Monarch/Milkweed question

[Bob Parcelles,Jr.]

Paul,

Can we see some data from a controlled study
substantiating this?

Yours for the environment'

Bob Parcelles, Jr.
--- Paul Cherubini <cherubini at mindspring.com> wrote:
> Randy Morgan wrote:
> > 
> > We live on the west central coast of Florida, near
> Clearwater. Last summer
> > in our butterfly garden, our milkweeds were
> covered with Monarch
> > caterpillars, so many that they completely
> stripped every plant twice.  This
> > year, with even more milkweeds, I have yet to see
> the first caterpillar,
> > despite seeing Monarchs in the garden every day
> during the summer. 
> 
> At night ants, earwings,crickets, toads, slugs and
> more eat monarch 
> eggs and newborn larvae. During the day ladybugs and
> spiders eat eggs
> while wasps and yellowjackets hunt for small and
> medium sized
> larvae in the milkweed canopy. Then there are those
> tachinid flies
> that parasitize the larvae. The population of one or
> more of these
> sorts of predators may be high in your yard this
> year.
> 
> A yard spray with Ortho 50% Malathion insecticide in
> a hose attachment
> sprayer can reduce the population of egg and larval
> predators (but not the
> wasps and yellow yackets).If you rinse the Malathion
> off with water 
> 15 minutes after spraying, female monarchs can
> safely lay eggs on the 
> sprayed plants later in the day when the leaves have
> dried.
> 
> Paul Cherubini
> 
>  
> 
>
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=====
Bob Parcelles, Jr.
RJP ASSOCIATES
Environmental Planning, Education, and Research
Pinellas Park, FL
rjparcelles at yahoo.com
http://rainforest.care2.com/welcome?w=976131876
rjpassociates at yahoo.com

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