Flutter-ers Everywhere!

      It has been a couple days and a lot has happened. I currently have 5 butterflies getting ready to leave home. Sadly the butterfly that had a broken wing ended up damaging his wing again (although the repair stayed intact), and now only has about 1/3 of his wing left. The only way he would be able to be released is if he was given a whole new wing. If you know of any naturally diseased butterflies that are good candidates for wing donors my little guy would love to be able to fly off like the rest of his brothers and sisters. But for now he is happily slurping up Gatorade, sugar mixture and fresh fruit, as well as getting his daily walks in the park, weather permitting.

      We recently had much cooler weather pass through our area, not unlikely for the end of September, but not ideal weather for monarchs. It was very rainy, cold, and windy. I had tried releasing my first butterfly but she made it apparent that it was too cold for flying as she chose to be very inactive when I took her for a walk through the park, but perked right up when we got home to the 77 degree apartment. So I kept her and the 2 other butterflies that hatched not too long after, hoping that the weather would warm up just a little to get them off and heading to Mexico.

      I currently, as of today (2 more hatched making 5), I have 2 females and 3 males. I also have 2 in chrysalis. And of course my patient, who has been doing remarkably well despite the minimal flying ability. I think he really enjoys having the other butterflies around. He loves hanging from the top and pumping his wings with the rest of them.

      I also had a caterpillar that I had collected at 1st instar and is now in chrysalis. I had noticed as it became larger that it had an interesting scar-looking mark on its side that even continued through instars. I am curious to see if it has any affect on it becoming a butterfly.

Caterpillar with "scar"?

Minutes before hatching (second girl). So beautiful!

Hanging around (with the newly hatched)!

Enjoying the sunshine.

First girl thinking it's too cold for flying.

Too chilly for this bee who was barely moving.

First girl in chrysalis. Beautifully transparent!

Second girl not long after hatching.

Boys and girls enjoying the sunshine (Patient on the right).

 Day before hatching (First boy)!

Chrysalis Everywhere

An update as to where I'm at...There are now 6 chrysalis and 1 2nd instar caterpillar. I lost 2 more caterpillars 1 from a tachinid fly the other just died. If my observations are correct I have 3 Male chrysalis and 3 Female chrysalis. I guess I'll just have to wait till they hatch to know for sure.

Interesting Fact:
I have been noticing more monarchs in the past couple of days at the park. I know that this generation of monarchs are the ones that fly down to Mexico. I looked up and found that these next couple of days is when the migration passes through Blacksburg, Virginia. What's even neater is that my butterflies should be hatched and ready to go by the time the last of the migration passes through.
Find you Latitude and see when the monarchs will be passing through on their migration. And please be sure to give them a hand on their long journey by setting out a butterfly feeder.

(Blacksburg, VA is 37 degrees)



Butterfly Boo-boo

      About 2 days ago I found a male monarch crawling on the grass unable to fly. I took him home and noticed the base of his upper left wing was damaged. I decided to keep him a bit while I figured out what to do. Then today he almost broke off the base while attempting to fly. So I looked up on the internet how to repair a broken wing. Now, the website showed how to repair outer damage and not how to repair it if it was broken at the base. So I decided to see what I could do to repair it myself. Here's a picture of the guy after surgery.

He was a wonderful patient!

Here's the great website that shows how to repair broken wings!
Live Monarch

Side Note:
(My butterfly loves this stuff!)

~Butterfly Food~
(Great for feeding you pet butterflies and the ones in your garden.)
Bring to boil then let cool.
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup water
(I add 1 spoonful of apple sauce and 1 spoonful of 100% organic grape jelly.)

Is it a Boy or Is it a Girl?

