First, my grandson and I started planting common milkweed about 5 years ago (in MI). Two years ago we started see caterpillars. Last year, we found your videos and realized we could increase monarch numbers by fostering eggs to maturity. So this year, I am on target to raise over 60 Monarch butterflies (I am at about a 60% success rate - novice learning). Thank you! Milkweed -The flowers are beautiful and very fragrant. I am growing seedlings to pass out and will be collecting seeds to share. Keep Saving the Monarchs! My question:
I found about 20 monarch caterpillars in all different stages yesterday. They were all on honeyvine milkweed. I've got them in different containers, thanks to your videos. Three of them are already in chrysalis form today.
Hi, I live in Ontario and we just discovered 1000's of Monarchs staying over in our fence lines..I have suspected for years that this was a gathering place. Who needs to know more? I have video of 1000's - it looks like mini mexicp
Up until this year we have seen the Common & Butterfly Milkweed plants on our property. This year we think we have found what may be a few Swamp Milkweed plants. None of them have flowered yet but the leaves look like the Common variety but narrower, yet not as narrow as the Butterfly variety. So far we have seen most of the eggs on the Common Milkweed and only a few on the Butterfly Milkweed. So I would have to say, at our proprty, the "Best" nanny plant for the next generation of Monarchs is the Common Milkweed.
Yep. And certainly, it could differ from region to region too. Just like "taste" differs for us humans, I would not be surprised that in certain areas of the country that are, say, perhaps better suited environmentally for one species, it may be that the Monarchs in that area select differently. Let's pretend, for example, Swamp Milkweed flowers smell sweeter or the leaves somehow smell better to Mom the more a specific nutrient is available in the soil (or other similar variable). And say in a certain region, that soil has it more. Perhaps in those areas, Swamp Milkweed does a better job of being something the Moms select for. Not sure. But cool to think about!
@@MrLundScience That would definitely make for an interesting study. Our property is like a sampler platter, with the wetlands, hay field, forest and the railroad bed all having different soils. Once we are living there, I think I will have to try planting the different Milkweed species in all of the different areas and see which plants get the most eggs. I'll do some in full sun & part shade to see if that may also factor into things. It may not be a proper study but it will be interesting to see if there are any noticeable preferences after a few years of doing it. Thanks for the idea. 😀
We have spider, common, purple, swamp and ButterflyWeed. My 9 year old describes the Common leaves as “big and juicy.” Cute! My problem is that the Common is so well loved that the aphids are all over it and the plant ends up turning black from them.
Hey, when you get a chance be sure to catch or re-watch his video about milkweed’s “visitors”, invasive or not, milkweed attracts over several hundreds of insects and bugs, including those that take over! It was helpful to hear and follow his “take” on each of these that directly and indirectly affect our beloved Monarch Butterflies. Good luck!
Also a heads up: A lot of milkweed sold a box stores like lowes or home depot are treated with pesticides! Poor guys will start throwing up green and die. Its a good idea to grow them from seed or a local grower where you can verify pesticide use!
I planted swamp milkweed in my garden last year. I start my newly hatched caterpillars on that because the leaves are quite small. Then to my surprise I found two large fields, not a mile from my home that has an abundance of the common milkweed. I have a gold mine. As my caterpillars start growing I switch to the common milkweed. My caterpillars seem happy. I worry if some day that field will be gone. I'm glad that I have both.
Not doing to well this year 😢 it’s been so hot 🥵 and dry in the south I am struggling to keep all my plant alive I don’t know if that’s the reason I don’t have any monarch caterpillars and I’ve hardly seen any butterflies period. Glad ur able to raise 😃💜
This is s-o cool- I want to do this. I just bought a home in Cerro New Mexico and I'll be moving in this summer- I'll definitely be planting native milkweed
I'm in Maryland and I refuse to grow tropical milkweed as it's not native. I have found swamp milkweed extremely effective at attracting eggs/caterpillars and it's also lovely in my butterfly garden. But the leaves are narrow and thin and so then with 70 caterpillars total over the season I had to forage for local common milkweed to feed them all. So, in my experience swamp is great to attract them but will get more eggs than it can sustain. We only found a total of 2 live cats and maybe 12 eggs, 4 of which hatched, on local wild common milkweed.
MrLund, the Monarchs have arrived. They showed up on March 12. Interesting how females will lay 4 to 6 eggs and then move on. Our plants are pretty small but we have our first 20 eggs and 5 new cats. We have enough supply for now.. Using all the techniques you have taught to send the next generation northward. Thank you.
The monarchs In my area love Honey vine milkweed Because it grows everywhere and I mean it. You will see it on fences, houses and under Neath pine trees. And sometimes I find Honey vine milkweed at my grandmother's house. Every time I find a plant there is always monarchs on them. No matter if it's an egg or Caterpillar.
I live in the Ojai Valley of Southern California. I accidentally stumbled on some Monarch caterpillars last year and got interested. I knew very little about Monarchs at that point but you have educated me. My first two batches of caterpillars all died. Many were parasitize by tachnid flies and others failed when they tried to pupate. The chrysalis just would fall apart or never form correctly. So I started cleaning the leaves with the bleach solution and only bringing in eggs. I just hatched my first healthy monarch this morning. I have 13 more crysallides and about 40 more caterpillars coming up behind them. I want to thank you for putting this information out there and for inspiring me.
I just released my last two monarch butterflies today and I feel a little sad. This is my first summer raising monarchs and I didn't even plan on doing it. Most of my eggs I collected from my swamp milk weed plant that I planted last year and a few from a common milk weed plant. I will try to start new common milk weed plants in the spring next year and i hope they take off. In all I have raised and released 31 monarchs. It's a small number but, I hope that every little bit will help. I really enjoyed doing this and now I look forward to next year. Mr Lund, I can't thank you enough for all of your videos. I learned a lot from you and it is because of you, that I started raising monarchs.
Mr Lund, loved your videos forever. I don't know if you'll ever see this comment. I don't use social media anymore so no facebook. At any rate, I live outside of Houston and wanted to ask several questions, make several comments. Several other Monarch enthusiast (raisers) have noticed the same thing this year, we still have monarch's! It's now February. The milder winter has allowed my milk weed plants to continue having leaves and monarch's continued to lay eggs and I keep taking care of them after they hatch. Should we have cut back all the milkweed (MW) in November to keep egg layers from laying? I know there is other MW in our area, wild that is. I have continued releasing mine in neighborhoods 15 miles from here, where they have lots of flowers. These neighbors don't have MW but they have plenty of food source. I have done lots of OE testing and it's just not one of the issues we have here. Tachinid flies, on the other hand are a terror. I will stop here, but wish I could talk more about this. Thanks so much for all of the videos. They have helped us raise 101 this year. Today I have 22 chrysalis and 20+ cats. I just can't stand the thought of flies getting them and that's what will happen if I don't raise them in fly proof habitat. Maybe I'm wrong, what say you? Should I cut down the MW? A friend in Beach City, Texas Just an update. Feb 24 If you don't know we had a monster freeze down here. At my home, no monarch's had been laying eggs for several weeks and all the cats I had raised made it to Chrysalis. A total of 36 were placed in a warmed green house and none froze. I have found an average of about 1 in 8 cat's will not eclave. The new M's have plenty to eat and many have flown out. I don't know what they will eat, but they didn't freeze! Now with the warming weather I wonder how many migrating M's got hammered if they were coming up from Mexico. Spring is in the air. I'm sure you have your circle of friendly information from down here (south). I was somewhere near another local green house and saw a Monarch flying around 4 or 5 days after the last day of freezing. It made me think all is not lost. I have large supply of 6" potted (Siriaka) milkweed coming this week. We will start over, God is bigger than the weather. A friend in Beach City, Texas
There is no doubt that if you plan on raising monarchs you absolutely must have access to plenty of common milkweed. The large leafs of the common milkweed make a perfect food source. I have a small patch of common milkweed in my yard but I get almost all my common milkweed leafs from a neighbor's house. For some unknown reason swamp milkweed grows phenomenally well in my yard. I have four swamp milkweed plants that have grown into large bushes in just two years. These swamp milkweed bushes constantly produce new pink bud clusters throughout the summer attracting plenty of momma monarchs. In fact my sister and I harvest 90% of our monarch eggs and caterpillars from their slender leafs. However the swamp milkweed leafs are not a good food resource. The swamp milkweed leafs are far too small for the larger 3-5 instar caterpillars but work well as a food source for the 1-2 instar caterpillars due to their tender soft leaf structure. As far as pests go I ignore the spotted milkweed beetle but I fight the milkweed bug with all my might. The milkweed bug is a vicious predator that if allowed to take a foothold on your milkweed will destroy any chance of collecting any eggs or caterpillars. Milkweed bugs favorite thing to destroy are milkweed seed pods. They thrive on sucking the life out of seed pods. Milkweed bugs are black and red stripped and are similar in size to a boxelder bug. The only way I have found to control them is man-to-bug combat. Since they fly I go out at dawn and dusk to do battle when the milkweed bug is at its most vulnerable. The most effective way I have found to kill them is by squishing them between my fingers. My fingers get a little sticky but that's a small price to pay. Thanks again Mr Lund for your great monarch videos. You are hands down the best resource I have found anywhere for raising and understanding the beautiful monarch butterfly.
Thank you so much for these videos! Your work is wildly important, and I'd like to help you perhaps make a PDF of the step by step complete and comprehensive guide to raising healthy monarchs. Your videos are super informative but for some, a list they could print and constantly refer to would be most helpful in boosting monarch numbers :) In other news, I have been able to raise some monarch's in Hawaii. They are here naturally, and I found them on our version of milkweed called "Crown Flower" or Giant calotrope. Not sure if that's tropical milkweed or not. I do wish I could be helping the declining American monarch population, but alas, I am on an island. There is a a bird here, the red-vented bulbul, that eats monarchs! It makes me so upset, especially seeing that it is an invasive species in the first place. Regardless, I raised a few butterflies here, and the first one had OE. It broke my heart. I care for him everyday, I set him by the window, I take him outside on my hand and pretend that he's flying, and even take him on walks in a mesh bag. He is sweet and I keep him completely separate from anywhere near my other caterpillars/butterflies, and I wash my hands after every time I touch him. I hope this is enough to keep them all safe. At first I was scared all my butterflies would end up like him! So glad they're not. But I do wonder, if OE is just unavoidable, especially in an isolated island environment. We don't do many, if any, studies on the monarch here as they are not endangered nor do they contribute to the American migrating population.
Hi, just new to your site. We started raising Monarchs 2 years ago. Found the caterpillars on our Butterfly Milkweed we have in our back yard. Got on your site for the first 5 videos. Learned a lot. We did lose some but managed to raise 6 and turned them loose successfully. Last year we didn't have any at all. None. They came through for about 2 days and was gone. This year has been terrible. We have lost everyone of them so far. I have watched your video on the NPV virus. Cleaned my cage throughly and have washed all the leaves in the 5% solution. But the was hatched on the leaves outside and the were probably all ready infected with he virus. We have 4 left and we will probably lose them also. Will try to do better next year. I really hate it that we lost them. That's not helping the program much. Thanks for the advice and all the learning material.
GREAT VIDEOS Grew up in Jackson Mi now retired in Sarasota Fl. Monarchs arrive here in Oct-Sept. Still laying eggs. This is my first try at raising caterpillar to butterfly. I will be planting milkweed and pollinators this spring to be ready for the fall Florida migration Dec 9th still raising caterpillars inside!!!
Common Milkweed is best but not a great sell afa the layperson or average gardener. Swamp Milkweed is a better choice for those who desire a more attractive plant with better manners. It starts easily from seed and volunteers readily. The one drawback is that it is short lived, peaking at around three years and petering out at around five. Asclepias tuberosa is another alternative as well, though not as well preferred by the butterflies. I grow all three and do my best to distribute as many as possible thru annual giveaways, along with other host and nectar sources for all butterflies in my region.
