The Monarchs Have Finally Arrived!
- Misty
- Aug 4, 2019
- 2 min read
With the relentless rainfall we experienced here in the midwest this spring, I had almost given up hope. Many times I wondered where all the monarchs had gone? Were they lost, or had they passed by our area completely?
Last year was my first year raising monarchs. I gotta say, I'm hooked. It is truly incredible to assist nature and watch all of its beauty actually happen, right before your eyes. If you really pay attention there's some major inner reflection you can catch in the process. Pretty awe-inspiring really. Plus the kids love it, and they are learning a ton, in the process- bonus ;)
Find. Raise. Release.
Each day (sometimes every other day) I go out in search of monarch eggs and/or caterpillars to bring in, feed until they turn into a chrysalis (the cocoon looking thing) keep them safe until they eclose (come out as a butterfly) then let them fly away, when they're ready (normally a few hours after they eclose)
I found quite a few in early spring, but then nothing. I kept a rather untidy record with a few notes last year of what I found and when, but this year we had rain, rain and then some more rain. I knew I should be finding something, but continually came in empty handed.
I was away on a trip for a few days, when I returned I had 74 eggs waiting on our milkweed plants! This week has been record breaking (for me anyway) in the past 7 days I've found 361 eggs and 35 baby caterpillars! Although not all will make it to be butterflies, most will! That's a whole lot of butterflies!
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