https://www.learner.org/jnorth/maps/monarch.html

Exciting news. The Monarchs have been sighted in the North East. Actually some have been spotted in NJ.
The link above records sighting.

Pollinator Container Garden Instructions: Butterfly Weed (asclepias-tuberosa)

Butterfly Weed (Perennial)& Bright Light Cosmos, Zinnias (Annual). 

Choose large plastic container. Place seeds in loose soil,press lightly, cover 1/8 inch, place in sunny location, keeping soil moist. Germination time for milkweed 21 -28 days. As milkweed plant matures pinch inner leaves to promote growth. The milkweed is a host plant for Monarch Butterflies whose offspring need to eat the leaves. Don't worry the leaves grow back quickly. and they spread out, getting bushy.

Butterfly Weed (asclepias-tuberosa) is a perennial that comes back yearly, and it needs to go under cold stratification by overwintering outside. If you want an annual garden use Tropical Milkweed.

Trimming Milkweed

You will want to trim your milkweed early June in order to have tender food for Sept/Oct Monarch caterpillars. The image below depicts the cutting line for Common Milkweed.

I pinch the middle leaves of all milkweed varieties to promote growth throughout the season.

It also helps with aphid control if you pinch the early leaves when they first appear.

Image and instructions courtesy Mona Miller.

Raising Monarchs

From Monarch egg to butterfly:

1. Retrieve egg from milkweed or bring plant inside away from predators. Yes, even cute little ladybugs will eat them.
2. Place a slightly moist paper towel in the bottom of a plastic container. (I love the Johnson Popcorn containers).
3. Place moist paper towel on top and put on lid. (You only do this with new eggs-once caterpillars have eaten some of the original leaf just add new milkweed: you no longer need the moist towel on the bottom). I separate the paper towels into layers as not to waste too many towels.
4. After the larvae emerge from the egg in a few days you will want to keep their environment clean.
5. Do not touch them just take the leaf they are on and place it aside and put in new towel and new leaves. Their poop (frass) is a good indication they are healthy-lots of poop=healthy caterpillars. The poop gradually gets larger.
6. Do not disturb them if they are transitioning from one stage (instar) to another-just wait.
7. In a few weeks from the egg stage (give or take a few days) the caterpillar will travel to the top of the container where it will hang out in a "J" shape for a day or so, then it will change into a chrysalis.
8. 10-14 days later it will emerge as a butterfly. Wait a day before you release it (do not touch it if possible). You do not need to give it food (Gatorade or flowers) if you only keep it a day. Really, you need to let it go -they are not pets.

Monarch Population Status 2017

Monarch Population Status

Saturday, February 11th, 2017 at 4:44 pm by Jim
Filed under Monarch Population Status | No Comments »

World Wildlife Fund Mexico in collaboration with SEMARNAT and CONANP and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) announced the total forest area occupied by overwintering monarch colonies. Thirteen (13) colonies were located this winter season with a total area of 2.91 hectares:

Figure 1. Total Area Occupied by Monarch Colonies at Overwintering Sites in Mexico

2016 counts

2016 Fall Peak Migration of Monarch Butterflies

Start looking to the skies from now until mid-October for our annual orange fluttering guests on their annual 2000+ miles migration to Mexico.  There will be smaller numbers sighted before and after this time period: however, the greater numbers will be more prevalent then. Last year I saw them into early November.

I have been hearing many reports of Monarchs fluttering in LBI residents’ gardens this summer. Also people are calling me about way stations they have created in their gardens, planting milkweed and flowers specifically geared toward Monarchs. Milkweed is the only plant Monarchs lay their eggs on, as it is the only food their offspring can eat.

Because LBI has mostly hard landscaping the food sources for the butterflies and their offspring are rapidly diminishing.  Diminished food sources and pesticides are the causes of the declining population.

I offer free seeds at my presentations to everyone who wishes to start their own mini Waystations. All you need is a large potting container and seeds.

From June 22 until today I have had Monarchs laying eggs and flying around my habitat every day, all day. You can do this too. I have released over 400.  Others have started their own Way Stations. One LBI resident reporting she has raised 50 so far this year.

I offer free seeds at my presentations on LBI to enable those interested in saving Monarchs to create their own habitats, their own Monarch Way Stations.
 For those interested I will be available during the kite festival at Fire Fly in Surf City, Oct. 8^th, 10-12.

