Raising Monarchs Update 1

For the full "Raising Monarchs" post....

Update 9/12/2011

Well, our little caterpillar decided not to make it today. Only one day after it's time in it's new home. I read up on it....and it turns out this is a very commonplace occurance. The larva are super susceptible to illnesses. All you can do is make sure they have fresh milkweed, don't handle them much at all, clean out all the little caterpillar poops every day, and just wait and see.

So, we went back to the field and found 2 more caterpillars to try with (along with another batch of fresh milkweed). Here are the new buddies:

I found a small one and a large one in the hopes that a little variety would give us more luck. :-)

While we were out there, we saw quite a few monarchs zipping around:

 And, some that were ready to begin their journey south:

In two months, these Monarchs will probably have made it to Mexico. They store fat in the stomachs to help them have enough energy for the long journey. There was once a monarch tagged that had traveled 265 miles in one day!!!!

 If you want to help the Monarchs.....consider planting milkweed (there are tons of varieties which you can find at a local greenhouse) and making a "Waystation" for them. It a place to help them stop and rest up, breed, and move on. Lots of milkweed and lots of flowers make for perfect stop.