I mentioned before that we have about 50 Monarch caterpillars. Well, now we only have around 5 caterpillars. The remaining have all turned into seemingly healthy Chrysalis. Besides their birth, Monarchs have significant developmental challenges at their other stages of development. Going from an egg to a caterpillar, then caterpillar to Chrysalis, then Chrysalis to Butterfly. So right now we have 45 completely healthy looking Monarch caterpillars. They are still all protected from any predators as they are in the Butterfly enclosure. Based on our current weather, I’m guessing we have about another week or two before they move on to the Butterfly stage. I also am beginning to worry. That dreaded OE disease could start showing up since more than likely these eggs came from Timothia. I’ve vowed not to make any decisions on what to do until they are fully formed butterflies. Once they’re born, I’ll test the scales on the abdomen then put that under the microscope and see if I can see a large amount of spores.
Ending this on a bright note, we did see something we haven’t seen in over 2 years and hundreds of butterfly hatchings. What we saw today happens in about 5 seconds and it’s hard to know when it will occur. Here’s what happens. As the caterpillar forms that familiar J shape to work towards the final Chrysalis, it basically splits open. The green part starts to come out while the skin continues to split. Right when they close up into the final part of the Chrysalis, its skin simply falls to the ground. How about a picture showing just how many Chrysalis we currently have?
Multiple Chrysalis
You might have to click on the picture to view the full size to be able to see just how many of them there are
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by texdr
6 comments
texdr - I found the answer for you that I remember reading about before
2. If you find a lot of OE in the Monarchs raised, it is possible that the spores are on your plants. What is another way you can eliminate or reduce the OE on the Milkweed?
To reduce spore loads on plants, cut the stalks (or mow these down) to within a few inches of the ground. New material that grows back should have fewer spores on it, especially if kept away from infected adult butterflies. If necessary, use netting to keep the butterflies off the plants. Presumably a heavy rain or a strong hosing with water can also wash off a large portion (but not all) of the parasite spores.
Dr. Altizer also recommends growing native milkweed species as opposed to the tropical species, as most of the native species naturally die back during the winter months, and hence would accumulate fewer parasite spores.
Here’s the link to the articleMay 20, 2009 – 11:20 pm
texdr - Thank you for the nice commentsMay 20, 2009 – 10:05 pm
Beyond Bluestockings - Oh! I’ve seen the skin split, after trying for ages to capture it on film. Your butterfly enclosure looks great. We have raised a few butterflies, but on a much smaller scale: they live in fish tanks on my kitchen benches. I’d love a set up like yours! (though I might be more likely to miss the action…)May 20, 2009 – 4:54 pm
texdr - I have read that during the Winter months you can cut your milkweed down very low and let it regrow and that can help prevent the spores and there are several sites that talk about bleaching your plants. I’ll try and post more info on this within the next couple of days.
Here is a good link with some informationMay 20, 2009 – 11:13 am
Shannon - One thing I am curious about is if OE will affect the stalks and new leaves of our milkweed. The caterpillars have totally eaten all of the leaves which would have potentially needed to be disinfected due to OE. Should the new growth be healthy or will there be potential for new leaves to contain OE? Will trimming the plant stalks back a few inches help eliminate the plant of any resistant bacteria?May 20, 2009 – 10:33 am
Leecytx - FYI: The lighter color greenish-yellow are ones that recently changed to chrysalis and still have a little bit more to go to become the pretty little green w/ gold trim chrysalis. 2nd from the left, single one on screen and 2nd last from end.May 18, 2009 – 12:00 pm