Below are the simple directions to create your own mini (non-invasive) container garden. Plant seeds as they have a longer growing period, and supplement with established plants. Ask your nursery if the plants have been treated with pesticides, even organic pesticides kill caterpillars and bees.

Butterfly Weed and Bright Light Cosmos seed planting instructions (seed packets I have been sharing with LBI residents:
Sow seeds in a sunny location late fall in a large plastic pot or container or directly into the ground. Cover 1/4 inch. In the spring they should poke up and be the beginnings of your own Monarch Way station.

Judith Jobson (Johnson)

North Beach Haven N.J.

Milkweed Planting and Care & Where to Find Milkweed

Milkweed Planting and Care & Where to Find Milkweed

By Mona Miller on Thursday, August 28, 2014 at 8:34pm

Planting:

• Seeds and plants should be planted in full sun to partial shade (3-4 hours of sun).
• Seeds collected in the fall can be planted right away.  Seeds of perennials saved over the winter will need a cold treatment unless they have been kept in cold storage (garage or outside building) or collected from pods that wintered over outdoors.  Leave them in the refrigerator for 6-8 weeks before planting them (see the Butterfly Encounters link for detailed instructions.)  
• How to Video on Collecting and Harvesting Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, Seeds (without most of the fluff):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhjkC1Mbzlg  (This technique can be used for many milkweed species where the pods have not split/popped open.)
• Plant them in ordinary garden soil.
• Seeds should not be planted more than 1 inch deep.  Press down soil after planting.
• Milkweed seeds of many native species can also be winter sowed. Here are the directions for winter sowing: http://tinyurl.com/ouexpn6
• Water the first year.
• Do not use any pesticides. 

Aphids:

     Oleander Aphids are the primary pest of milkweeds.  Their numbers usually increase in the fall.  The major problem with the aphids is the honeydew that is produced. They do not harm Monarch caterpillars. But, the honeydew can result in a sooty mold fungal disease that will weaken and may kill the plant.  The information and websites in the links section will help you learn more about combating aphids.

• Do not over fertilize because the nitrogen attracts aphids.
• Do not over water.
• Do not use pesticides because they will kill Monarch caterpillars.
• Do squish aphids with your hands or use clear tape.  The glue on the tape takes off the aphids.
• Do use burst of water from a hose to knock off the aphids.
• If the aphids are heavy, the top of the plant may need to be cut back. 
• As a last resort, you can make a soap and water spray and spray your plants.  But, make sure there are no Monarch eggs or caterpillars on the plants before you spray. Here are directions and the recipe for an inexpensive soap spray: http://tinyurl.com/qgq95eq

Managing Established Plants

• Mature milkweed plants of the common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) can be cut back in early summer to force them to regrow to provide tender leaves in early fall.  Cut them back in mid to late June, but this depends on your growing season.  
• I usually wait for them to flower before I cut them back because they produce nectar for many pollinators.
• They can be cut back to a height of 2' or back to the ground.  Make a straight not diagonal cut just above a leaf node (where the leaves are attached to the stem).  
• If you want to collect seeds, do not cut all of your plants back.  Most plants that are cut back will not have time to produce seeds by the fall.  
• Check leaves of milkweed cuttings for any eggs or caterpillars.  
• Milkweed plant cuttings, can be washed and used to feed caterpillars. Cut milkweed can be placed in the refrigerator for several days to keep it fresh. Wash it, wrap it in paper towel and place it into plastic bags.  It is best to keep it in the vegetable bin.  

Links for reference on planting and caring for milkweed:

http://www.monarchwatch.org/milkweed/guide/index.htm
  Monarch Watch Milkweed Photo Guide

http://www.monarchwatch.org/milkweed/prop.htm
   Monarch Watch, Propagation (Growing Milkweed)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPrXuU30BROmIJZN22AbTQ (videos are at the bottom of the page)
   Butterfly Encounters (Instructions include video demonstration for starting seeds.)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150356576124949.1073741829.57837984948&type=3
  (Facebook)  Milkweed Propagation (plants, seeds, rhizomes), plus information on diseases.