      Well today is the start of a new week! I have 4 chrysalis now! However one is either sick or dead. I came home to find a string coming out of it. Very typical of the Tachinid Fly. I think I will give it a day or so to see if any coloration gets worse before I freeze it. Freezing is the most humane way of killing.
      I also have 2 5th instar 'pillars that are going to be ready to chrysalis very soon. I can't wait to have an apartment full of butterflies! All the chrysalis are a day apart. So I could have a new butterfly every day. The process from chrysalis to butterfly can take 10 to 14 days. The chrysalis is also completely transparent! When you see the chrysalis turn black and orange you know it will only be a matter of time till you have a new butterfly!
      Monarch butterflies are very easy to sex. Males have a dot (pouch) on each lower wing where as the females do not. Females also have much thicker wing veins.

MALE

Notice the 2 dots! This can only be seen when the wings are open.

FEMALE

No dots but thicker veining.

      There is also a way to sex your butterfly while it is still in the chrysalis. This can be a little tricky if you don't have a magnifying glass but it can be done.

      Out of the 3 healthy chrysalis, I believe I have 2 females and 1 male. Here's how to tell what sex your chrysalis is...

"Surrounding the cremaster (the structure from which the pupa hangs) are a series of rings, called abdominal sternites. Within the first ring (9th abdominal sternite) are several paired black dots next to the cremaster; turn the pupa so that you are looking at these dots. If the monarch is a female, the ring adjacent to the 9th sternite will have a line dissecting it; this line (indicated by the arrows on the photo and diagram below) will be centered between the pairs of dots. Male monarch pupae do not have this line."

When you look at you chrysalis you can also identify the parts of the butterfly.

The cremaster is a spiny appendage at the end of the abdomen. The Monarch hooks its cremaster into a silk pad spun by the larva just before pupation; it will hang from this until it emerges as an adult.

All this information can be found on Monarch Watch.

Hide and Go Seek with 3 5th Instar Caterpillars

So I just got home from work only to have to look for my three 5th instar 'pillars. Good thing I have a small mostly clean apartment. The scary part is, 5th instar caterpillars can be found 30 to 50 feet from their original milkweed plant. Taking on one 5th instar is one thing, taking on 3...quite different.

My trouble making 'pillar that had wanted to attach itself to the side of the bowl is now satisfied with the blinds and is in a beautiful hanging "J". Tomorrow after noon it should chrysalis!

This morning I was happy to see my youngest 'pillar shedding into just about 4th instar. You can tell when a 'pillar has reached 4th instar when you can see small white dots on their prolegs (hind legs). A caterpillar's skin does not get bigger. Once the skin becomes stretched and too tight the 'pillar sheds the skin. The new skin is much more wrinkly and will smooth out when the 'pillar gets larger.
To shed the caterpillar pops off the head cap and crawls through the opening. The new skin is very bright and beautiful and the 'pillar's new head is bright yellow until it hardens. Some times the 'pillar will eat its skin for extra nutrients. After it sheds it is very fragile and won't move for a few hours till everything is hardened.

"Baby" just shed! Notice its yellow head and droopy antenna? You can also see its old skin.

(Side note: Sorry about all the poop! I really do clean it daily. Just didn't want to disturb him.)

4th instar- See the white spots on the "back" legs?



INTERESTING FACT:

The predation on monarch caterpillars, especially egg and 1st instar stages, is very common! Very few eggs make it to become pupae. They are routinely eaten by several insects, arachnids, and parasitic flies and wasps. A paper published in Biological Control found that non-native lady beetles that prey primarily on aphids, also eat soft bodied insects. They studied the predation of lady beetles on monarchs. The 3rd instar lady beetles prayed on monarch eggs at a rate of 25 eggs per larva per day and 15 1st instar monarchs per lady beetle per day. However this was conducted without aphids present.

An individual who was discussing this finding. Found 14 confirmed monarch eggs in their garden were found to have been slit open and the egg inside consumed. Some may be thinking that the caterpillar could have hatched, however, 1st instar caterpillars will consume their egg soon after hatching to obtain the vital protein and nutrients.

Here We Go!

Wow what a great start to the day for the 'pillars! Last night "Roamer" dropped into the monarch "J" hang to get ready to chrysalis. The caterpillar will also do what looks like ab crunches. These will become less frequent when it gets closer to chrysalis.

