DO YOUR PART- grow milkweed

[WaterWitchin]

Excellent pictures Fuerte Rav! And nice save from the chopper!

I've seen eggs like that before, but don't know if they're the same or lots of bugs lay like that. ??

[Fuerte Rav]

Got up this morning and the indoor chrysalids had turned black. Well, actually they had turned transparent and you could see the crumpled up butterfly inside.


Half an hour later and there were two crumpled butterflies meeting the world.



When they looked like they were ready I took the jar outside and they stretched a bit more and then fluttered up into a tree where they stayed for another hour.



Not the best of days for them to start flying as we're in another calima with hot, strong gales. 35C (95F) in the shade and 45C (113F) in the sun at 1pm today.
(Our weather has been really weird this year, I only took the winter duvet off the bed last week! and we don't have AC, it's just been chilly, for us.)

[DirtyCoconuts]

God speed, little winged friends

[realoldbeachbum]

I planted milkweed this year for the very first time -- just for this reason. Great pics!!!

[WaterWitchin]

Those pictures!!

I have swamp milkweed (asclepias incarnata) growing in my pond this year. Courtesy of my cousin, who brought me numerous big clumps of equisetum last year for a display project I'm working on. Milkweed hitched a ride with it. The milkweed is doing better than the equisetum. Go figure.

[estación seca]

I've found this link useful for sprouting Asclepias seed (milkweeds.)

[Fuerte Rav]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I've found this link useful for sprouting Asclepias seed (milkweeds.)

Interesting info ES.
We don't get 'cold' as such but I have plenty of self seeded plants! (Despite my little friends eating most of the flowers along with leaves and stalks!) I find the best method of increasing stock though is by cuttings. I sacrifice the growth on one strong plant and take as many cuttings as possible of it - they don't even have to be cut beneath a leaf joint. Stick them in water and within a week they have masses of strong roots and are ready to plant up in pots. One week later I cut the tops out of those plants and root them, and so on. I've got 17 plants potted up in the last month and about 18 rooted cuttings ready to pot. The first of the new plants will be going in the garden in a few days time, to join surviving plants from last year and the new self seeded ones. Because they get completely stripped 3 or 4 times during the year the plants get a bit weak after a couple of years and don't recover from a stripping. I like to have a good supply ready to replace them, don't want my little friends going hungry!

[Fuerte Rav]

Checking my Monarch caterpillars today I noticed that some had slightly different markings:

Normal


Different



I did a search using iNaturalist and discovered that they are the caterpillars of Danaus chrysippus, also known as African Monarch (amongst other names). They also feed on milkweed. It ties up with a butterfly sighting a week or two ago - I wasn't quick enough to get a pic then so this is from wiki:
Danaus chrysippus - Wikipedia


I'm going to move a couple of these caterpillars to an enclosure tomorrow so I can double check the ID when they emerge as butterflies.

[Roberta]

How cool!

[Leafmite]

I saw my first monarch yesterday around my milkweed. Just one.... Someone a few miles away raises them year round in a greenhouse where he grows milkweed all year--it is probably from there.
I have also noticed that other butterflies have become exceedingly rare and, this year, very few birds (usually, when we have berries, there are a flock of robins...now, only two). Usually, I have a large variety of birds visiting my yard but it has only been those two robins and the robin nest over the light on my porch. Bees have been rare these past few years, including the natives.