[Leps-l] New Regional Monarch Nectar Plant Guides Now Available

[Dana, Robert (DNR)]

For many years here in the "urban core" of Minneapolis, I have not seen a monarch larva get beyond first instar on the milkweed I let grow in my yard. The gleaners I see on the plants are principally Polites spp. This past summer I had to remove a Polistes nest in order to do some house painting, and for the first time actually took note of the species--the introduced P. dominula. So I took a walk up and down my alley--MANY nests under the garage eaves, all P. dominula. If this little sample is representative, this wasp must be extremely abundant in the Twin Cities metro area, and probably in smaller cities in the state. But I have no idea whether this would shed any light on what's happening in NZ. 

Robert

-----Original Message-----
From: leps-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu [mailto:leps-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Bill Cornelius
Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2016 6:48 PM
To: leps-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: Re: [Leps-l] New Regional Monarch Nectar Plant Guides Now Available

My brother in NZ raises monarchs just to release at his house, he says it's been harder the last few years because wasps have become too numerous. This includes hornets and yellow jackets which he can trap, but paper wasps ignore the traps. I'm wondering if there's something about global warming or agricultural development (such as wasp habitat or commercial tachinid flies) that's favorable to monarch predators. 

Bill
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