http://www.mymonarchguide.com/2007/08/milkweed-leaf-problems.html
  My Monarch Guide, Milkweed Leaf Problems

http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Pests.asp?genus=Asclepias&care=Asclepias
  Problems Associated with Asclepias (Milkweed)

http://washingtonareabutterflies.wordpress.com/gardening-for-butterflies/
   Washington Area Butterfly Club, Gardening for Butterflies

http://npsot.org/wp/story/2014/5885/
  How to collect milkweed seeds (Texas)
  
http://www.ourhabitatgarden.org/creatures/milkweed-growing.html
  Growing Milkweeds for Monarchs (how to collect seeds, propagate them, and how to grow from rhizomes and how to divide mature plants).

http://www.xerces.org/milkweeds-a-conservation-practitioners-guide/

Common Nectar Plants

Common Nectar Plants

Flowers:

Aster (Aster spp.)

Bee Balm

Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

Blazing Stars (Liatris spp.)

Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea)

Coreopsis (Coreopsis spp.)

Cosmos (Cosmos spp.)

Dianthus Family (Dianthus spp.)

Lantana (Lantana camara)

Marigold (Tagetes spp.)

Mexican Sunflowers (Tithonia rotundifolia)

Pentas

Salvia (Salvia spp.)

Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum spp.)

Sunflower (Helianthus spp.)

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

Verbena (Verbena hastata)

Tropical Milkweed

Yarrow (Achillea spp.)

Zinnia (Zinnia elegans)

Shrubs:

Butterfly Bush (Buddleia spp.)

Creating Container Gardens

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/monarch-butterflies-get-endangered-species-status/

 

Container Gardening, How to Put Together a Container

By Mona Miller on Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 4:07pm

What is a container garden?

Containers of all shapes and sizes are used to plant plants, instead of planting them into the ground.  A container garden can consist of one container or several containers. Container gardens are a way to offer hosts (plants that caterpillars eat) and nectar plants (plants that adult butterflies eat) to butterflies, if no other space is available.  Or they can be used to compliment the entry way to your home, school or business.  They can also be grown on decks, porches, steps, and balconies, too.

What type of container do I need?

The type of container and size of the container depends on how many plants that are being planted.  Plants should be planted at least 6-8 inches apart.  A plastic container is recommended over pottery because pottery containers do not withstand cold weather.  When planting perennials, the container should be at least 12 to 15 inches deep. The width of the container should be at least 12 inches wide for a small container and 20 inches or more for a large container.

How do I set up the container?

Select a plastic container (round, square, rectangular).  Place drain holes in the bottom of the container, if the container does not have any.  Put one half an inch of broken pottery or gravel in the bottom of container to help with drainage.  If the container is over 12 inches tall, then add some pine bark mulch on top of the pottery or gravel to fill the container up at least one third full.  Using pinebark mulch helps to save on potting soil and makes the container lighter.  The pine bark will compost in the bottom of the container. 

Fill the rest of container with potting soil to about 3-4 inches below the top.  Do not use Miracle Grow potting soil, it may contain pesticides.  Sta-Green potting soil with soil moist is recommended for container gardens.  The soil moist captures water and will release it to plants.  If you cannot find Sta-Green potting soil, buy some soil moist (follow the directions on the package to incorporate it into your potting soil).  Water your plants before you plant them.  A 12 inch container can accommodate 3 perennials.  After the perennials are planted, add a 2 inch layer of pine bark mulch in the top of the container to help keep the plants moist. Then, water slowly until the water runs out of the drain holes.  

If planting seeds, plant the seeds according to the recommended spacing on the seed packet.  Pat them down to give them soil contact and then sprinkle some more soil on the top (follow directions on the seed packet for covering seeds with soil).  Do not mulch pots that you have seeded.  Water lightly.  Keep the seeds watered and do not let them dry out too much.

Small *annuals may be added to the pot of perennials so that your container will bloom all summer.  Most perennials have a 3-4 week blooming period.  The Monarch butterflies will still use the milkweed leaves as a host plant after it has stopped blooming.  Plants should be arranged with taller plants to the back and shorter ones to the front to avoid shading the shorter plants.  The plants can also be arranged with the tall ones in the middle with smaller plants planted around the edges of the containers. 

How do I care for my container of plants?

