Monarch Larvae in Western Oregon, USA
Kurt Jacobs
morphidae at earthlink.net
Mon Jul 3 00:57:08 EDT 2000
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I am dissapointed with the success of the Monarch this year in North =
Eastern Wisconsin. One (1) caterpillar found among hundreds of =
milkweeds, while witnessing successful pairings everyday. The weather =
has been bad for migration though. I have witnessed more than usual of a =
particular black bug on the milkweed this year also. There are also =
tons of long horned milkweed beetles, but I dont think they are a Danaus =
spp. predator. I have one of the black bugs mounted if anyone is =
interested in identifying it. Also, There is a number of jumping spiders =
on the milkwed this year, but these only help the caterpillar. :)
As an indication of how poor the conditions have been, I released 100 =
cecropia on a box elder tree in Wisconsin, and have been raising 100 =
indoors on box elder. My indoor brood are starting to hit the fourth =
instar, while the outdoor release, which had a one (1) week head start, =
is just breaking into the second instar. The approximate success is 98% =
missing larvae outside, and 98% still alive and well indoors. My =
suspician is that they make great bird food, but this year the rainy =
cold nights may have taken there toll. Also, dont get too caught up in =
the numbers, as these are estimates. =20
As mentioned a month ago, the Mourning cloak were pretty thick here. =
Now the Common Wood Nymph is having a stellar year. They are =
everywhere. Also a habitat where normally there would be maybe 5 =
sightings of Speyeria cybele in an hour has shown nearly 30 unique =
sightings in an hour. The Papilio canadensis however have been nearly =
absent. Last year they were bouncing off my windshield, this year I saw =
two (2). I think the wet weather is delaying the first brood of Tigers? =
I expected to see Tiger Swallowtail this year that rivaled a Locust =
swarm. Now I am wondering what happened to the Tigers? =20
Kurt Jacobs
"Patricia Harding" <jmh at proaxis.com> wrote in message =
news:001601bfe48c$df94f9a0$cdc46ac6 at jmh...
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
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<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>I am dissapointed with the success of =
the Monarch=20
this year in North Eastern Wisconsin. One (1) caterpillar found =
among=20
hundreds of milkweeds, while witnessing successful pairings =
everyday. The=20
weather has been bad for migration though. I have witnessed more than =
usual of a=20
particular black bug on the milkweed this year also. There =
are also=20
tons of long horned milkweed beetles, but I dont think they are =
a Danaus=20
spp. predator. I have one of the black bugs mounted if anyone is=20
interested in identifying it. Also, There is a number of jumping spiders =
on the=20
milkwed this year, but these only help the caterpillar. :)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>As an indication of how poor the =
conditions have=20
been, I released 100 cecropia on a box elder tree in Wisconsin, and have =
been=20
raising 100 indoors on box elder. My indoor brood are starting to =
hit the=20
fourth instar, while the outdoor release, which had a one (1) week head =
start,=20
is just breaking into the second instar. The approximate success =
is 98%=20
missing larvae outside, and 98% still alive and well indoors. My =
suspician=20
is that they make great bird food, but this year the rainy cold nights =
may have=20
taken there toll. Also, dont get too caught up in the numbers, as =
these=20
are estimates. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>As mentioned a month ago, the Mourning =
cloak were=20
pretty thick here. Now the Common Wood Nymph is having a stellar=20
year. They are everywhere. Also a habitat where normally =
there would=20
be maybe 5 sightings of Speyeria cybele in an hour has shown nearly 30 =
unique=20
sightings in an hour. The Papilio canadensis however have been =
nearly=20
absent. Last year they were bouncing off my windshield, this year =
I saw=20
two (2). I think the wet weather is delaying the first brood of =
Tigers? I=20
expected to see Tiger Swallowtail this year that rivaled a Locust=20
swarm. Now I am wondering what happened to the Tigers? =
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Kurt Jacobs</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: =
0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV>"Patricia Harding" <<A=20
href=3D"mailto:jmh at proaxis.com">jmh at proaxis.com</A>> wrote in =
message <A=20
=
href=3D"news:001601bfe48c$df94f9a0$cdc46ac6 at jmh">news:001601bfe48c$df94f9=
a0$cdc46ac6 at jmh</A>...</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>We have found Monarch Larvae on a =
very small=20
patch of a native milkweed in our garden this weekend. They are more =
than an=20
inch long, so I guess they have been there awhile.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Patricia and Jeff =
Harding</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon,=20
USA</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
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