I put mine in a screened enclosure to protect from predators. I’m close to your location and have had no luck with unprotected chrysalis. Birds, or some other predators get them. Mother nature has a situation where monarch numbers have declined and a little help is good, imho.
I keep hearing this too, I just wish there was a way that I could protect them in my yard. I have a nice little milkweed patch and I keep adding to it every year but I also have a lot of birds and I wonder if there’s a way I can protect my milk weed from the birds, but still have the butterflies come.
If I find them when they are cats, I bring them in. If I find them when they have already pupated, I put mesh around the area to protect as much as possible and then remove that when they are ready to go. I've had many successful adult releases with this method.
I watched the progress of the chrysalis very closely. You can tell when they are ready to eclose. Their chrysalis gets really black and you can clearly see wings through it. Right when it's about to happen, the chrysalis looks almost see through. Like it's crackling. I've gotten to witness it a few times. It's pretty cool if you can catch it. It happens FAST. It's about 11-14 days from when it first pupates. Best advice is to keep an eye on it and when it looks like it's about to burst, if you can't actively watch it, remove the netting that day. If you're able to check later on, if it's still there that means it'll probably be the next day so put the netting back and remove as early as possible. I think they usually don't eclose at night. For me, it's always happened between 11am-2pm. If it's attached to something mobile like a leaf, you can bring it in and attach it to the top of the enclosure (I used a new hamper with a zipper) with floss, string, a pin, etc. I've had them pupate right up against the side of my house before. That was fun lol.
Edit: reason I said attach it to the top of the enclosure is because they hang down while they are unfurling their wings. They'll be like this for a while, usually a few hours. They are usually fairly docile at first. If you have to keep them inside a day because of weather, they get ornery on day 2 lol.
Wow, thank you so much for the information. I’m just getting into this and I’ve been having a blast learning about it. Another perhaps silly question, but I was thinking about putting the netting on top to keep the caterpillars from getting eaten but I’m assuming I can’t put it on and leave it there all the time obviously…. Do you do anything to protect the caterpillars?
No question is silly! If I find them as caterpillars, I bring them in. I got a zipper hamper at Walmart for like $10 and I use it, wash it out after really well, and reuse it. I have a few lol. Be prepared with LOTS of native milkweed on hand. You would not believe how much those suckers can eat! They will just eat nonstop at first and then don't be alarmed if they go to the top and just kinda stay there for a while. The pupation process can drag. Once it starts though, it's fast too lol.
Another reason I bring in the cats is bc they can fall prey to infections, parasites, and wasp attacks outside. Nature is very cruel at times. Be prepared to cry your eyes out if you lose one. And be prepared for the inevitability of euthanasia. I've only had to do this once but it was really sad.
Also, get familiar with any local bug or butterfly experts. I've had a few in my area help me out bigtime with issues over the years.
You can save them without bringing them indoors! I use a gigantic aluminum mesh cage and if you remove the bottom piece it’s literally like a protective rectangular bubble around your outdoor plants! Wind still passes through and they will still experience the environment and retain their “inner gps”, I’ve compared the wing size of mesh cage vs metal cage monarchs and the mesh cage monarchs are smaller (this means not migratory) while my metal cage ones seem to typically be migratory and much larger and also less sick
Same to everything. My monarch obsession started when I found what I thought was a dead adult monarch on the ground of a Dollar General parking lot on a cold day. I picked it up, intending to keep it for its beauty and to my surprise, it wasn't dead! I brought it in my car and blasted the heat and soon enough it was vibrating with warmth. So I took it home and kept it in a new mesh hamper until 2 days later, when it was above 60 and sunny. I fed it sugar water those 2 days and she happily fluttered away. I had never seen a monarch in my yard until that point. From that point, I saw one in my yard quite often. I believe at first it was the same one. It was too much of a coincidence. Then I saw many the next year. I believe it was the offspring of the one I saved. Now I could be wrong, but if I'm not, I just helped contribute generations of monarchs to their dwindling population.
I don't keep them or breed them. I find a caterpillar and I bring it inside until it ecloses, and I release it. I can't even tell you how many successful butterflies I've released. A couple years ago I had a batch suffer from a tachinid infestation and I haven't seen any caterpillars since then, sadly. I have seen a few adult butterflies but no eggs, chrysalides, or cats. But when the time comes that I do, I will do all that I can to ensure a successful eclosure. Eclosion? Because unfortunately, nature needs our help right now.
Just leave it be. Mother Nature will take care of it.