My milkweed got so tall this year, it’s leaning over in the yard. It doesn’t look healthy this late in season either. Love the smell of my milkweeds flowers and wished it stayed longer. - SW Michigan
Mine does that too. It is planted next to the garage and I hung wires down and loosely attached them to the milkweed to help it stay at least a little vertical.
Was hoping you would also cover some of the other milkweeds native to Michigan like Asclepias tuberosa, also green milkweed, whirled milkweed, purple milkweed etc.
Hey Stacey. I don't know what to say to that, I guess. (Know that it doesn't rub me the wrong way, or anything, though.) I've never worked with anything other than Asclepias syriaca. Over the years, people continued to ask me this question again and again. I explained often, I don't know about the specifics of other species, as I don't work with them. So honestly, for a few years, I resisted making this video for the very reason you bring up - it's only showcasing one species, not even two or more. But, then I had heard a few times from a few who have done this for a few years and been along for the ride, more or less that people might just want "my" answer to the question. So, that tipped me over the fence, and I told a few of them I would do it. They said they'd appreciate it, and I knew I'd appreciate being able to copy and paste a link to this video next time the question comes my way, rather than type out response similar to others in the past. So, please understand, I fully hear your criticism, and in fact, I don't disagree with it. Just know that others wanted this video made, even after it was described to them how it would only involve Common Milkweed. They still requested it. Know that I go into this eyes open that I won't please everyone all of the time, so, it's not really a goal and never was. (Largest one I get, though, is on Part 2. People seem to either LOVE or HATE the band Primus. Meh. I like 'em.) But yeah, I get ya. I hear ya, and I respect that opinion fully. Still, I hope that this video can give people a starting point as far as what they may wish to consider when choosing a milkweed plant. Do they care more about leaf size or more about attracting females for egg laying? Do they care if the milkweed spreads with rhizomes or not. Stuff like that. I hope it helps others in some fashion.
@@MrLundScience I appreciate that. Wasn't criticizing perse, I just think of you as Mr. Scientific. There are many studies about varieties of milkweed in terms of which attract Monarchs more affectively, etc. Had hoped you would cover some things like that.
No, I totally get it, and agree with what you point out. Truth more told, I do plan to explore more of what Michigan milkweed is able to offer in terms of the different species. The ones that you mention in your first comment here, definitely. But knowing how long it's taken to get enough knowledge to talk about Common Milkweed, I know I'd want to work with the species for at least two years and see the ins and outs of them. Plus, each of those species likely deserve their own video. Plans for the future...
I've got Cynanchum laeve and it works VERY well for my purposes. I'd really like the rhizomes making others pop up, but with one or two C. laeves, all I need is just to keep wrapping it around a tomato cage. I still have some runners, but since it's a vine, they're small yet... they popped out late in the season, for some reason. I've had a great year, though (tagged and released six in the last two days and two today). I also planted some A. tuberosa, so hopefully it'll be back next year. It's doing very well, given I only planted it a week ago. As soon as I find A. exaltata for my shade garden, I'm going to jump on that, too. Waiting for a native plant store's online shop to restock it.
Hi thanks for sharing. I live in Florida and have started to raise caterpillars this year. I like the information you share especially the Parasites. You helped me understand why 2 of my butterflies didn't make it.
I have 7 varieties on my property. I like showy the best for everything. Swamp has been popular in the past, this year the monarchs ignored it and it didn’t do well. I feed from the shoots in the yard as well.
Those shoots you are pulling can easily be dug and used to propagate the milkweed. I've had more success rooting those shoots than growing from seed. Thanks for another great video.
[Insert large smile face here] Then you've had more success than this guy! One of the experiments that didn't work out enough to make a video about this year is trying to get milkweed shoots to sprout new roots. I haven't mastered that yet...or even come close. But, only first time trying. I'll keep at it!
Hey could you please cover cloning milkweed? Like, taking cuttings and rooting them to create another plant? It’s probably similar to other plants and I’m about to try it with some rooting hormone. Seems like it would be a good topic & alternative to sprouting seeds. I’d love to hear your take on the subject. Thanks & 45 released so far in my yard this season 👍🏻
I fully agree that it's a great topic! That's why, it's one of the things I've been experimenting with this summer. If things had worked out well, oh, I'd be on it. But from the experimental results, the best I could garner so far is that I'm not good at it at all yet. I tried multiple different things with shoots and cuttings, be it a full water only soak or an in soil constant moist, or an in soil watered situation, and then did another with different types of soil versus looser material like potting soil with mulch. In all cases, all my plants/cuttings died and no new roots sprouted. So, as best I can, I could say that I've agreed to your request, I just can't give you any estimate on the release date. Ha! I haven't given up though. Just, it doesn't look like it's in the cards for this year. At least not from me. I'm willing to bet there's some great videos some others have done. Great topic!
Hey, good and fun activity, where are you? We are in the Piedmont of North Carolina, where there is a lot of native Common Milkweed growing freely in the pastures on our farm, and that has also been successfully transplanted into my perennial garden. Good idea! I haven’t tried the rooting hormone with it but it may work! Still it seems that it’s not too difficult to find “baby” plants with tiny roots already when carefully removed from their location, despite the fact that they do originate from a huge tap root beneath the soil. I would say be prepared either way to not see much evidence of success that first and even 2nd year of the plants you work with though the good news is that just this past spring I was amazed and delighted to find all 4 of the plants in a group that I planted small ones with roots from our pasture, as (wild native Common Milkweed). It still is spindly; I also transplanted some into plastic gallon size containers like from the garden centers and they did the same thing, came up the following spring though weren’t very large at first. All though actually were taller than they were originally; maybe we should cut them back at points to encourage a stronger plant that has more branching out. Observing them in their natural wild state though they truly do grown from a single stalk, without a more shrub-like form, except for the ones where I had cut back while harvesting leaves with eggs! BTW this is the same milkweed as the one Rich Lund features in Michigan, btw. Best of luck!
You're awesome 👌thanks for all the really good information and great videos. Just starting to grow milkweed and I'm excited to have monarch butterflies 🦋 🦋🦋 Keep the videos going!!
i have Asclepias fascicularis and it has some problems one of them is habitat loss and im glad that im able to grow narrow leaves i live in Los angles Torrance CA
Example ~ many people seem to rear wild-harvested eggs on Tropical Milkweed (Facebook) but unfortunately, in the wild, there isn't any Tropical MW in the PNW but that's what the released Monarchs will be wanting. The "Best" is what's native for the range they will encounter so, the Annual cycle wheel is important. August offspring, 4th generation generally only need nectar for their southern migration and local Milkweed isn't an issue. The 'Best' MW is what's indigenous to a geographic location for egg-laying and not nectaring. Oh, side topic, the Oleander aphids are devastating the MW in CA. Oleander and Milkweed have the same toxin. The Oleander wasp moth will lay eggs on MW so be careful around CA and OR. The Oleander wasp moth uses Oleander like Monarchs use Milkweed. Also, if you plan on harvesting Milkweed pods, don't harvest if they've split open. The Milkweed beetle might be in the pod or was in the pod making seeds not viable.
Mr. Lund, I live in Michigan and started raising Monarch butterflies in 2019. I gleaned a lot of information about raising butterflies from your videos and was excited with the success I had last summer. Unfortunately for me, however, 2020 has been anything BUT successful. I have a theory about why this year may not have been as good for me and hope that you might comment on my theory. To begin, butterflies didn't arrive in my yard until very late in July. Eventually, though, I found eggs which I brought into the house and placed in proper containers. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until the newly hatched caterpillars started to eat my milkweed leaves. Many of the young cats died just a few days after hatching out of the egg case. Others made it through to the 2nd to 4th instar before they died as well. Of those that made it to the pupa stage, about 3 or 4 of my butterflies never emerged. Something else I noticed late in the summer was that many of the eggs I collected didn't hatch at all. In all, I was able to raise and release ONLY 14 butterflies! My theory about the large number of caterpillar/butterfly deaths I experienced this summer stems from news stories I've come across where spraying for mosquitoes has resulted in the deaths of a large number of butterflies in some cities. I wonder, too, if caterpillars were affected by these sprays as well. The town I live in sprays for mosquitoes several times throughout the summer. The chemicals used in this year's applications include permethrin, piperonyl butoxide, and petroleum distillate. Mr. Lund, could these chemicals have been responsible for the deaths of the majority of my caterpillars and a few of my butterflies? Could it have been something else unrelated to mosquito spraying that caused it? I built a special butterfly house this spring just so that I could raise the majority of my caterpillars and butterflies outdoors and worry that I may not be able to use it again. Your expert opinion on this matter would be appreciated!
Swamp milk weed down here in NC doesn't draw any butterflies. I have a gazillion swallowtail caterpillars on my parsley and despite the many monarchs flying around here I haven't seen one egg on the many milk weed plants in my yard.
I've been hearing that plenty around the country this year. But I've also, from nearly every state, heard both stories: Either it's bare, or, they are having a fairly normal year. I know that there's some in Michigan who have stated that they haven't seen any, nor found any eggs. For me, it's been a pretty average year as far as when they arrived, how many eggs I'm finding compared to how much/often I'm looking. Pretty average all around. I don't know if I should apologize for that, for certainly we hope its normal in some places! But I do wish to express condolences. I've had years that have been pretty dry too, but never a zilch year. Here's hoping they're still to make a visit in the season for you!
@@MrLundScience In early spring there were a few Monarch's visiting my yard. Then they vanished completely for probably a good 6 weeks, swallowtail s were present but not many. Now both are legion but I never saw this many Monarch's. Maybe it's because everything is blooming and there's lots of food for them, I don't know. But still no eggs unless I don't recognize them or birds get to them first. My yard had lots of birds. I use netting on some of my blueberries because the birds and deer don't share much.lol I also saw Monarchs drinking from my hummingbird feeder! Thanks for all the good information on raising Monarch's.
I live in panhandle Florida. The milkweed we have is a butterfly weed from a native species nursery and has very narrow, smallish leaves compared to your northern species. Would plumeria, Family: Apocynaceae Order: Gentianales , work as a food source? We’ve not seen eggs on ours, only on the other butterfly weed, but they frequently eat all of those available leaves. The plumeria is easier to grow and has much larger leaves.
Hello Mr Lund! I am with you on Common Milkweed! It grows on the field above us but not wanting to grow close to us, alot of it I keep it weeded then a deer or rabbit comes a long and chews it down, but I have one growing and I planted Mexican milk weed around it, for some reason they dont gobble it down and its allowing the common to grow. Also I have some Purple milk weed growing different part of our yard its actually spreading and things have chewed it down but not as bad as the common, both great for Monarch cats. I have Swamp milk weed it drys up on me sometimes but I have been successful with it for about two years on most, I do have one that is 3years old and nice size. Your Common milk weed looks great! It may be it prefers living among other plants rather then weeded by its self?
It has been another bad year for Monarch butterflies. I have only done 12 from tiny tiny caterpillars to the butterflies stage. I have lots of milkweed nothing going on because of no monarch butterflies.
Sorry that you're experiencing this. As I've been telling others, I'm having a pretty normal year here in Michigan. Yet, others in Michigan are telling me that they are having a pretty dry year in total. They'd be jealous of your 12. And the other part worth mentioning is that from State to State, region to region, I'm not seeing much of a pattern, meaning, those from PA reporting in, I'm hearing both stories. Same with WI, or NC, or MI. I'm stumped a bit.
@@MrLundScience And this year I grew a huge patch of wildflowers pollinator mix and I have had tons of bees of all kinds I have had my favorite butterflies tiger swallowtails three at a time on my flowers and I've had a black swallowtail which I haven't seen in quite some time and red Admirals and viceroys and several monarch butterflies. But I have not seen any egg Lane on my milkweed which I have 27 plants or caterpillars. The only things I have seen how I got my 12 was in the very beginning of the year after that nothing. And if you seen my new Flower Patch and I got tons of flowers everywhere anyways they just grew like holy Hannah.
