Monarch Larvae in Western Oregon, USA

[Paul Cherubini]

Patricia Harding wrote:

> We have found Monarch Larvae on a very small patch of a native
> milkweed in our garden this weekend. They are more than an inch long,
> so I guess they have been there awhile.
> Patricia and Jeff Harding
> Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon, USA

In the Sierra Foothills east of Sacramento monarchs are really abundant
this summer. The past several days I have seen many freshly hatched adults 
at various milkweed patches. This means egg laying females were in the
area around 45 days earlier (mid-May). No doubt many of these females 
moved into the Pacific Northwest later in May and early June laying
eggs en route.

The abundance of monarchs around the West this summer is particularly
mysterious since the overwintering population along the California coast
last winter was way below normal. The spring migration in March and April was
also pretty weak so I am perplexed at where the big wave of mid-May females
came from?

Paul Cherubini, Placerville, Calif.