Today certainly has been interesting.
I’ll start with the Monarchs. Originally we had 9 Monarch caterpillars from that adult Monarch who probably traveled from Mexico. Now we have 7. Two of them died, but I’m not sure why. I had been keeping the Monarch caterpillars in a protected enclosure to protect them from wasps, and I also had placed them on the Milkweed that had no Aphids. When I checked yesterday, 2 of the Monarch caterpillars had died. Since I’m not 100% certain that this Milkweed hasn’t been treated (and that being the reason for no Aphids on the plant), I decided to move them to the Aphid infested Milkweed. At least I know that Milkweed is not treated (that’s one of my personal tests for knowing that Milkweed hasn’t been treated. If it has Aphids, it likely is okay for the Monarchs). I also moved them to an area that gets a bit more sun. They seem to like that. I’m guessing they have maybe a week at most before they move on to the Chrysalis stage.
For the record, this is by far the lowest number of Monarch caterpillars we’ve had in the Spring. We haven’t even seen many Monarchs flying around.
Mexican Monarch Caterpillar Eating Milkweed
Two Mexican Monarch Caterpillars Eating Milkweed
More Mexican Monarch Caterpillar Eating Milkweed
Now on to the Purple Martins. There is lots of activity in our 14 room Purple Martin house. Yesterday we took down the house to check out the nesting activity. We have a total of 6 nests, but no eggs or baby birds. In the morning, the Martins seems to be really focused on continuing to build their nests. I’m hopeful that we will see some eggs real soon.
by texdr
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