I had a female last year that was laying eggs on all of the tiniest plants. They literally were 2" high and had 2 leaves. They looked like just sprouted tomato seedlings. Will tiny babies be able to move on to other plants 5 feet away when they finish the minuscule plants in a day or two? I know they must be more tender eating, but this seems like the poor caterpillar doesnt have a chance after he finishes the plant. I plucked all the plants and kept them in tiny bud vases until they hatched, and moved them into tupperware containers.
Common in most cases is best long term. I do understand you not covering other species, especially tropical varieties. While you haven’t found that you needed anything else, I will share my personal anecdote. In my area, there were a few milkweed patches that were ‘cleaned up’. For a few years I didn’t see any monarchs. I am in in urban environment with a railroad track where I noticed extensive use of herbicides. I planted common in my yard and waited 3 years before I started to see monarchs. I decided that I wanted to encourage others to grow milkweed and at some point had started raising them because of the alarming low numbers. Last year I started a couple flats of tropical milkweed which I shared with some people who had no milkweed in their garden and they got to experience monarchs in their gardens. A large percentage of them later planted native varieties. So my take on tropical in temperate climates is that they are equivalent to planting annual flowers. None of the tropical has returned on its own in my or anyone else’s garden and this year anyway, I didn’t start any tropical. I understand that there are mixed opinions on this and would love to see unemotional scientific studies on tropical milkweed in temperate climates. Anyway, the bulk of my milkweed is common, this year are every other year that I have been taking in monarchs. My secondary species is swamp, but it’s not even close to being as productive as common. I am happy to know that I have increased the amount of common in my area.
Hi @mrlundscience, thank you so much for your videos! I am in California and on day 3 of hanging with a butterfly I rescued - it is warm, fed, and I even got the wing gently repositioned so that it can have the proper overlap...The thing is, it has been cloudy lately, and any time I bring the monarch outside, it stops moving at all, and gets really inactive. I am happy to keep tending the little thing, but I want to give it the best chance, and so if I can release it with the best chance possible of thriving, I'd love to do that. Seeking guidance on this matter, thank you!
I have been planting tropical milkweeds in my flower garden for 4 or 5 years and have been successful in attracting monarchs. A neighbor has recently given me pods from her yard for common and swamp milkweeds which I hope to germinate next spring. The pods are closed or partially open. What’s the best place to keep them over the winter? Indoors or outside? I live in northern Illinois. Thank you 😊
I have common and swamp milkweed in my butterfly garden in NW Ohio. I dug my first plants out of a farmers field 5 years ago. I did not have my first monarch lay eggs until the middle of last month. Those butterflies have all been released in the last week. I have chrysalides hanging now as well as a few 1st instar cats. The butterflies preferred the common milkweed in my garden until the surrounding plants got as tall. The last several eggs have been on swamp milkweed which is around the edges. Most of the butterflies I released this year were female, what about yours? The same with the 14 black swallowtail I just released over the last 4 days. Only 2 males. I seem to have monarchs still looking for the milkweed plants in the garden. I have been checking almost daily. I have seen as many as 3 at one time in the garden as well as 2 types of swallowtails and monarchs at my butterfly bushes close to the window I sit next to. Thanks for the videos, I have been recommending people watch them. I post photos on my Facebook page almost daily as I am trying to educate and encourage others to raise butterflies too. One last question, do you teach science? You remind me of my favorite teachers and outdoor educators. But I doubt many of them liked heavy metal or Marilyn Manson. Lol
Its our first year with our milkweed! Im really not sure what type of milk weed we have. We have found six catapillars!!! So, that meant we needed to go somewhere and find more milkweed, bc we simply don't have enough. The milkweed we found seems to be a differnt type? I think what we found today is common milk week shutes and what we planted and is young, but it is darker and more pointed leaves. The catapillars seem to prefer our milk weed and not what we found today .... is that common? Maybe they will eat it as they get bigger and more hungry?
Best milkweed is rather subjective depending on where you live. The milkweed species native to your area most of the time do the best and some that are hundreds of miles away from where they originally grew won’t do so hot in your area if the geography, soil and climate are different. I live on the western side of North America and the closest looking relative to Asclepias syriaca there is Ascelepias speciosa or showy milkweed. It’s a bit bigger and showier hence it’s name. Native is always best but I ain’t gonna stop anyone from growing milkweed plants that aren’t in their area in a greenhouse or under careful watch. Tropical milkweed is a menace and is a magnet for oe. I am glad some states are labeling tropical milkweed as a noxious weed because of how it’s hurting instead of helping monarchs. Whenever I see those red and yellow milkweed flowers I cringe in disgust.
I am having trouble with the OE. I have followed everything you suggested. I have bleached eggs and leaves. Eggs hatched no problem but so far all are infected. Don’t know what I am doing wrong. Last year no problem. I bleach everything. I live in Orlando Florida. I have been very careful of the instructions. HELP.
Thank you so much for your videos about monarchs! Very professionally done. You're clearly a first-class educator. QUESTIONS Where do you get those green lidded boxes you use for your fourth and fifth instars? Do you punch holes in the tops of the takeout containers?
I have an aphid issue. I am in Central Texas and every year that I’ve had milkweed, we’ve had oleander aphids and lots of them. Yet, when I go a couple blocks down to the trail to collect wild milkweed I don’t see hardly any. What gives??? For reference I have swamp milkweed, butterfly weed and green antelope.
Thanks for this series. Curious to know if you have ever raised Swallowtail butterflies as well and have thoughts on over wintering outdoor habitats. I find there is generally less helpful information for these butterflies. Thanks!
Pretty much, I'm just a Monarch guy. I never raised butterflies before all of this, but became interested in the Monarch once I had found out about its plight. So, I've really stuck just to Monarchs, other than a few times I've found and reared Tussock Moths that were on milkweed, or, there were a couple of times I did find some late stage ESB caterpillars and did rear those two successfully. But that was just a chance find one summer. Prior to that, I did have a wild ESB female lay eggs for me, but this was like, 2013 or so, and I was a greenhorn. I purchased "organic" parsley and dill for them to eat. Ever single one of them died. Of 30 eggs that she laid (exactly) they all hatched, and everything was great for a while. Then about five days in, caterpillars started dying, and I had no idea why. Only 4 made it to the later instar stages, and zero of those made it to the chrysalis. This is how I was able to learn about "organic" pesticides, and how certain bacteria can be intentionally placed on organic crops and still be considered "organic" because the bacteria is a natural organism. The bacteria on such plants are ones that are fatal to most insect larva in enough amounts. Live and learn.
Im in north west south carolina and we recently planted just a variety of milk weeds, but i think only one variety was successful, I think its the swamp variety ... but a few miles away at a friends she has common milk weed growing on her property that she did not plant. I say get seeds and plant away!
Hi, don’t you love N. C. where we almost always can experience a day in any month where the temperatures are around a delightful 72 degrees F? Your’s is a very good question, but first where are you? I would highly recommend asking the milkweed question of a trusted expert, which may be a local garden center owned and/or managed by a person w/ a degree in horticulture, or find gardening and farm information online via a website of a state college like N.C. State, home to an outstanding horticulture/agriculture department. Learn about your planting zone, which helps indicate what thrives and tolerates where you live, based on the range of your warmest and coldest temperatures,(ex.: my location is 7A-7B, I never plant a garden til after April 25th to be sure there is not a killing frost, and our 1st frost always seems to fall in late October, often on Halloween, w/ winter temperatures that easily go down to 20 degrees F). I grew up in Rockingham Co. and love N.C. We now live on our own farm in S.E. Alamance Co., 9 mi. West of Chapel Hill. This is the 3rd season I have been wild-rearing M. B.s. More than likely you can cultivate and find the same Common Milkweed that we have here, as what Rich Lund also finds to be prolific and ideal “home” for the Monarchs in Mi. The tap root provides multiple M.W. Plants and once established originates deep under the ground thus is protected from extreme temperatures;thankfully it does totally dies back to the ground, improving the quality and health of this amazing plant, since the insects and problematic inherent diseases retreat when the plants do during our below-freezing temperatures. It grows wild in sections of our former horse-pastures that we now understand how and when to maintain by cutting the fields, avoiding the months when M.B.s are active from April & May through October. There are also wild “Butterfly Weed” plants that are bright orange, growing low to the ground, spreading laterally rather than vertically which is what the orange Swamp Milkweed does; I have never seen it in our area. Best of luck!
p. s. Hi, fellow North Carolinian, you can probably do what I did, by transplanting some small plants making sure they had roots from the native Common Milkweed growing locally; our’s specifically was growing wild in the pastures on our own property. They look like they are going to die but low and behold they ALL came up this past spring! They love full sun, or full w/ some shade later part of the day when it’s extremely hot so keep this in mind. Common Milkweed more than likely would thrive up there so again check that out but I am in the cooler part of N.C.; we are in the Piedmont of N. C. Best of luck!
Hi Rich - I have appreciated your Monarch videos over the years. I also have had this pleasure of raising and releasing. Because it's getting colder now and my milkweed supply is slowly going away I have only 2 Monarchs to go. Today a very strange things happened to one that is close to going into a J hang. It stopped eating and has been upside-down on a leaf and expelled a series of black weird-shaped stuff all connected together from it's rear-end and now it's almost hanging from these black clumpy deposits. These deposits are not the normal caterpillar poop at all - they are all connected. Where could I send you a photo? - thanks jGould
Hi Mr. Lund, I was hoping you could provide any insight into the following observation. I noticed that my common milkweed flowered, but did NOT spread underground at all. I have another variety (slightly different than the common) that did not flower, but sent out tons of shoots. Do you know if flowering and rhizome production occur in different years ? I probably have 20 plants of each 2 types and they all exhibited this behavior. Thanks and keep up the great work.
Question for you, just wondering if you have ever had this happen... My butterfly eclosed the other day and when she did, she wasn't able to un-bend her 2 front legs. She tried holding the chrysalis with the 2 back legs but ended up letting go after a few minutes. I tried to offer her some mesh to climb but she couldn't grasp it. Her wings were damaged, she couldn't, walk, climb or fly and after a few hours, I had to make the hard decision. Anyway, have you ever had a butterfly that couldn't get their front legs working? She was on her knees in the front end. It was really sad and really pitiful. I let her enjoy some sun and feel a flower before I euthanized her. While she tried to climb on the flower, she broke one of her damaged legs and that was ultimately the moment I made my decision not to keep her. It wasn't a good day.
I can't get my cats to eat. They refuse to eat the leaves that I've taken from the plants. I think I'm just going to take them back outside. I was hoping to improve the numbers that made it but it's not looking like that's going to happen. Btw, I'm in CA.
Very sorry to hear this, and I've definitely been hearing it from multiple people. Others, though, seem to be reporting a normal year too, and they seem to be from the same states/regions as those experiencing a lack of eggs. Not sure what to make of it. I've been having a pretty average year here in the Lansing area, as far as Monarchs are concerned.
Hi I am 15 miles west of Chicago. I have seen many more monarchs, black and yellow swallowtails and a big yellow with black markings. Neighbors and the garden club have been planting a lot of milkweed. This is my 3rd year with common milkweed, (very invasive) I have a small flower garden. I released my 3rd monarch today. So far 1 female and 2 males. 2more to go. Very interesting project and hope to do more next year.
I need help! Can you answer a few questions? I grow Asclepias tuberosa and Asclepias incarnata. We have had such hot humid weather here in Southern Indiana, my milkweed leaves are turning black and dark purple, I think fungal or mildew? But, I just discovered 5 1st instars and over 12 new eggs! Any advice? I thought we were done and I spotted and witnessed a female flying around and dropping eggs. Suggestions?