"Roamer" getting ready!

When I woke up he was still looking the same. When a caterpillar is just about to chrysalis the "J" will become more little "j" shaped to allow the chrysalis to emerge. You can also observe the antenna will become very lifeless and dull along with its colors. Remember this is the last shed before chrysalis!



Let the chrysalis begin!

Around 1:27pm, about 16 hours from when it first dropped into the "J" the fun part began! The transformation to becoming a chrysalis does not take long AT ALL! So don't be saddened if you miss it.



YEY!

A little bit more!

Final wiggle to get the last bit off!

I also have another caterpillar that is in the process of its final stage as well. It at first decided to pick it's spot right on the side of the bowl. With 5 other 'pillars in the bowl adventuring around, probably wouldn't have been a smart idea. I had noticed that it began to create its attachment on the side of the bowl, so I quickly relocated it under my window blinds as well, considering there was already one there.

Notice the white spot on the side?

A caterpillar will create that side silky blob with it's mouth and then attach its last 2 prolegs ("fake" legs) to the end. That will be what secures the chrysalis to the top.

If for some reason the chrysalis falls off, you can easily glue it back to the top. I always try to make sure when I'm gluing it back on that the chrysalis still remains in the same position as it it were hanging properly (ie don't turn the chrysalis upside-down or on its side to glue it on, yes you will have to hold it a while).



Consequence of Free-Rage 'Pillars

      Just got back from another trip to the park. Found 3 more 'pillars, 1 in 3rd instar, 1 in 4th instar, the other in 5th and is in the final stages till chrysalis. I came home to find my "roamer" choosing his location to start the next and final stage of his life...right under my window blinds. At least it's eye level in comparison to the top of the blinds where he had taken off to for most of the day. With the new 'pillars I now have a grand total of 7! And in comparison with the places that you can purchase them online, they were $0 a piece and there food is $0. Great temporary pet!

"Roamer" getting ready to chrysalis under my blinds.

"Roamer" doing some adventure seeking.

The new guys all munching on one leaf, must be a good one!

(top left "5th instar", far right "4th instar", bottom "3rd instar")

Caterpillar Season is Upon Us

      Tuesday September 14, I took a trip to my local wildlife park and brought back 5 monarch caterpillars all at different stages in their development. Unfortunately, I do not have a nice butterfly house to keep them in so for now they are in a large bowl with a few leaves. I have to admit it is a bit of a challenge trying to keep them in the bowl, since it has no cover. One of my caterpillars that is in it's final stage is constantly on the move as well as the 2nd oldest who I came home to find crawling on the cord of my floor lamp. I guess it's a good thing I don't have any pets or small children.

(Successful trip to the park (all 5))

      I have 2 caterpillars at the 3rd instar, meaning they are currently about 3/4" long. I have 1 that is in 5th instar and measures about 1 3/4" and is the most active and hard to keep track of. I also have 2 that are at about 4th instar and are about 1 1/4" to 1 1/2".
      Sadly one of the 4th instars who I had taken from a milkweed plant that had 2 dead caterpillars about about the same stage contained a Tachinid fly larva, which fell out of the caterpillar onto the bottom of the glass (noticeable by the long white string coming from the dead 'pillar). The caterpillar had been acting a bit lethargic and the previous night started to do the classic monarch caterpillar "J" hang. I thought it to be a bit odd being the stage it was in. However, I had had a monarch the previous year that pupated early and hatched just fine. Sadly however it had Ophryocystis elektroscirrha.
      The particular butterfly hatched just fine and unlike some butterflies with OE, was able to hold on to the chrysalis lone enough to fully open its wings. Unfortunitly, it was unable to fly. It would just sit there and flutter its wings but it could never take off. Sadly the butterfly only lived for 3 months.

(Notice the pale spots on both wings)

(Painted Lady I found with OE)

      Although I love having pet butterflies, I am hoping to have big, healthy butterflies this year that will be strong and ready to fly down to Mexico this winter!