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Post by ladeda on Mar 24, 2008 19:51:24 GMT 12
I thought I would grow Monarchs this summer for the first time! I'm not green fingered and find the only flower I can grow successfully is petunias. Early spring I bought some seeds from TradeMe, but unlike the cherry tomato seeds from the same supplier, all the seeds (bar two) failed to germinate. With those two swan plants growing I saw the odd monarch hovering and waited for caterpillars to appear. Finally I saw the tiny caterpillars and was excited to see them grow. I worried that I had too many caterpillars so a trip to the Warehouse to buy two more swan plants.
Then tragedy happened - one day all of the caterpillars disappeared! Did the ducks eat them? Once discovered, the ducks probably had a lovely buffet!
My swan plants grew more leaves and I despaired that there would be no caterpillars to eat them. I was pleasantly surprised when more caterpillars appeared and I quickly put a cage around the plants to stop the ducks getting close. The caterpillars grew and the plants became stripped. I tried moving caterpillars from bare branches onto leafy parts with limited success - they didn't want to hang on and kept dropping onto the ground.
Last week, the now giant caterpillars looked desperate on their stripped swan plants. Two of the plants still had leaves, so I moved the big ones into a cardboard box with slivers of pumpkin. A neighbour in Blenheim grew monarchs many years ago and I remembered the pumpkin trick. Also, thanks to the internet, I put a picnic food cover (opens like an umbrella) over the box. The sides were not quite sealed and the caterpillars kept climbing out of the box. I tried putting them back on the pumpkin and some of the caterpillars ate enthusiastically. A visiting friend told me that the caterpillars wander off to find a place to chrysalis so this time I left them.
In only three days since they've been in the box, half of them have hung in J shapes. Two were found hanging from the lip of the table that the cardboard box sits - they must've escaped unnoticed???
I'm relieved that the caterpillars are about to form pupae and the smaller ones on the remaining swan plants still have some leaves to munch on.
I will update when my butterflies hatch!
PS Despite Googling some info about monarch caterpillars, I was ignorant of their quirky habits and what to expect of their wandering nature. I also worried that I would damage them by plucking them off bare branches with my fingers and trying to deposit them on the leafier plants...
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Post by ivyplus on Mar 24, 2008 20:04:55 GMT 12
Well done Ladeda! I didn't have much success with swan plants. They were eaten and there wasn't enough food for all the caterpilars to survive. Where our dog came from there was a huge swan plant and I forgot to ask them how they got it that big. Maybe they sprayed it when it was young.
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Post by ladeda on Mar 24, 2008 20:11:38 GMT 12
Don't spray swan plants - it will kill the caterpillars that later feed on it! I Googled monarchs and found stories of caterpillars dying after eating plants bought from garden shops that had sprayed them!!!
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Post by OasisNZ on Mar 25, 2008 5:14:16 GMT 12
Great story K., I think the point is, if you want big swan plants, you need to control the caterpillars. Our neighbour in Auckland also had huge plants, and she still used to control the number of caterpillars or they will always be stripped bare and never have a chance to grow. It's a great thing watching the cocoons form, then turning black, and seeing the monarchs hatch. Hope you find the time to take some pics of the various stages...