@MrLundScience I have an emergency butterfly dilemma and I don't know what to do. If you see this please let me know if you can be of any assistance. I had to relocate a caterpillar who's halfway metamorphisized in my backyard. Multiple hanging ones there have been eaten by lizards and I wanted to move him before he got ate too. However in the process, he let go of his silk button and now I have no way to rehang him. What should I do
I put seeds in my garden in the winter after a snow and I didn’t get any plants. What am I doing wrong? I collected seeds from the common milkweed from the local park and would like to try again for next year. I have another question about eggs. I watched a video you did when you forced the monarch to lay 92 eggs and they all hatched. I have brought eggs in a several didn’t hatch. I have Asclepius tuberosa because that is the one they sale in the local nurseries in Kansas City. I brought the leaves in and kept them alive in a florist tube in a terrarium . I brought 10 in and only got about 3 caterpillars. It is very distressing. What am I doing wrong?
Has anyone tried growing common milk weed in South Florida? I'm wonderig if I can get it to grow. I did get some seeds but not sure if I should waste my time with them or not.
First year raising monarchs. Just released 3 butterflies from the 4 eggs collected. We only had the narrow leaf milkweed in our yard (Calif) so keeping them supplied w/ food in the last couple days required much work. One chrysalis fell about 10 inches to the bottom of the terrarium as I was pulling it from the side wall. It took on an increasingly ominous dark appearance and never emerged. (Note to self: Cup hand under it in case it separates from the silk.) The first one to emerge had its abdomen stuck to the top of chrysalis shell. It emerged while we were sleeping so we have no idea how long it struggled to free itself. It appeared weak when attempting flight. One forewing was folded over on itself because of the inability to hang properly soon after emerging. I fed it twice and released it in the garden the next day. It vanished after few hours. Low success probability, but maybe it increased in strength? The other two were perfectly healthy. When I started I wasn't expecting to get emotionally involved. I was really pulling for them!!
I need help! I left a comment on another video, but then saw it was a video 2 years old! I live in Houston, Tx. I have 4 chrysalides inside and 5 still outside on my milkweed plants, this late: Dec 21. How do I help these guys this late in the year?
Corey Taylor added his voice to demanding justice for the West Memphis Three. Those three gentlemen now walk free, as they should. Corey Taylor among many, played a role in that, and thus, he'll always be cool in my book. Still, the tattoos should give it away...we're not the same person. ;-)
I have never encountered a Queen and someday hope to. From what I understand, I'm just a bit outside of the edge of their natural range, so there's a chance...just not a large chance. Perhaps someday!
Hey mr lund in my place have full of Calotropis gigeantea but I can't find any monarch eggs but I can find monarch butterfly around Calotropis gigeantea why I can't find and i have another question do monarch lay eggs on Calotropis gigeantea pls reply
Mr. Lund.....I’ve Followed your videos for years and they have helped me save some monarchs. I live in SW Michigan so all my late cats have now flown away. However, my milkweed has like a black coating on them and my plants are covered in flies. I mean thousands of flies. Any idea why there are here and can we just cut down the milkweed without ruining it for the spring? Thank you.
I know exactly what happened. The black coating is caused from "Honey Dew" left by aphids. Honey dew is actually a secretion expelled by aphids as they suck the life out of milkweed. This aphid secretion was so bad on my milkweed plants last year that I had to cut my plants to the ground in early September. I actually lost six swamp milkweed plants that have failed to reappear this spring. As you noted the honey dew also attracts thousands of tachinid flies. Tachinid flies are the mortal enemy of monarch caterpillars. My sister and I are planning a new strategy in fighting aphids. We are going to inspect our milkweed plants for aphids at least once a day and squish them with our fingers when we find them. There really is no other way to combat aphids. No chemical mix can be used because chemicals kill the pollenating process that attracts monarch butterflies in the first place. It is going to be a tough battle but my sister and I are going to give it our best effort.
Teddymac I am also fighting a huge infestation of aphids on my milkweeds. Every morning I go out to squish the bugs on the plants. THEN I gently hose the honey dew off the plants. The aphids prefer the milkweeds over any of my other plants in the garden unfortunately
Hi! I have released around 15 third generation Monarchs this last early August. Right know I have 20 chrysalises and 35 other caterpillars outside. I wanted to ask if you could tell me how I could tell what generation the butterflies are when they hatch? How much bigger are super monarchs? I live in Ohio close to Columbus.
I will say it is not purple milkweed in my experience. I keep common, butterfly, purple, and swamp milkweed and the monarchs love all of them but I never find caterpillars on the purple milkweed.
One big reason I like swamp so much is that it blooms and makes seed as soon as it’s second year. I have common milk planted years ago the same time as my swamp that still has never bloomed or made seed. Does this sound normal? Do you think it varies per region. I’m in south west Missouri.
I live in northeast Illinois. It took 3 years for my common milkweed seed to grow plants big enough to attract monarchs. It took 4 years to bloom. Now in year 5 I am getting seed pods. In only their second year my swamp milkweed plants have grown into beautiful bushes. The big advantage of swamp milkweed is it constantly produces new buds throughout the summer providing a continuing food source for monarchs and a host of other butterflies and pollinators. My wife and I had the pleasure of watching two giant swallowtails flutter and feed off the swamp milkweed planted outside our kitchen window. My wife, who is not easily impressed, was just amazed at the beauty and elegance of the giant swallowtail mating dance. Plus with swamp milkweed you don't get the plants spreading everywhere like you get with common milkweed. As you can tell I am a big fan of swamp milkweed. I use common milkweed only as a food souce for my monarch caterpillars. Today is August 14 and our monarch season is wrapping up in my area. I am on my last eight caterpillars that should turn into chrysalises in the next two days. I do not harvest any caterpillars after August 25. Since it takes approximately a month to produce a monarch butterfly any monarch born after September 25 has very little chance to make it to the overwintering forests in Mexico. Take care and have a grrrreat day!!!
I have a question that isn't about milkweed that I'm hoping you could please help me with: This is my 3rd year raising monarchs & I have a female that eclosed yesterday afternoon and she still does not have her probiscus fused. How long does that take? Is there anything I can do to help her? I saw a video a woman made where she kept repeatedly running a bent needle dipped in water along a monarch's probiscus & when the video was done, that probiscus looked fused. Should I try that?
Yes, running a water drop along the length of it can help to fuse it. It could be temporary (meaning it will unfuse again as soon as your done) or it could be more permanent (meaning it can be functional to draw nectar). Have a flower handy to test if it becomes functional after the fusing.
About a third (1/3) of our chrysalis turn black and die. What are we doing wrong? I have used fertilizer to get the mildweed plants established. Was that a mistake?
Unfortunately, the only way to know is to open those crysalis or watch for exit wounds. Sometimes a tachinid larvae will exit early in the crysalis life and the crysalis is left to rot. Sometimes it is bacterial or it could be viral. To combat the problem, confirm it is not tachinid larvae (1 to 4 larvae) or monodontomerus larvae (5 to 10 smaller larvae). Best to flush these crysalids down the toilet to avoid more larvae emerging or virus/bacteria to spread. Best not to use fertilizer. Are there aphids on the plants? Are they surviving? If so, it may be the fertilizer was not the issue.
So sorry to hear what you went through~! Where are you? Do you wild-rear them from eggs? This is why I follow Rich Lund and collect eggs only, use the bleach/water process, but have always taken in and isolated stray cats along the way. I can’t be sure about what happened with your’s. Be sure to watch or re-watch his series 1-5 about MB. It includes thorough and detailed videos regarding MB deaths, and everything possible, predators, pests, diseases, etc . I can share that most people including me do not fertilize or use anything on milkweed plants. My perennial garden is organic, and our newer to us veg gardens are as well. I trust in a soil “recipe” that continuously feeds the gardens, that we make mixing equal parts of organic topsoil, composted black “kow”, composted mushroom, and peat moss. Over the years it has built a fantastic base for all plants. Hardwood mulch is also used as often 1-2 times/year, if we can, which also contributes to plants’ overall health, keeping weeds down, protecting against drought, and it breaks down naturally so also contributes to the rich, nice, loamy, enriched soil. 1/3 of the MB dying sounds like a lot, and there are a few things that come to mind, thinking that yes it could be due to a systemic chemical or another toxic element, but there are contagious things it could possibly have been, as well. I have had Tachnid-struck chrysalides but never more than one in a season and they were adopted cats, never from the eggs I raise. fyi they did not first turn black. The only ones that did turn black were single cases, and were either simply genetically affected, possibly damaged, or maybe through a bacteria, virus, or diseases, but again, only one or 2 per season. Hope it goes better next go-round!
It's disgusting to hear from ppl messing with what they don't know. Experimenting with what end up being mangled bflies is unethical and against the purpose of the whole thing. Just let nature take care of it. You are trying to learn at the expense of these marvelous creatures. Enoug already.
I am hoping to reach you to ask a question about 3 of my caterpillars that recently died. What is the best way to contact you? Can I give you my email?
I suppose that depends upon your goal. If your goal is to save the sapling, I know I'd say that sometimes, new sprouts of mine have lost yellowed leaves near the base plenty of times, and they do fine. They sometimes lose those early leaves because they've done their function, and now, larger leaves will be blocking them from the sun anyway, so there's less reason for the plant to continue providing it resources. If the whole plant is yellowing, the best I got is what I'd do: Start over with a new plant for each plant doing it. If your goal is to feed caterpillars, I'd say make sure to secure other sources of milkweed ASAP out in nature if you haven't already. Good luck!
I just found a tagged butterfly in my garden. How do I report it and to whom? I am in Punta Gorda Florida (southwest coast of Florida). MWTAG.ORG MONARCH WATCH ACJU 403 Any help you can give me will be appreciated. I love your videos! So far this year I have released 126 Monarchs beginning August 8, 2020 Your information and guidance has been priceless even though I'm in a totally different part of the country.
Love you videos! Thank you! After 2 years of what looked like a Monarch rebound, I have seen only 2 this summer in Northern NH. So sad. Check out thecaterpillarlab.org in Marlborough, NH. You'll love it :)
Sorry that things are sparse where you're at. I've been having a pretty normal, average year, but you're not alone. I'm hearing what you're saying from many others.
I have only seen 4 in central MA. I had all of my butterfly habitats and Tupperware bleached and ready to go and I didn't get any caterpillars this year. I saw my first monarch laying eggs in july but didn't go out to collect the eggs until 2 days later and they were gone. After that, nothing. Last year I raised about 30 before they started coming down with the black death which also took care of the gypsy moth caterpillars...not one sighting this year. The year before, I raised and tagged 69. Very sad summer for me.
First, my grandson and I started planting common milkweed about 5 years ago (in MI). Two years ago we started see caterpillars. Last year, we found your videos and realized we could increase monarch numbers by fostering eggs to maturity. So this year, I am on target to raise over 60 Monarch butterflies (I am at about a 60% success rate - novice learning). Thank you! Milkweed -The flowers are beautiful and very fragrant. I am growing seedlings to pass out and will be collecting seeds to share. Keep Saving the Monarchs! My question:
I found about 20 monarch caterpillars in all different stages yesterday. They were all on honeyvine milkweed. I've got them in different containers, thanks to your videos. Three of them are already in chrysalis form today.
Hi, I live in Ontario and we just discovered 1000's of Monarchs staying over in our fence lines..I have suspected for years that this was a gathering place. Who needs to know more? I have video of 1000's - it looks like mini mexicp
Up until this year we have seen the Common & Butterfly Milkweed plants on our property. This year we think we have found what may be a few Swamp Milkweed plants. None of them have flowered yet but the leaves look like the Common variety but narrower, yet not as narrow as the Butterfly variety. So far we have seen most of the eggs on the Common Milkweed and only a few on the Butterfly Milkweed. So I would have to say, at our proprty, the "Best" nanny plant for the next generation of Monarchs is the Common Milkweed.
Yep. And certainly, it could differ from region to region too. Just like "taste" differs for us humans, I would not be surprised that in certain areas of the country that are, say, perhaps better suited environmentally for one species, it may be that the Monarchs in that area select differently. Let's pretend, for example, Swamp Milkweed flowers smell sweeter or the leaves somehow smell better to Mom the more a specific nutrient is available in the soil (or other similar variable). And say in a certain region, that soil has it more. Perhaps in those areas, Swamp Milkweed does a better job of being something the Moms select for. Not sure. But cool to think about!