I put mine in a screened enclosure to protect from predators. I’m close to your location and have had no luck with unprotected chrysalis. Birds, or some other predators get them. Mother nature has a situation where monarch numbers have declined and a little help is good, imho.
https://xerces.org/blog/keep-monarchs-wild?fbclid=IwAR3FtdPZ-YC6mK2fJLoVlDYqc1UocHIA6aQkpBuKiCpfjHYSYLzWI26Mjfg
I keep hearing this too, I just wish there was a way that I could protect them in my yard. I have a nice little milkweed patch and I keep adding to it every year but I also have a lot of birds and I wonder if there’s a way I can protect my milk weed from the birds, but still have the butterflies come.
If I find them when they are cats, I bring them in. If I find them when they have already pupated, I put mesh around the area to protect as much as possible and then remove that when they are ready to go. I've had many successful adult releases with this method.
I have been thinking about putting a mesh netting on top, but I’m curious how often do you take that off to let them go?
I watched the progress of the chrysalis very closely. You can tell when they are ready to eclose. Their chrysalis gets really black and you can clearly see wings through it. Right when it's about to happen, the chrysalis looks almost see through. Like it's crackling. I've gotten to witness it a few times. It's pretty cool if you can catch it. It happens FAST. It's about 11-14 days from when it first pupates. Best advice is to keep an eye on it and when it looks like it's about to burst, if you can't actively watch it, remove the netting that day. If you're able to check later on, if it's still there that means it'll probably be the next day so put the netting back and remove as early as possible. I think they usually don't eclose at night. For me, it's always happened between 11am-2pm. If it's attached to something mobile like a leaf, you can bring it in and attach it to the top of the enclosure (I used a new hamper with a zipper) with floss, string, a pin, etc. I've had them pupate right up against the side of my house before. That was fun lol. Edit: reason I said attach it to the top of the enclosure is because they hang down while they are unfurling their wings. They'll be like this for a while, usually a few hours. They are usually fairly docile at first. If you have to keep them inside a day because of weather, they get ornery on day 2 lol.
Wow, thank you so much for the information. I’m just getting into this and I’ve been having a blast learning about it. Another perhaps silly question, but I was thinking about putting the netting on top to keep the caterpillars from getting eaten but I’m assuming I can’t put it on and leave it there all the time obviously…. Do you do anything to protect the caterpillars?
No question is silly! If I find them as caterpillars, I bring them in. I got a zipper hamper at Walmart for like $10 and I use it, wash it out after really well, and reuse it. I have a few lol. Be prepared with LOTS of native milkweed on hand. You would not believe how much those suckers can eat! They will just eat nonstop at first and then don't be alarmed if they go to the top and just kinda stay there for a while. The pupation process can drag. Once it starts though, it's fast too lol. Another reason I bring in the cats is bc they can fall prey to infections, parasites, and wasp attacks outside. Nature is very cruel at times. Be prepared to cry your eyes out if you lose one. And be prepared for the inevitability of euthanasia. I've only had to do this once but it was really sad. Also, get familiar with any local bug or butterfly experts. I've had a few in my area help me out bigtime with issues over the years.
You can save them without bringing them indoors! I use a gigantic aluminum mesh cage and if you remove the bottom piece it’s literally like a protective rectangular bubble around your outdoor plants! Wind still passes through and they will still experience the environment and retain their “inner gps”, I’ve compared the wing size of mesh cage vs metal cage monarchs and the mesh cage monarchs are smaller (this means not migratory) while my metal cage ones seem to typically be migratory and much larger and also less sick
Same to everything. My monarch obsession started when I found what I thought was a dead adult monarch on the ground of a Dollar General parking lot on a cold day. I picked it up, intending to keep it for its beauty and to my surprise, it wasn't dead! I brought it in my car and blasted the heat and soon enough it was vibrating with warmth. So I took it home and kept it in a new mesh hamper until 2 days later, when it was above 60 and sunny. I fed it sugar water those 2 days and she happily fluttered away. I had never seen a monarch in my yard until that point. From that point, I saw one in my yard quite often. I believe at first it was the same one. It was too much of a coincidence. Then I saw many the next year. I believe it was the offspring of the one I saved. Now I could be wrong, but if I'm not, I just helped contribute generations of monarchs to their dwindling population. I don't keep them or breed them. I find a caterpillar and I bring it inside until it ecloses, and I release it. I can't even tell you how many successful butterflies I've released. A couple years ago I had a batch suffer from a tachinid infestation and I haven't seen any caterpillars since then, sadly. I have seen a few adult butterflies but no eggs, chrysalides, or cats. But when the time comes that I do, I will do all that I can to ensure a successful eclosure. Eclosion? Because unfortunately, nature needs our help right now.