monarch caterpillars

[Martha Rosett Lutz]

"I have 7 monarchs I am raising in the house.  I have been reading alot
of info on the internet about when they go into pupa stage.  Mine are
47mm long (+or-) and are eating like pigs.  I fear I will run out of
milkweed before they change."


Most of the larvae I have raised from eggs will pupate ten days after the
egg hatches.  If your larvae are 8-9 days old, you have only a day or so to
go before they spin their little button, hang upside down, and feed no more
on leaves.

On the other hand, of the 20 or so larvae I reared this summer, almost half
were parasitized with multiple tachinid larvae, which emerged when the
monarchs hung upside down to pupate.

In Stride,
Martha Rosett Lutz



 
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