Back to Monarchs

Our oldest Lepidoptera, the good old Monarch (Danaus plexippus), was the first species we have ever reared. Today, on a whim, we decided to collect a few eggs and rear them once again!

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Everyone knows the iconic Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexipuss). It is perhaps the most familiar of all North American butterflies for its renowned migratory feats as well as for its striking beauty and size. The species dominates in butterfly kits and classroom pets alongside the Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui), another favorite. For a lot of insect enthusiasts it is their first species, and we were no exception. . . We have been rearing Monarchs as far back as 2005 where we first saw them around our elementary school's playground. 

Though here in Albany, California, Monarchs are a pretty rare sight. At least they were. This year they have been so abundant, we no longer have to hold our breath when a butterfly glides by. In fact, we had already raised scores of them early this year during the spring when our Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) plants were completely infested with them. At the time, there were so many that we didn't even bother to collect them all since we had school and so many other rearing projects to deal with.

​Since then, we have been seeing plenty of the adults well into the summer -- the first time we have ever seen so many them during this season. Normally, we would only observe rare migrant strays during the fall to early spring and only very occasionally spot one during this time of year. Some sources do report that they are more common during wet years, which may explain this odd occurrence because it is an El Niño year this year and we have previously been in severe drought. Or, it could also be because their migration schedules are being thrown off track due to the increase in popularity of the non-native, year-round A. curassavica. In any case, this mysterious change is quite bothersome to say the least. All of a sudden they have become among the most common butterfly in the urban setting -- we can see at least 2-3 of them virtually every day. 

Up until today, after we reared them once in the spring, we didn't bother to look for any more eggs or caterpillars. We were scared to see how many we would find if we tried. After all, the chance of finding them was practically guaranteed with so many butterflies bombarding us each day, but we simply didn't have the time or energy. But today we decided to take a peek, just for old time's sake. Perhaps next year they would reclaim their scarce status. 

So first, we did a quick check in our yard. We have a few established Tropical Milkweeds growing around, but only one is in good shape and isn't concealed by fennel so that's what we looked on. Here, we collected four eggs, with one of them being on a little sprout growing nearby. Our next go-to place was around a house two blocks up. Even though there is plenty of milkweed around Albany, none of them are as robust as the Tropical Milkweeds at this house. Not to mention, A. curassavica is preferred over the native varieties. There, we collected 14 more eggs and also managed to snag a butterfly that was nectaring on the milkweed flowers. It turned out to be a female, but unfortunately it would be extremely difficult to set up a proper enclosure around our milkweed for it to lay eggs in. Last time we tried, the butterflies all escaped! 

In total, that's 18 eggs and not a single caterpillar which is somewhat less than we had expected for how many butterflies there are. But then again, summer-time is not their normal breeding season around here. Again, they may only be here due to A. curassavica disrupting their migratory cycles and causing them to stay and breed when they are not supposed to. Regardless, we are thankful to have them again. . . Back to Monarchs!

- Brian