Water plants thoroughly if they are dry or if it doesn't rain and temperatures are above 90 degrees.  Make sure that water is running out of the drain holes.  **For further watering instructions, see “Container Gardening with Native Plants”.  If you can find one large enough, put a plant saucer under the container.  This will help keep the plants watered.  Add one fourth of a Mosquito Dunk (Bt Dunk) to the saucer to help prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the water.  Bt Dunks can be purchased in the pesticide section of most hardware stores.  Bt Dunks only kill mosquitoes and do not harm other wildlife. 

*Single blooming annuals:  Marigolds, shorter varieties of Cosmos (Bright Lights), Zinnias, and Verbena.

  Perennials that will winter over in the container:  Swamp Milkweed, Goldenrods, and Asters.

**https://www.facebook.com/notes/raising-butterflies-and-moths-for-conservation/container-gardening-how-to-put-together-a-container/899080860106567http://www.wildflower.org/howto/show.php?id=14&frontpage=true

       Container Gardening with Native Plants

Butterfly Releases

First Release on LBI, NJ, 2012

Joanne and I at Firefly releasing her first Monarch Butterfly, 2016

Upcoming Exhibits and Presentations

April 1-30, Butterflies in the Garden, Ocean County Library, Surf City, NJ

April 1, Birdland Gallery@Artifacts& Co.100 Center Street, Beach Haven, NJ, 08008

April 22, Lecture/Presentation : Monarch Butterfly Metamorphoses, 1:00 PM, Ocean County Library, Surf City, NJ

May 18, Lecture: Monarch Butterfly Metamorphose and Migration, St. Francis, Brant Beach, NJ

May 20, Presentation: Monarch Butterfly Migration, Ocean County Library, Surf City, NJ

Butterfly Art Works

Monarchs in Dance, 2016, acrylics & Glitter on Canvas, 3 x3 feet

Add caption

Monarchs in the Garden #1, 25 x 22 :

Monarchs in the Garden #2, 40 x 30 "

Monarchs in the Garden #3, 40 30 ".

Monarchs in the Garden #4, 40 x 30"

Monarch on Purple Milkweed, 13 X 13 inches

Monarch on Pink Zinnias, 13 x 15 "

Monarchs in Dance (sold)

Art Class

Monarchs on Flowers

Mexican Sunflowers

Monarchs on Zinnias & Cosmos

Monarch Butterfly Fact Sheet

Monarch Butterfly Fact Sheet
Common Name: Monarch Butterfly (sometimes called the Milkweed Butterfly) Scientific Name: Danaus plexippus
Special Characteristics:
The monarch needs no camouflage because it is poisonous to predators; in fact, its vivid colors are designed to ward off critters that may want to eat it. The monarch is poisonous because the developing larvae ingest toxins from the milkweed plant as they feed on the leaves. These chemicals remain permanently in the monarch’s system, even after the caterpillar metamorphoses to a butterfly. The monarch’s survival is closely linked to the chemical defense system derived from the milkweed toxins and the nutrition supplied to the developing larvae.

Diet: Caterpillars eat only milkweed leaves. Adult monarch butterflies eat nectar from flowers, which consists of about 20% sugar.

Habitat: Monarchs live mainly in prairies, meadows, roadsides, and grasslands. The larvae live and feed exclusively on milkweed plants, but the butterflies hang out on a variety of different plants. The monarch eggs are deposited on the milkweed plant, and the caterpillars live on the plant, eating the leaves.

Range:
Monarch butterflies live all over North America, and the northernmost populations migrate south for the winter. Entomologists (scientists who study insects) have divided the migrating populations of monarch butterflies into two groups, one west of the continental divide, which the butterflies can not fly over, and all the territory eastward. The butterflies wait out the winter in large colonies south of the freeze line (often Mexico and California), and then return home.

Migration:
Monarchs, like many other animals, migrate to warmer climes for the winter. These little butterflies fly up to 6,000 miles round-trip between their summer homes in North America and their winter homes in South America and Mexico. It takes them up to two months to travel each leg of the journey. Each butterfly only makes the trip once, and then its great-grandchildren make the trip the following year.
But wait - monarchs don’t have wristwatches, and they can't read maps, so how do they know when to leave and how to get to South America? Scientists think that monarchs use the position of the sun to tell them when to head for Mexico and how to get there. They think they also use the Earth's magnetic field to help them figure out where to go.
In Mexico, the monarchs sleep the winter away in the branches and the trunks of fir trees. Sometimes a branch gets so heavy with monarchs that it breaks off and falls to the ground, scattering sleepy monarchs everywhere.