@@MrLundScience That would definitely make for an interesting study. Our property is like a sampler platter, with the wetlands, hay field, forest and the railroad bed all having different soils.
Once we are living there, I think I will have to try planting the different Milkweed species in all of the different areas and see which plants get the most eggs. I'll do some in full sun & part shade to see if that may also factor into things. It may not be a proper study but it will be interesting to see if there are any noticeable preferences after a few years of doing it. Thanks for the idea. 😀
Hi, maybe I missed this but where are you located?
We have spider, common, purple, swamp and ButterflyWeed. My 9 year old describes the Common leaves as “big and juicy.” Cute! My problem is that the Common is so well loved that the aphids are all over it and the plant ends up turning black from them.
What is your climate like, and do you do anything special for your purple milkweed? Do you water it a lot? I'm having trouble growing mine.
Hey, when you get a chance be sure to catch or re-watch his video about milkweed’s “visitors”, invasive or not, milkweed attracts over several hundreds of insects and bugs, including those that take over! It was helpful to hear and follow his “take” on each of these that directly and indirectly affect our beloved Monarch Butterflies. Good luck!
Also a heads up: A lot of milkweed sold a box stores like lowes or home depot are treated with pesticides! Poor guys will start throwing up green and die. Its a good idea to grow them from seed or a local grower where you can verify pesticide use!
I planted swamp milkweed in my garden last year. I start my newly hatched caterpillars on that because the leaves are quite small. Then to my surprise I found two large fields, not a mile from my home that has an abundance of the common milkweed. I have a gold mine. As my caterpillars start growing I switch to the common milkweed. My caterpillars seem happy. I worry if some day that field will be gone. I'm glad that I have both.
Not doing to well this year 😢 it’s been so hot 🥵 and dry in the south I am struggling to keep all my plant alive I don’t know if that’s the reason I don’t have any monarch caterpillars and I’ve hardly seen any butterflies period. Glad ur able to raise 😃💜
This is s-o cool- I want to do this. I just bought a home in Cerro New Mexico and I'll be moving in this summer- I'll definitely be planting native milkweed
I'm in Maryland and I refuse to grow tropical milkweed as it's not native. I have found swamp milkweed extremely effective at attracting eggs/caterpillars and it's also lovely in my butterfly garden. But the leaves are narrow and thin and so then with 70 caterpillars total over the season I had to forage for local common milkweed to feed them all. So, in my experience swamp is great to attract them but will get more eggs than it can sustain. We only found a total of 2 live cats and maybe 12 eggs, 4 of which hatched, on local wild common milkweed.
MrLund, the Monarchs have arrived. They showed up on March 12. Interesting how females will lay 4 to 6 eggs and then move on. Our plants are pretty small but we have our first 20 eggs and 5 new cats. We have enough supply for now.. Using all the techniques you have taught to send the next generation northward. Thank you.
Poke milkweed (asclepias exaltata) also produces pretty big leaves, but doesn't grow as tall. It's great if you live in a shady location!
The monarchs In my area love Honey vine milkweed Because it grows everywhere and I mean it. You will see it on fences, houses and under Neath pine trees. And sometimes I find Honey vine milkweed at my grandmother's house. Every time I find a plant there is always monarchs on them. No matter if it's an egg or Caterpillar.
Mr Lund i got common milkweed seeds and i used the soaking method it's only been three day and so many seeds have SPROUTED!!!
I live in the Ojai Valley of Southern California. I accidentally stumbled on some Monarch caterpillars last year and got interested. I knew very little about Monarchs at that point but you have educated me. My first two batches of caterpillars all died. Many were parasitize by tachnid flies and others failed when they tried to pupate. The chrysalis just would fall apart or never form correctly. So I started cleaning the leaves with the bleach solution and only bringing in eggs. I just hatched my first healthy monarch this morning. I have 13 more crysallides and about 40 more caterpillars coming up behind them. I want to thank you for putting this information out there and for inspiring me.
I just released my last two monarch butterflies today and I feel a little sad. This is my first summer raising monarchs and I didn't even plan on doing it. Most of my eggs I collected from my swamp milk weed plant that I planted last year and a few from a common milk weed plant. I will try to start new common milk weed plants in the spring next year and i hope they take off. In all I have raised and released 31 monarchs. It's a small number but, I hope that every little bit will help. I really enjoyed doing this and now I look forward to next year. Mr Lund, I can't thank you enough for all of your videos. I learned a lot from you and it is because of you, that I started raising monarchs.
Mr Lund, loved your videos forever. I don't know if you'll ever see this comment. I don't use social media anymore so no facebook. At any rate, I live outside of Houston and wanted to ask several questions, make several comments.
Several other Monarch enthusiast (raisers) have noticed the same thing this year, we still have monarch's! It's now February. The milder winter has allowed my milk weed plants to continue having leaves and monarch's continued to lay eggs and I keep taking care of them after they hatch. Should we have cut back all the milkweed (MW) in November to keep egg layers from laying? I know there is other MW in our area, wild that is. I have continued releasing mine in neighborhoods 15 miles from here, where they have lots of flowers. These neighbors don't have MW but they have plenty of food source. I have done lots of OE testing and it's just not one of the issues we have here. Tachinid flies, on the other hand are a terror. I will stop here, but wish I could talk more about this.
Thanks so much for all of the videos. They have helped us raise 101 this year. Today I have 22 chrysalis and 20+ cats. I just can't stand the thought of flies getting them and that's what will happen if I don't raise them in fly proof habitat. Maybe I'm wrong, what say you? Should I cut down the MW?
A friend in Beach City, Texas
Just an update. Feb 24
If you don't know we had a monster freeze down here. At my home, no monarch's had been laying eggs for several weeks and all the cats I had raised made it to Chrysalis. A total of 36 were placed in a warmed green house and none froze. I have found an average of about 1 in 8 cat's will not eclave. The new M's have plenty to eat and many have flown out. I don't know what they will eat, but they didn't freeze! Now with the warming weather I wonder how many migrating M's got hammered if they were coming up from Mexico. Spring is in the air. I'm sure you have your circle of friendly information from down here (south). I was somewhere near another local green house and saw a Monarch flying around 4 or 5 days after the last day of freezing. It made me think all is not lost. I have large supply of 6" potted (Siriaka) milkweed coming this week. We will start over, God is bigger than the weather.
A friend in Beach City, Texas
There is no doubt that if you plan on raising monarchs you absolutely must have access to plenty of common milkweed. The large leafs of the common milkweed make a perfect food source. I have a small patch of common milkweed in my yard but I get almost all my common milkweed leafs from a neighbor's house. For some unknown reason swamp milkweed grows phenomenally well in my yard. I have four swamp milkweed plants that have grown into large bushes in just two years. These swamp milkweed bushes constantly produce new pink bud clusters throughout the summer attracting plenty of momma monarchs. In fact my sister and I harvest 90% of our monarch eggs and caterpillars from their slender leafs. However the swamp milkweed leafs are not a good food resource. The swamp milkweed leafs are far too small for the larger 3-5 instar caterpillars but work well as a food source for the 1-2 instar caterpillars due to their tender soft leaf structure.
As far as pests go I ignore the spotted milkweed beetle but I fight the milkweed bug with all my might. The milkweed bug is a vicious predator that if allowed to take a foothold on your milkweed will destroy any chance of collecting any eggs or caterpillars. Milkweed bugs favorite thing to destroy are milkweed seed pods. They thrive on sucking the life out of seed pods. Milkweed bugs are black and red stripped and are similar in size to a boxelder bug. The only way I have found to control them is man-to-bug combat. Since they fly I go out at dawn and dusk to do battle when the milkweed bug is at its most vulnerable. The most effective way I have found to kill them is by squishing them between my fingers. My fingers get a little sticky but that's a small price to pay.
Thanks again Mr Lund for your great monarch videos. You are hands down the best resource I have found anywhere for raising and understanding the beautiful monarch butterfly.
Thank you so much for these videos! Your work is wildly important, and I'd like to help you perhaps make a PDF of the step by step complete and comprehensive guide to raising healthy monarchs. Your videos are super informative but for some, a list they could print and constantly refer to would be most helpful in boosting monarch numbers :)
In other news, I have been able to raise some monarch's in Hawaii. They are here naturally, and I found them on our version of milkweed called "Crown Flower" or Giant calotrope. Not sure if that's tropical milkweed or not. I do wish I could be helping the declining American monarch population, but alas, I am on an island. There is a a bird here, the red-vented bulbul, that eats monarchs! It makes me so upset, especially seeing that it is an invasive species in the first place.
Regardless, I raised a few butterflies here, and the first one had OE. It broke my heart. I care for him everyday, I set him by the window, I take him outside on my hand and pretend that he's flying, and even take him on walks in a mesh bag. He is sweet and I keep him completely separate from anywhere near my other caterpillars/butterflies, and I wash my hands after every time I touch him. I hope this is enough to keep them all safe. At first I was scared all my butterflies would end up like him! So glad they're not. But I do wonder, if OE is just unavoidable, especially in an isolated island environment. We don't do many, if any, studies on the monarch here as they are not endangered nor do they contribute to the American migrating population.
Hi, just new to your site. We started raising Monarchs 2 years ago. Found the caterpillars on our Butterfly Milkweed we have in our back yard. Got on your site for the first 5 videos. Learned a lot. We did lose some but managed to raise 6 and turned them loose successfully. Last year we didn't have any at all. None. They came through for about 2 days and was gone. This year has been terrible. We have lost everyone of them so far. I have watched your video on the NPV virus. Cleaned my cage throughly and have washed all the leaves in the 5% solution. But the was hatched on the leaves outside and the were probably all ready infected with he virus. We have 4 left and we will probably lose them also. Will try to do better next year. I really hate it that we lost them. That's not helping the program much. Thanks for the advice and all the learning material.
One good thing it reseed itself. Added 2 monarch caterpillar and a number of eggs in the leaves today so 2nd batch!! Thank you for all your help
GREAT VIDEOS Grew up in Jackson Mi now retired in Sarasota Fl. Monarchs arrive here in Oct-Sept. Still laying eggs. This is my first try at raising caterpillar to butterfly. I will be planting milkweed and pollinators this spring to be ready for the fall Florida migration Dec 9th still raising caterpillars inside!!!
I love your videos!! Informative and terribly entertaining!!
Common Milkweed is best but not a great sell afa the layperson or average gardener.
Swamp Milkweed is a better choice for those who desire a more attractive plant with better manners.
It starts easily from seed and volunteers readily.
The one drawback is that it is short lived, peaking at around three years and petering out at around five.
Asclepias tuberosa is another alternative as well, though not as well preferred by the butterflies.
I grow all three and do my best to distribute as many as possible thru annual giveaways, along with other host and nectar sources for all butterflies in my region.
Thank you so much because of you’re monarch information i have raised monarch from Caterpillar to butterfly 🦋
Great video! I really enjoyed it and I learned a few things about milkweed too!
My milkweed got so tall this year, it’s leaning over in the yard. It doesn’t look healthy this late in season either. Love the smell of my milkweeds flowers and wished it stayed longer. - SW Michigan
Yeah, they smell pretty awesome, I think, and I don't have the most sensitive nose.
Mine does that too. It is planted next to the garage and I hung wires down and loosely attached them to the milkweed to help it stay at least a little vertical.
Was hoping you would also cover some of the other milkweeds native to Michigan like Asclepias tuberosa, also green milkweed, whirled milkweed, purple milkweed etc.
