. They can fledge as early as day 16 and since there were only two in your nest they had more room to grow and stretch their wings. You will have to wait a week or so and see if the parents bring them to the feeder. Then you will know for sure. In the meantime I would like to invite you to join the bluebird nut cafe and we will provide you with all you need to know about these birds. It is way more active and you will get fast answers to your questions. Hope to see you there. http://bluebirdnutcafe.yuku.com/