Reproduction:
You can tell the male monarch butterfly from the female by the two black spots on his hind wings and the thinner black webbing within the wings. The female's webbing is thicker and she has no identifying wing spot.
One female monarch can lay up to 400 eggs. The eggs are deposited on the underside of milkweed leaves and hatch, depending on temperature, in three to twelve days. The black-, yellow-, and white-striped larvae feed on the plant leaves for about two weeks and develop into chubby caterpillars about 5 cm long. The caterpillars shed their skin (molt) up to four times while they're growing.
Up to three or four generations of Monarchs may be born in one summer.

Metamorphosis:
Monarch caterpillars metamorphose into butterflies. The caterpillar attaches itself head down to a twig, sheds its outer skin, and begins the transformation into a pupa (or chrysalis); a process which is completed in a few hours.
The pupa is a waxy, jade-green color, with gold trim. Packed tightly inside, the caterpillar metamorphoses into an adult butterfly in about two weeks. When the butterfly first emerges from its case, its wings are small and its body is large, filled with lots of fluid. Before it can fly away, the monarch has to wait until the fluid flows from its body into its wings, fully expanding them.

Life Span:
Most monarch butterflies only live a few weeks. But the last generation of monarchs, born in late August, is the migratory generation. The shorter days and cooler temperatures of autumn prevent the butterflies from maturing enough to reproduce. This allows them to live for about eight to nine months – long enough to fly south for the winter and back again to reproduce the following summer.

Threats to the Monarch:
Throughout its range, the monarch faces many potential threats to its survival:

• Many migratory resting sites are being logged or damaged by people. When the damage is severe, the monarchs don't have any place to stay.
  
• Pesticides, meant to kill some insects that attack crops, also kill other insects, including butterflies. Herbicides, used to kill milkweed and other wild plant species, reduce the plants and flowers available to feed the butterflies and caterpillars.
  
• Development, especially urban sprawl (expanding cities) takes over the fields of wildflowers on which butterflies depend.
  
• Ground-level ozone pollution (smog) damages milkweed plants. Scientists aren’t sure whether this damage affects the larvae and life cycle of the monarch butterfly, but future studies may answer this question.  dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/teacher/milkweedmonitoring/monarchfacts.pd
  

Newly Eclosed (emerged) Monarchs

Monarch Chrysalides

Newly eclosed Monarch

Notice the wings are still wet.

Rearing Cages

These are various rearing cages.

Rearing Monarchs on young milkweed plants, covered in mesh to protect them.

Johnson Popcorn containers used indoors for 1st and 2nd instars

An elevated garden bed

Milkweed

Monarch host and nectar garden

Milkweed seedlings

Common Milkweed

Milkweed stems after hungry caterpillars. Don't worry it grows back.

Monarch Life Cycles

 It takes approximately 28 days for an egg to mature into an adult butterfly. The caterpillar emerges from the egg in approximately 3 days, going through 5 instars (stages) before it becomes a chrysalis. In an another 10-14 days it ecloses (emerges) as an adult butterfly. The adult female only lays eggs on milkweed, the host plant for its young.

Monarch Egg on Milkweed

Caterpillar on Swamp Milkweed

Monarch in Chrysalis

Caterpillar in "J" position before it converts to chrysalis

Adult Monarch Butterfly

Welcome

Welcome to LBI Monarchs & Milkweed.

This blog contains current and past information concerning the Monarch Butterfly life cycles, migration, host and nectar plants, as well as current information on my presentations.

I have been raising butterflies since 2000 when Richard Stringer showed me MRI images of a Monarch Butterfly in chrysalis. I have been hooked ever since.

In 2015 I released 262  adult Monarchs (I know because my husband insisted I keep track). In 2016 I released over 400 (no way could I keep track of that many.)

I now live on Long Beach Island, NJ where I lecture on Monarchs, hold art classes for children and exhibit my art. The island is on the Monarchs' direct, migratory path to and from Mexico each spring and fall.

Monarch Butterflies mating on my back.