Hey Stacey. I don't know what to say to that, I guess. (Know that it doesn't rub me the wrong way, or anything, though.) I've never worked with anything other than Asclepias syriaca. Over the years, people continued to ask me this question again and again. I explained often, I don't know about the specifics of other species, as I don't work with them. So honestly, for a few years, I resisted making this video for the very reason you bring up - it's only showcasing one species, not even two or more. But, then I had heard a few times from a few who have done this for a few years and been along for the ride, more or less that people might just want "my" answer to the question. So, that tipped me over the fence, and I told a few of them I would do it. They said they'd appreciate it, and I knew I'd appreciate being able to copy and paste a link to this video next time the question comes my way, rather than type out response similar to others in the past. So, please understand, I fully hear your criticism, and in fact, I don't disagree with it. Just know that others wanted this video made, even after it was described to them how it would only involve Common Milkweed. They still requested it. Know that I go into this eyes open that I won't please everyone all of the time, so, it's not really a goal and never was. (Largest one I get, though, is on Part 2. People seem to either LOVE or HATE the band Primus. Meh. I like 'em.) But yeah, I get ya. I hear ya, and I respect that opinion fully. Still, I hope that this video can give people a starting point as far as what they may wish to consider when choosing a milkweed plant. Do they care more about leaf size or more about attracting females for egg laying? Do they care if the milkweed spreads with rhizomes or not. Stuff like that. I hope it helps others in some fashion.
@@MrLundScience I appreciate that. Wasn't criticizing perse, I just think of you as Mr. Scientific. There are many studies about varieties of milkweed in terms of which attract Monarchs more affectively, etc. Had hoped you would cover some things like that.
No, I totally get it, and agree with what you point out. Truth more told, I do plan to explore more of what Michigan milkweed is able to offer in terms of the different species. The ones that you mention in your first comment here, definitely. But knowing how long it's taken to get enough knowledge to talk about Common Milkweed, I know I'd want to work with the species for at least two years and see the ins and outs of them. Plus, each of those species likely deserve their own video. Plans for the future...
LMAO! I get the feeling you're not a plant person....
I've got Cynanchum laeve and it works VERY well for my purposes. I'd really like the rhizomes making others pop up, but with one or two C. laeves, all I need is just to keep wrapping it around a tomato cage. I still have some runners, but since it's a vine, they're small yet... they popped out late in the season, for some reason.
I've had a great year, though (tagged and released six in the last two days and two today). I also planted some A. tuberosa, so hopefully it'll be back next year. It's doing very well, given I only planted it a week ago.
As soon as I find A. exaltata for my shade garden, I'm going to jump on that, too. Waiting for a native plant store's online shop to restock it.
Hi thanks for sharing. I live in Florida and have started to raise caterpillars this year. I like the information you share especially the Parasites. You helped me understand why 2 of my butterflies didn't make it.
Another helpful video fir the rest of us. Thanks!
I have 7 varieties on my property. I like showy the best for everything. Swamp has been popular in the past, this year the monarchs ignored it and it didn’t do well. I feed from the shoots in the yard as well.
Those shoots you are pulling can easily be dug and used to propagate the milkweed. I've had more success rooting those shoots than growing from seed. Thanks for another great video.
[Insert large smile face here] Then you've had more success than this guy! One of the experiments that didn't work out enough to make a video about this year is trying to get milkweed shoots to sprout new roots. I haven't mastered that yet...or even come close. But, only first time trying. I'll keep at it!
Hey could you please cover cloning milkweed? Like, taking cuttings and rooting them to create another plant? It’s probably similar to other plants and I’m about to try it with some rooting hormone. Seems like it would be a good topic & alternative to sprouting seeds. I’d love to hear your take on the subject. Thanks & 45 released so far in my yard this season 👍🏻
I fully agree that it's a great topic! That's why, it's one of the things I've been experimenting with this summer. If things had worked out well, oh, I'd be on it. But from the experimental results, the best I could garner so far is that I'm not good at it at all yet. I tried multiple different things with shoots and cuttings, be it a full water only soak or an in soil constant moist, or an in soil watered situation, and then did another with different types of soil versus looser material like potting soil with mulch. In all cases, all my plants/cuttings died and no new roots sprouted. So, as best I can, I could say that I've agreed to your request, I just can't give you any estimate on the release date. Ha! I haven't given up though. Just, it doesn't look like it's in the cards for this year. At least not from me. I'm willing to bet there's some great videos some others have done. Great topic!
Hey, good and fun activity, where are you? We are in the Piedmont of North Carolina, where there is a lot of native Common Milkweed growing freely in the pastures on our farm, and that has also been successfully transplanted into my perennial garden. Good idea! I haven’t tried the rooting hormone with it but it may work! Still it seems that it’s not too difficult to find “baby” plants with tiny roots already when carefully removed from their location, despite the fact that they do originate from a huge tap root beneath the soil. I would say be prepared either way to not see much evidence of success that first and even 2nd year of the plants you work with though the good news is that just this past spring I was amazed and delighted to find all 4 of the plants in a group that I planted small ones with roots from our pasture, as (wild native Common Milkweed). It still is spindly; I also transplanted some into plastic gallon size containers like from the garden centers and they did the same thing, came up the following spring though weren’t very large at first. All though actually were taller than they were originally; maybe we should cut them back at points to encourage a stronger plant that has more branching out. Observing them in their natural wild state though they truly do grown from a single stalk, without a more shrub-like form, except for the ones where I had cut back while harvesting leaves with eggs! BTW this is the same milkweed as the one Rich Lund features in Michigan, btw. Best of luck!
How?
You're awesome 👌thanks for all the really good information and great videos. Just starting to grow milkweed and I'm excited to have monarch butterflies 🦋 🦋🦋
Keep the videos going!!
i have Asclepias fascicularis and it has some problems one of them is habitat loss and im glad that im able to grow narrow leaves i live in Los angles Torrance CA
Example ~ many people seem to rear wild-harvested eggs on Tropical Milkweed (Facebook) but unfortunately, in the wild, there isn't any Tropical MW in the PNW but that's what the released Monarchs will be wanting. The "Best" is what's native for the range they will encounter so, the Annual cycle wheel is important. August offspring, 4th generation generally only need nectar for their southern migration and local Milkweed isn't an issue. The 'Best' MW is what's indigenous to a geographic location for egg-laying and not nectaring. Oh, side topic, the Oleander aphids are devastating the MW in CA. Oleander and Milkweed have the same toxin. The Oleander wasp moth will lay eggs on MW so be careful around CA and OR. The Oleander wasp moth uses Oleander like Monarchs use Milkweed. Also, if you plan on harvesting Milkweed pods, don't harvest if they've split open. The Milkweed beetle might be in the pod or was in the pod making seeds not viable.
Mr. Lund, I live in Michigan and started raising Monarch butterflies in 2019. I gleaned a lot of information about raising butterflies from your videos and was excited with the success I had last summer. Unfortunately for me, however, 2020 has been anything BUT successful. I have a theory about why this year may not have been as good for me and hope that you might comment on my theory. To begin, butterflies didn't arrive in my yard until very late in July. Eventually, though, I found eggs which I brought into the house and placed in proper containers. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until the newly hatched caterpillars started to eat my milkweed leaves. Many of the young cats died just a few days after hatching out of the egg case. Others made it through to the 2nd to 4th instar before they died as well. Of those that made it to the pupa stage, about 3 or 4 of my butterflies never emerged. Something else I noticed late in the summer was that many of the eggs I collected didn't hatch at all. In all, I was able to raise and release ONLY 14 butterflies! My theory about the large number of caterpillar/butterfly deaths I experienced this summer stems from news stories I've come across where spraying for mosquitoes has resulted in the deaths of a large number of butterflies in some cities. I wonder, too, if caterpillars were affected by these sprays as well. The town I live in sprays for mosquitoes several times throughout the summer. The chemicals used in this year's applications include permethrin, piperonyl butoxide, and petroleum distillate. Mr. Lund, could these chemicals have been responsible for the deaths of the majority of my caterpillars and a few of my butterflies? Could it have been something else unrelated to mosquito spraying that caused it? I built a special butterfly house this spring just so that I could raise the majority of my caterpillars and butterflies outdoors and worry that I may not be able to use it again. Your expert opinion on this matter would be appreciated!
Swamp milk weed down here in NC doesn't draw any butterflies.
I have a gazillion swallowtail caterpillars on my parsley and despite the many monarchs flying around here I haven't seen one egg on the many milk weed plants in my yard.
I've been hearing that plenty around the country this year. But I've also, from nearly every state, heard both stories: Either it's bare, or, they are having a fairly normal year. I know that there's some in Michigan who have stated that they haven't seen any, nor found any eggs. For me, it's been a pretty average year as far as when they arrived, how many eggs I'm finding compared to how much/often I'm looking. Pretty average all around. I don't know if I should apologize for that, for certainly we hope its normal in some places! But I do wish to express condolences. I've had years that have been pretty dry too, but never a zilch year. Here's hoping they're still to make a visit in the season for you!
@@MrLundScience In early spring there were a few Monarch's visiting my yard. Then they vanished completely for probably a good 6 weeks, swallowtail s were present but not many.
Now both are legion but I never saw this many Monarch's. Maybe it's because everything is blooming and there's lots of food for them, I don't know. But still no eggs unless I don't recognize them or birds get to them first. My yard had lots of birds. I use netting on some of my blueberries because the birds and deer don't share much.lol
I also saw Monarchs drinking from my hummingbird feeder!
Thanks for all the good information on raising Monarch's.
Super video, thanks!
I guess I didn't let you know with my comment below but we live SW of Wichita Ks along and close to the Oklahoma boarder.
I live in panhandle Florida. The milkweed we have is a butterfly weed from a native species nursery and has very narrow, smallish leaves compared to your northern species. Would plumeria, Family: Apocynaceae
Order: Gentianales , work as a food source? We’ve not seen eggs on ours, only on the other butterfly weed, but they frequently eat all of those available leaves. The plumeria is easier to grow and has much larger leaves.
Hello Mr Lund! I am with you on Common Milkweed! It grows on the field above us but not wanting to grow close to us, alot of it I keep it weeded then a deer or rabbit comes a long and chews it down, but I have one growing and I planted Mexican milk weed around it, for some reason they dont gobble it down and its allowing the common to grow. Also I have some Purple milk weed growing different part of our yard its actually spreading and things have chewed it down but not as bad as the common, both great for Monarch cats. I have Swamp milk weed it drys up on me sometimes but I have been successful with it for about two years on most, I do have one that is 3years old and nice size. Your Common milk weed looks great! It may be it prefers living among other plants rather then weeded by its self?
It has been another bad year for Monarch butterflies. I have only done 12 from tiny tiny caterpillars to the butterflies stage. I have lots of milkweed nothing going on because of no monarch butterflies.
Sorry that you're experiencing this. As I've been telling others, I'm having a pretty normal year here in Michigan. Yet, others in Michigan are telling me that they are having a pretty dry year in total. They'd be jealous of your 12. And the other part worth mentioning is that from State to State, region to region, I'm not seeing much of a pattern, meaning, those from PA reporting in, I'm hearing both stories. Same with WI, or NC, or MI. I'm stumped a bit.
@@MrLundScience
And this year I grew a huge patch of wildflowers pollinator mix and I have had tons of bees of all kinds I have had my favorite butterflies tiger swallowtails three at a time on my flowers and I've had a black swallowtail which I haven't seen in quite some time and red Admirals and viceroys and several monarch butterflies. But I have not seen any egg Lane on my milkweed which I have 27 plants or caterpillars. The only things I have seen how I got my 12 was in the very beginning of the year after that nothing. And if you seen my new Flower Patch and I got tons of flowers everywhere anyways they just grew like holy Hannah.
@@MrLundScience
Here's a guitar piece you might like,enjoy.
czcams.com/video/NplceQytY2Y/video.html
I had a female last year that was laying eggs on all of the tiniest plants. They literally were 2" high and had 2 leaves. They looked like just sprouted tomato seedlings. Will tiny babies be able to move on to other plants 5 feet away when they finish the minuscule plants in a day or two? I know they must be more tender eating, but this seems like the poor caterpillar doesnt have a chance after he finishes the plant. I plucked all the plants and kept them in tiny bud vases until they hatched, and moved them into tupperware containers.
