I was getting worried. Last year we had so many Monarchs this year I kept seeing only 1. I kept checking and rechecking the milkweed....well FINALLY, today

Beautiful, Jennifer. Makes me happy too!

Good find, Jennifer!

I've noticed that the milkweed bugs are on my plants now, so I'm checking them frequently.

Oh yeah found a milkweed bug yesterday too!

he's getting bigger!

Yes indeed. What a fine, fat fellow.

Yay!!!

Two on one Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) plant!



I'm so tickled to see these! They're the only ones I've spotted so far, but last weekend was busy...kinda surprised that I even noticed these.

Beautiful, chelle.

And now, not two feet away from the host plant...

...on the underside of a caladium leaf...

...so at least one cat made it so far.



This one is trying to warm itself up, I think. This morning was quite chilly, and tomorrow's low is going to be downright cold!

That is such good news, chelle. It's always encouraging to see them. I hope there's more where that one came from.

It looks like just one out of the three is going to end up hatching. And of course, I missed it! I noticed the empty husk the morning after my son's big birthday bash, which we hosted here. So the one that did make it flew on his special day!

I had noticed a large thin bug that looked like a hugely over-sized mosquito on one of the others. It looked like it might have been probing in through the top...do you think this bug might have harmed the ones that aren't hatching?

Yes, they can be parasitized, usually by Trachinid Wasps and sometimes by Brachonid Flies. Do you think the bug you saw was either one of those? Great to hear one hatched, chelle ... and on your son's birthday. Very cool.

The bug I saw was neither of those, but we do have both here in our gardens.

The one I saw on the chrysalis looked a lot like this one http://www.fcps.edu/islandcree... .

Currently, both of the remaining chrysalis are in their dark stage, but they've been that way for weeks now. I'll check closely today to see if I can visibly detect any abnormal signs without opening them.

Hmmm, about the crane flies, I don't think so. That one probably just landed there randomly. It will be interesting to hear what you find out.

I wasn't able to visually find anything glaringly wrong with the two others, so I guess I'll just leave them be for now. If nothing happens up to the point when the caladiums get killed by frost, I'll dispose of them in the household trash. I don't want to spread anything around that might infect future visitors.

Limits sought on weed killer glyphosate (ROUNDUP) to help monarch butterflies

http://www.latimes.com/science...

I hope they are successful!!!

Me, too.