I have not seen one yet,but my tropical milkweed has done very

Well for nectaring other butterflies. The recent attack of the aphids

Set the plants back,but I did not want to put anything on the plants

So I did nothing but observe the plants. The aphids are still there.

I have nesting hummingbirds here,more than one pair. I don't want

To risk them or the butterflies.

DD

She's beautiful, Mary, and congrats on the eggs!

I know what you mean about hot and dry. It's been UNBEARABLY hot here for the past few weeks, and we haven't had any rain for two weeks, which is a long time in this heat! I just came in from watering the garden, didn't finish because I felt like I was about to pass out. The sweat was all over me, and my eyes were stinging from the sweat in my eyes! :( I'll go out and finish soon.

I've been bringing in red admirals from the false nettles in my garden, and a female RA laid more eggs while I was out there, plus I've got so many host and nectar plants that help keep the butterflies going that I really need to keep the garden in as good shape as possible. I've also been bringing in gulf frits and a few spicebush sallowtails, also some eggs that I think are io moth eggs I found on the underside of a sassafras leaf. The gulf frits acted starved when they first found my garden, too - I'm sure there aren't many nectar plants with decent flowers in this heat!

Good luck with your monarch eggs!

Sherry

If you feel comfortable doing this, you can use a water hose to spray the aphids off of the flowers. I try to brace the top of the plant in one hand and spray with the other. It won't totally get rid of them but will help to keep their numbers down and to keep the black stuff off of the plants. If I begin early in the spring, I can usually keep them in check by checking each plant every morning and squishing all I find but it's a real chore to keep it up. This season, for some reason, I've hardly had any to contend with. We had an unusually cold winter so maybe that has something to do with their numbers (or lack thereof) this year. Whatever the reason, it's been a real treat not to have to do battle with them this year! :-)

Mary

Thanks Mary,

I will try that. I did not see your Picts when I posted I guess

My IPad had not loaded them. The monarch is pretty. I hope

Your lantana did well this season; she seems to like it. Mine

Is doing great around the pool now; I cut it back every late

March(you posted to me once abt it). I hope you can get

Some cats from the eggs.

DD

Thanks so much, Sherry. You have such a wonderful garden and area to work with and have so many different types of butterflies and moths to enjoy. And you take such good care of them. We all learn so much from you and the other forum members here.

Even with as small a garden as I have, it is amazing how many little jewels it can attract. I can sympathize with the salty sweat running into your eyes and feeling like keeling over from the heat. Take heart, things should begin to get better in a few more weeks. At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

This is the first year I've felt like I have enough milkweed to feed whatever number of Monarch cats I might get lucky enough to raise. Every year I find myself scrambling so I really worked to try and keep the common healthy. It is usually gone by now but hopefully, I've got a lot of big, still healthy leaves to feed the little cats. I've grown a lot of tropical to use when the cats are small, as the leaves are probably easier for them to chew but when those little cats grow a bit, they can really put away the food.

So many wasps and spiders this year, need to try and find all the eggs I can before they get to them!

Mary

Mary, if I took those pix I'd be so proud I'd frame them! Really!

I'll second what Socks said Mary. Those are very nice photos. Good luck :)

Thank you, socks, for your nice comment on my photos. I love to see everyone's photos so thought I'd share a photo of my first Monarch of the year. She looked so strong and healthy, I hope her babies take after her. I wonder if she has been hand raised and recently released.

Just to let everyone know, I found 32 eggs last night. She even found the pots of tropical milkweed up on the deck and left me eggs there, too. Hopefully, I can get them to adulthood and send them on their way toward Texas. At least they have a chance now. Leaving them outside would surely doom them as there are so many wasps and spiders looking for things to devour.

Keeping my fingers crossed for everyone who has yet to see a Monarch. There is still time.

Mary

The monarchs do not drop down into this valley(between two cypress swamps) very much. Now,this is strange to me. I have been here living

Over thirty years. I put in my bed of tuberosa from wild- growing plants

Found here. The hummingbirds have been nesting here right in my back

Yard for years. My understanding is that they leave(will be fairly soon now)

And fly down to Mobile,Alabama area with some of them crossing the

Gulf at Dauphin Island. It seems to me that monarchs here may follow

A path towards Florida that may divert them from my location although

One year in Montgomery AL the city had a large migratory flight move

Thru it(I was there). Once in a while I get one passing thru.

I also have the tropical milkweed and all my butterflies use it for nectar.

DD

Congrats, congrats, congrats on your Monarch eggs. I know how hard you have been working, and how eager you were to get a chance to raise some Monarchs. You have an amazing collection of milkweed varieties. My initial group of eggs are almost all chrysalids. I haven't counted. I'm just doing my best to get as many as possible to adulthood. Hopefully their chances with me are better than in the wild with all the predators. I see so much partly chewed milkweed, but no cats to be seen. I've released two Monarch Butterflies that I found as caterpillars. I usually leave cats, since they might have been parasitized, and some should have a chance to grow up in the wild, or feed some other hungry beast. Again, congrats on your busy Momma Monarch. I hope you continue to find more and more.

Martha

Wasps and spiders???? Really? They go after the caterpillars? I see the cats, look later and they are gone, and I never see chrysalises. I wonder if the cats even "make it."

Yes. Sadly socks, predatory wasps will kill them, and spiders. That's why many people here take them inside to protect them, and have a food source prepared for them. Spend much money to set up protected indoor and/or outdoor house-keeping for the cats :)

I released about 20 in the past 2 weeks just north of Houston. Hope they headed north and are making someone smile!

Had another visit from a big, healthy looking female Monarch this morning. I sat down and watched as she spent about 30 minutes feeding on Butterfly bush, then abruptly flew away. She took no interest at all in the milkweed.

Update on Eggs I collected last weekend:

Out of 32 eggs, I have 29 hatchlings and all so far are growing and doing OK.

While collecting fresh leaves for the little cats this morning, discovered what is surely evidence of the milkweed leaf beetle ( Labidomera clivicollis ) eating on my milkweed plants.

CLICK for: Milkweed Beetle Information

I had spotted three or four adults and a couple of young ones this season, which were quickly dispatched. Obviously there are more out there. Even though they are big and generally easy to see, they are difficult to catch as they fall to the ground and quickly disappear when sensing danger. They can really put away a lot of milkweed in a short amount of time so the hunt is on! :-)

Mary