Common in most cases is best long term. I do understand you not covering other species, especially tropical varieties. While you haven’t found that you needed anything else, I will share my personal anecdote.
In my area, there were a few milkweed patches that were ‘cleaned up’. For a few years I didn’t see any monarchs. I am in in urban environment with a railroad track where I noticed extensive use of herbicides. I planted common in my yard and waited 3 years before I started to see monarchs. I decided that I wanted to encourage others to grow milkweed and at some point had started raising them because of the alarming low numbers. Last year I started a couple flats of tropical milkweed which I shared with some people who had no milkweed in their garden and they got to experience monarchs in their gardens. A large percentage of them later planted native varieties. So my take on tropical in temperate climates is that they are equivalent to planting annual flowers. None of the tropical has returned on its own in my or anyone else’s garden and this year anyway, I didn’t start any tropical. I understand that there are mixed opinions on this and would love to see unemotional scientific studies on tropical milkweed in temperate climates. Anyway, the bulk of my milkweed is common, this year are every other year that I have been taking in monarchs. My secondary species is swamp, but it’s not even close to being as productive as common. I am happy to know that I have increased the amount of common in my area.
Hi @mrlundscience, thank you so much for your videos! I am in California and on day 3 of hanging with a butterfly I rescued - it is warm, fed, and I even got the wing gently repositioned so that it can have the proper overlap...The thing is, it has been cloudy lately, and any time I bring the monarch outside, it stops moving at all, and gets really inactive. I am happy to keep tending the little thing, but I want to give it the best chance, and so if I can release it with the best chance possible of thriving, I'd love to do that. Seeking guidance on this matter, thank you!
I have been planting tropical milkweeds in my flower garden for 4 or 5 years and have been successful in attracting monarchs. A neighbor has recently given me pods from her yard for common and swamp milkweeds which I hope to germinate next spring. The pods are closed or partially open. What’s the best place to keep them over the winter? Indoors or outside? I live in northern Illinois. Thank you 😊
I have common and swamp milkweed in my butterfly garden in NW Ohio. I dug my first plants out of a farmers field 5 years ago. I did not have my first monarch lay eggs until the middle of last month. Those butterflies have all been released in the last week. I have chrysalides hanging now as well as a few 1st instar cats. The butterflies preferred the common milkweed in my garden until the surrounding plants got as tall. The last several eggs have been on swamp milkweed which is around the edges. Most of the butterflies I released this year were female, what about yours? The same with the 14 black swallowtail I just released over the last 4 days. Only 2 males.
I seem to have monarchs still looking for the milkweed plants in the garden. I have been checking almost daily. I have seen as many as 3 at one time in the garden as well as 2 types of swallowtails and monarchs at my butterfly bushes close to the window I sit next to. Thanks for the videos, I have been recommending people watch them. I post photos on my Facebook page almost daily as I am trying to educate and encourage others to raise butterflies too. One last question, do you teach science? You remind me of my favorite teachers and outdoor educators. But I doubt many of them liked heavy metal or Marilyn Manson. Lol
One of your past post was for stratifying mw seed. From my experience some varieties require stratification and some don't.
Its our first year with our milkweed! Im really not sure what type of milk weed we have. We have found six catapillars!!! So, that meant we needed to go somewhere and find more milkweed, bc we simply don't have enough. The milkweed we found seems to be a differnt type? I think what we found today is common milk week shutes and what we planted and is young, but it is darker and more pointed leaves. The catapillars seem to prefer our milk weed and not what we found today .... is that common? Maybe they will eat it as they get bigger and more hungry?
Having multiple kinds of milkweed on your property will help you if you want to have a Certified Monarch Weigh Station 🙂
Best milkweed is rather subjective depending on where you live. The milkweed species native to your area most of the time do the best and some that are hundreds of miles away from where they originally grew won’t do so hot in your area if the geography, soil and climate are different. I live on the western side of North America and the closest looking relative to Asclepias syriaca there is Ascelepias speciosa or showy milkweed. It’s a bit bigger and showier hence it’s name. Native is always best but I ain’t gonna stop anyone from growing milkweed plants that aren’t in their area in a greenhouse or under careful watch. Tropical milkweed is a menace and is a magnet for oe. I am glad some states are labeling tropical milkweed as a noxious weed because of how it’s hurting instead of helping monarchs. Whenever I see those red and yellow milkweed flowers I cringe in disgust.
I am having trouble with the OE. I have followed everything you suggested. I have bleached eggs and leaves. Eggs hatched no problem but so far all are infected. Don’t know what I am doing wrong. Last year no problem. I bleach everything. I live in Orlando Florida. I have been very careful of the instructions. HELP.
Thank you so much for your videos about monarchs! Very professionally done. You're clearly a first-class educator.
QUESTIONS
Where do you get those green lidded boxes you use for your fourth and fifth instars?
Do you punch holes in the tops of the takeout containers?
I have an aphid issue. I am in Central Texas and every year that I’ve had milkweed, we’ve had oleander aphids and lots of them. Yet, when I go a couple blocks down to the trail to collect wild milkweed I don’t see hardly any. What gives??? For reference I have swamp milkweed, butterfly weed and green antelope.
Thanks for this series. Curious to know if you have ever raised Swallowtail butterflies as well and have thoughts on over wintering outdoor habitats. I find there is generally less helpful information for these butterflies. Thanks!
Pretty much, I'm just a Monarch guy. I never raised butterflies before all of this, but became interested in the Monarch once I had found out about its plight. So, I've really stuck just to Monarchs, other than a few times I've found and reared Tussock Moths that were on milkweed, or, there were a couple of times I did find some late stage ESB caterpillars and did rear those two successfully. But that was just a chance find one summer. Prior to that, I did have a wild ESB female lay eggs for me, but this was like, 2013 or so, and I was a greenhorn. I purchased "organic" parsley and dill for them to eat. Ever single one of them died. Of 30 eggs that she laid (exactly) they all hatched, and everything was great for a while. Then about five days in, caterpillars started dying, and I had no idea why. Only 4 made it to the later instar stages, and zero of those made it to the chrysalis. This is how I was able to learn about "organic" pesticides, and how certain bacteria can be intentionally placed on organic crops and still be considered "organic" because the bacteria is a natural organism. The bacteria on such plants are ones that are fatal to most insect larva in enough amounts. Live and learn.
It's what i use!
Word.
I wish I had milkweed growing on my property. I look when I go for walks, but haven't seen any. I'm in NW North Carolina.
Easily solved. Plant some!
Im in north west south carolina and we recently planted just a variety of milk weeds, but i think only one variety was successful, I think its the swamp variety ... but a few miles away at a friends she has common milk weed growing on her property that she did not plant. I say get seeds and plant away!
Hi, don’t you love N. C. where we almost always can experience a day in any month where the temperatures are around a delightful 72 degrees F? Your’s is a very good question, but first where are you? I would highly recommend asking the milkweed question of a trusted expert, which may be a local garden center owned and/or managed by a person w/ a degree in horticulture, or find gardening and farm information online via a website of a state college like N.C. State, home to an outstanding horticulture/agriculture department. Learn about your planting zone, which helps indicate what thrives and tolerates where you live, based on the range of your warmest and coldest temperatures,(ex.: my location is 7A-7B, I never plant a garden til after April 25th to be sure there is not a killing frost, and our 1st frost always seems to fall in late October, often on Halloween, w/ winter temperatures that easily go down to 20 degrees F). I grew up in Rockingham Co. and love N.C. We now live on our own farm in S.E. Alamance Co., 9 mi. West of Chapel Hill. This is the 3rd season I have been wild-rearing M. B.s. More than likely you can cultivate and find the same Common Milkweed that we have here, as what Rich Lund also finds to be prolific and ideal “home” for the Monarchs in Mi. The tap root provides multiple M.W. Plants and once established originates deep under the ground thus is protected from extreme temperatures;thankfully it does totally dies back to the ground, improving the quality and health of this amazing plant, since the insects and problematic inherent diseases retreat when the plants do during our below-freezing temperatures. It grows wild in sections of our former horse-pastures that we now understand how and when to maintain by cutting the fields, avoiding the months when M.B.s are active from April & May through October. There are also wild “Butterfly Weed” plants that are bright orange, growing low to the ground, spreading laterally rather than vertically which is what the orange Swamp Milkweed does; I have never seen it in our area. Best of luck!
p. s. Hi, fellow North Carolinian, you can probably do what I did, by transplanting some small plants making sure they had roots from the native Common Milkweed growing locally; our’s specifically was growing wild in the pastures on our own property. They look like they are going to die but low and behold they ALL came up this past spring! They love full sun, or full w/ some shade later part of the day when it’s extremely hot so keep this in mind. Common Milkweed more than likely would thrive up there so again check that out but I am in the cooler part of N.C.; we are in the Piedmont of N. C. Best of luck!
Hi Rich - I have appreciated your Monarch videos over the years. I also have had this pleasure of raising and releasing. Because it's getting colder now and my milkweed supply is slowly going away I have only 2 Monarchs to go. Today a very strange things happened to one that is close to going into a J hang. It stopped eating and has been upside-down on a leaf and expelled a series of black weird-shaped stuff all connected together from it's rear-end and now it's almost hanging from these black clumpy deposits. These deposits are not the normal caterpillar poop at all - they are all connected. Where could I send you a photo? - thanks jGould
Warning! Dad joke at the end. (And he thinks it’s really funny.) It was pretty good. 😁😆😂
Hi Mr. Lund,
I was hoping you could provide any insight into the following observation. I noticed that my common milkweed flowered, but did NOT spread underground at all. I have another variety (slightly different than the common) that did not flower, but sent out tons of shoots. Do you know if flowering and rhizome production occur in different years ? I probably have 20 plants of each 2 types and they all exhibited this behavior. Thanks and keep up the great work.
Question for you, just wondering if you have ever had this happen... My butterfly eclosed the other day and when she did, she wasn't able to un-bend her 2 front legs. She tried holding the chrysalis with the 2 back legs but ended up letting go after a few minutes. I tried to offer her some mesh to climb but she couldn't grasp it. Her wings were damaged, she couldn't, walk, climb or fly and after a few hours, I had to make the hard decision. Anyway, have you ever had a butterfly that couldn't get their front legs working? She was on her knees in the front end. It was really sad and really pitiful. I let her enjoy some sun and feel a flower before I euthanized her. While she tried to climb on the flower, she broke one of her damaged legs and that was ultimately the moment I made my decision not to keep her. It wasn't a good day.
I can't get my cats to eat. They refuse to eat the leaves that I've taken from the plants. I think I'm just going to take them back outside. I was hoping to improve the numbers that made it but it's not looking like that's going to happen. Btw, I'm in CA.
I am experiencing a shortage of monarchs. Definitely less than last year. I live in the southwest suburbs of Chicago
Very sorry to hear this, and I've definitely been hearing it from multiple people. Others, though, seem to be reporting a normal year too, and they seem to be from the same states/regions as those experiencing a lack of eggs. Not sure what to make of it. I've been having a pretty average year here in the Lansing area, as far as Monarchs are concerned.
Hi I am 15 miles west of Chicago. I have seen many more monarchs, black and yellow swallowtails and a big yellow with black markings. Neighbors and the garden club have been planting a lot of milkweed. This is my 3rd year with common milkweed, (very invasive) I have a small flower garden. I released my 3rd monarch today. So far 1 female and 2 males. 2more to go. Very interesting project and hope to do more next year.
I need help! Can you answer a few questions? I grow Asclepias tuberosa and Asclepias incarnata. We have had such hot humid weather here in Southern Indiana, my milkweed leaves are turning black and dark purple, I think fungal or mildew? But, I just discovered 5 1st instars and over 12 new eggs! Any advice? I thought we were done and I spotted and witnessed a female flying around and dropping eggs. Suggestions?
@MrLundScience I have an emergency butterfly dilemma and I don't know what to do. If you see this please let me know if you can be of any assistance. I had to relocate a caterpillar who's halfway metamorphisized in my backyard. Multiple hanging ones there have been eaten by lizards and I wanted to move him before he got ate too. However in the process, he let go of his silk button and now I have no way to rehang him. What should I do
I put seeds in my garden in the winter after a snow and I didn’t get any plants. What am I doing wrong? I collected seeds from the common milkweed from the local park and would like to try again for next year.
I have another question about eggs. I watched a video you did when you forced the monarch to lay 92 eggs and they all hatched. I have brought eggs in a several didn’t hatch. I have Asclepius tuberosa because that is the one they sale in the local nurseries in Kansas City. I brought the leaves in and kept them alive in a florist tube in a terrarium . I brought 10 in and only got about 3 caterpillars. It is very distressing. What am I doing wrong?
Has anyone tried growing common milk weed in South Florida? I'm wonderig if I can get it to grow. I did get some seeds but not sure if I should waste my time with them or not.
First year raising monarchs. Just released 3 butterflies from the 4 eggs collected. We only had the narrow leaf milkweed in our yard (Calif) so keeping them supplied w/ food in the last couple days required much work. One chrysalis fell about 10 inches to the bottom of the terrarium as I was pulling it from the side wall. It took on an increasingly ominous dark appearance and never emerged. (Note to self: Cup hand under it in case it separates from the silk.) The first one to emerge had its abdomen stuck to the top of chrysalis shell. It emerged while we were sleeping so we have no idea how long it struggled to free itself. It appeared weak when attempting flight. One forewing was folded over on itself because of the inability to hang properly soon after emerging. I fed it twice and released it in the garden the next day. It vanished after few hours. Low success probability, but maybe it increased in strength? The other two were perfectly healthy. When I started I wasn't expecting to get emotionally involved. I was really pulling for them!!
Quit messing with what you don"t know, dude
I need help! I left a comment on another video, but then saw it was a video 2 years old! I live in Houston, Tx. I have 4 chrysalides inside and 5 still outside on my milkweed plants, this late: Dec 21. How do I help these guys this late in the year?
That won’t grow in hot Florida. Tropical milkweed is what we have. But I’ve heard negative things about it.
I'm convinced that Corey Taylor's real name is Rich Lund.
Corey Taylor added his voice to demanding justice for the West Memphis Three. Those three gentlemen now walk free, as they should. Corey Taylor among many, played a role in that, and thus, he'll always be cool in my book. Still, the tattoos should give it away...we're not the same person. ;-)
If I plant milkweed in a pot on my second story balcony will it attract butterflies?
Their is not any milkweed in our area. Although I do see some areas with planted butterfly weed in school gardens and in other areas like that.
Have you ever found any queen caterpillars before? Cause I found some on my milkweed.
I have never encountered a Queen and someday hope to. From what I understand, I'm just a bit outside of the edge of their natural range, so there's a chance...just not a large chance. Perhaps someday!
MrLundScience I hope you find some soon! I’ve been watching your monarch videos since I was ten, and I’m fourteen now
MrLundScience and today I had a fairly small caterpillar pupate, but it looks like the others, just way smaller
Hey mr lund in my place have full of Calotropis gigeantea but I can't find any monarch eggs but I can find monarch butterfly around Calotropis gigeantea why I can't find and i have another question do monarch lay eggs on Calotropis gigeantea pls reply
Hi! I'm from india🇮🇳
It's day one of chrysalis and I've white pupa...
What does white pupa means...
Plz answer 🙏🙏
Mr. Lund.....I’ve Followed your videos for years and they have helped me save some monarchs. I live in SW Michigan so all my late cats have now flown away. However, my milkweed has like a black coating on them and my plants are covered in flies. I mean thousands of flies. Any idea why there are here and can we just cut down the milkweed without ruining it for the spring? Thank you.
I know exactly what happened. The black coating is caused from "Honey Dew" left by aphids. Honey dew is actually a secretion expelled by aphids as they suck the life out of milkweed. This aphid secretion was so bad on my milkweed plants last year that I had to cut my plants to the ground in early September. I actually lost six swamp milkweed plants that have failed to reappear this spring. As you noted the honey dew also attracts thousands of tachinid flies. Tachinid flies are the mortal enemy of monarch caterpillars.
My sister and I are planning a new strategy in fighting aphids. We are going to inspect our milkweed plants for aphids at least once a day and squish them with our fingers when we find them. There really is no other way to combat aphids. No chemical mix can be used because chemicals kill the pollenating process that attracts monarch butterflies in the first place. It is going to be a tough battle but my sister and I are going to give it our best effort.
Teddymac I am also fighting a huge infestation of aphids on my milkweeds. Every morning I go out to squish the bugs on the plants. THEN I gently hose the honey dew off the plants. The aphids prefer the milkweeds over any of my other plants in the garden unfortunately
Hi! I have released around 15 third generation Monarchs this last early August. Right know I have 20 chrysalises and 35 other caterpillars outside. I wanted to ask if you could tell me how I could tell what generation the butterflies are when they hatch? How much bigger are super monarchs? I live in Ohio close to Columbus.
I will say it is not purple milkweed in my experience. I keep common, butterfly, purple, and swamp milkweed and the monarchs love all of them but I never find caterpillars on the purple milkweed.
All well and good for u lucky folks east of the Rockies but what about the rest of us dude.? What's your west coast favorites?
Can you change the type of milkweed after their like 3rd instar
I need to know this too!
One big reason I like swamp so much is that it blooms and makes seed as soon as it’s second year. I have common milk planted years ago the same time as my swamp that still has never bloomed or made seed. Does this sound normal? Do you think it varies per region. I’m in south west Missouri.
I live in northeast Illinois. It took 3 years for my common milkweed seed to grow plants big enough to attract monarchs. It took 4 years to bloom. Now in year 5 I am getting seed pods. In only their second year my swamp milkweed plants have grown into beautiful bushes. The big advantage of swamp milkweed is it constantly produces new buds throughout the summer providing a continuing food source for monarchs and a host of other butterflies and pollinators. My wife and I had the pleasure of watching two giant swallowtails flutter and feed off the swamp milkweed planted outside our kitchen window. My wife, who is not easily impressed, was just amazed at the beauty and elegance of the giant swallowtail mating dance. Plus with swamp milkweed you don't get the plants spreading everywhere like you get with common milkweed. As you can tell I am a big fan of swamp milkweed. I use common milkweed only as a food souce for my monarch caterpillars.
Today is August 14 and our monarch season is wrapping up in my area. I am on my last eight caterpillars that should turn into chrysalises in the next two days. I do not harvest any caterpillars after August 25. Since it takes approximately a month to produce a monarch butterfly any monarch born after September 25 has very little chance to make it to the overwintering forests in Mexico.
Take care and have a grrrreat day!!!
Im NeW
I have a question that isn't about milkweed that I'm hoping you could please help me with: This is my 3rd year raising monarchs & I have a female that eclosed yesterday afternoon and she still does not have her probiscus fused. How long does that take? Is there anything I can do to help her? I saw a video a woman made where she kept repeatedly running a bent needle dipped in water along a monarch's probiscus & when the video was done, that probiscus looked fused. Should I try that?
Yes, running a water drop along the length of it can help to fuse it. It could be temporary (meaning it will unfuse again as soon as your done) or it could be more permanent (meaning it can be functional to draw nectar). Have a flower handy to test if it becomes functional after the fusing.
About a third (1/3) of our chrysalis turn black and die. What are we doing wrong? I have used fertilizer to get the mildweed plants established. Was that a mistake?
Unfortunately, the only way to know is to open those crysalis or watch for exit wounds. Sometimes a tachinid larvae will exit early in the crysalis life and the crysalis is left to rot. Sometimes it is bacterial or it could be viral. To combat the problem, confirm it is not tachinid larvae (1 to 4 larvae) or monodontomerus larvae (5 to 10 smaller larvae). Best to flush these crysalids down the toilet to avoid more larvae emerging or virus/bacteria to spread. Best not to use fertilizer. Are there aphids on the plants? Are they surviving? If so, it may be the fertilizer was not the issue.
So sorry to hear what you went through~! Where are you? Do you wild-rear them from eggs? This is why I follow Rich Lund and collect eggs only, use the bleach/water process, but have always taken in and isolated stray cats along the way. I can’t be sure about what happened with your’s. Be sure to watch or re-watch his series 1-5 about MB. It includes thorough and detailed videos regarding MB deaths, and everything possible, predators, pests, diseases, etc . I can share that most people including me do not fertilize or use anything on milkweed plants. My perennial garden is organic, and our newer to us veg gardens are as well. I trust in a soil “recipe” that continuously feeds the gardens, that we make mixing equal parts of organic topsoil, composted black “kow”, composted mushroom, and peat moss. Over the years it has built a fantastic base for all plants. Hardwood mulch is also used as often 1-2 times/year, if we can, which also contributes to plants’ overall health, keeping weeds down, protecting against drought, and it breaks down naturally so also contributes to the rich, nice, loamy, enriched soil. 1/3 of the MB dying sounds like a lot, and there are a few things that come to mind, thinking that yes it could be due to a systemic chemical or another toxic element, but there are contagious things it could possibly have been, as well. I have had Tachnid-struck chrysalides but never more than one in a season and they were adopted cats, never from the eggs I raise. fyi they did not first turn black. The only ones that did turn black were single cases, and were either simply genetically affected, possibly damaged, or maybe through a bacteria, virus, or diseases, but again, only one or 2 per season. Hope it goes better next go-round!
👍👍👍😀
It's disgusting to hear from ppl messing with what they don't know. Experimenting with what end up being mangled bflies is unethical and against the purpose of the whole thing. Just let nature take care of it. You are trying to learn at the expense of these marvelous creatures. Enoug already.
I am hoping to reach you to ask a question about 3 of my caterpillars that recently died. What is the best way to contact you? Can I give you my email?
My milkweed sapling leaves are turning yellow,what should I do.
Could be lack of nutrients, too much water or some sort of disease.
I suppose that depends upon your goal. If your goal is to save the sapling, I know I'd say that sometimes, new sprouts of mine have lost yellowed leaves near the base plenty of times, and they do fine. They sometimes lose those early leaves because they've done their function, and now, larger leaves will be blocking them from the sun anyway, so there's less reason for the plant to continue providing it resources. If the whole plant is yellowing, the best I got is what I'd do: Start over with a new plant for each plant doing it. If your goal is to feed caterpillars, I'd say make sure to secure other sources of milkweed ASAP out in nature if you haven't already. Good luck!
Don’t fertilize as nitrogen will attract aphids-
I just found a tagged butterfly in my garden. How do I report it and to whom? I am in Punta Gorda Florida (southwest coast of Florida). MWTAG.ORG MONARCH WATCH ACJU 403
Any help you can give me will be appreciated. I love your videos! So far this year I have released 126 Monarchs beginning August 8, 2020 Your information and guidance has been priceless even though I'm in a totally different part of the country.
Love you videos! Thank you! After 2 years of what looked like a Monarch rebound, I have seen only 2 this summer in Northern NH. So sad. Check out thecaterpillarlab.org in Marlborough, NH. You'll love it :)
Sorry that things are sparse where you're at. I've been having a pretty normal, average year, but you're not alone. I'm hearing what you're saying from many others.
I have only seen 4 in central MA. I had all of my butterfly habitats and Tupperware bleached and ready to go and I didn't get any caterpillars this year. I saw my first monarch laying eggs in july but didn't go out to collect the eggs until 2 days later and they were gone. After that, nothing. Last year I raised about 30 before they started coming down with the black death which also took care of the gypsy moth caterpillars...not one sighting this year. The year before, I raised and tagged 69. Very sad summer for me.
We went to the UP this year and saw many every day! Same in northern Ohio visiting family.