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Post by meandog on Mar 25, 2008 6:00:39 GMT 12
Ladeda I have grown heaps of caterpillars in the past and one of their number one enemies is a wasp that sucks the juices out of them. I would doubt if ducks would touch them as the caterpillar is toxic hence their striped colouring it is a warning to birds to leave well alone. I had a heap of trouble here with these wasps so gave up on swan plants. I now have a self sown one at th end of my house and I picked off the 5 caterpillars on it and destroyed them, so the plant could grow larger which it is. Its nearly a metre high now, so next spring I will allow the caterpillars to eat on it. ;D
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Post by mamamia on Mar 25, 2008 15:41:46 GMT 12
Pene is coming on Thursday and I am going to take her to our local Monarch Butterfly house before lunch there are gardens there too. Don't tell her it's a surprise, I have been going over there each week so this week she is coming over here, they will still have heaps of them in the butterfly house www.westlynngarden.org.nz/
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Post by mamamia on Mar 25, 2008 15:42:12 GMT 12
BTW, well done ladeda
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Post by OasisNZ on Mar 25, 2008 17:02:57 GMT 12
What a lovely spot Mamamia, found the "Monarch" fact file on the site... www.westlynngarden.org.nz/butterflyfactfile.htmlMONARCH BUTTERFLY FACT FILE BACK TO BUTTERFLY HOUSE * The female monarch can lay up to 300 eggs on the leaves of Milk Weed (Swan Plant), usually underneath the leaf. * In seven to ten days, these little white eggs turn into tiny caterpillars. The first thing the caterpillar does is to eat the empty shell. * For the next nine to fourteen days the caterpillar eats and eats the Swan Plant. During this time the caterpillar goes through four growth stages called instars. It sheds its skin each time and eats the old skin. * At the fifth instar stage the caterpillar is ready to pupate. It spins a silky thread, attaching itself to the plant and hanging in the shape of a "j" called a crochet. Finally it's skin splits to reveal the green pupa, which we call a chrysalis. When it hardens little gold dots appear at the very top and bottom. * During all this amazing metamorphosis it loses its mouth, exchanges its sixteen feet for six jointed legs, grows two antennae, a set of rudimentary wings and two complex eyes with full colour vision. * When it is ready to re-enter this world, it picks a warm sunny day to do so. After splitting the chrysalis and climbing out, it is a rather wrinkled individual, having been wrapped up in such a small place. It pumps up its four wings and after they are dried it is ready for take off. * During the next few days it will feed on nectar to gain strength. They use their long tongue called a proboscis to suck the nectar from the flower. Their feet have sensitive taste receptors to locate the nectar. * The female looks darker because she has wider veins on her wings. The male has two black spots or pouches on the lower wings which produce pheromone during courtship. Now these new butterflies are ready to start another generation, and are on the lookout for a mate. * And so the cycle is complete. Let's do our best to look after them!
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Post by mamamia on Mar 25, 2008 19:13:42 GMT 12
It's a cool place oasis, the gardens change each season, so it's nice to go back a couple of times in a year. I will take my camera and get some pics to show you
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Post by ladeda on Mar 25, 2008 19:26:56 GMT 12
Did you know that only a few places in New Zealand have the right climate for monarchs that winter over? One is Church Hill, right here in Nelson. The late monarchs (like mine?) will winter over and lay eggs next spring.
I think I'll start some plants NOW for next spring (thanks for the hint, MD). I want to grow more monarchs next year.
We've been out for tea (no food in the house) so I'll take some piccies tomorrow...
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Post by ladeda on Apr 16, 2008 18:22:05 GMT 12
Finally! Four of the chrysalises (sp?)in the cardboard box that I had inside have hatched, and the others have turned black so will hatch very soon. They are beautiful, perfect butterflies. D came home at lunchtime to find one had crawled out and had been caught in a spiderweb so he rescued it and put it back in the box. The outside chrysalises (under the deck so protected from the rain) are still to hatch - it's been three weeks now! It's still drizzling outside, so we have put the box in the shower overnight so they can get their act together before being released tomorrow?
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Post by ladeda on Apr 17, 2008 6:58:02 GMT 12
D hung them under the deck so they could fly away...
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Post by mamamia on Apr 17, 2008 7:53:05 GMT 12
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Post by misilon on Apr 29, 2008 17:39:06 GMT 12
that is just great I have never heard of anyone growing monarch butterflies in my life
it was interesting reading to know it can be a succesful undertaking nice!!
nope I wont be growing any,... but Ive been given a jam recipe to make with the promise that it is easy so Im attempting such this weekend kak!! kak!!
dont like my chances Im hopeless as a cook ,..yuk!!
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Post by meandog on Apr 30, 2008 7:42:12 GMT 12
that is just great I have never heard of anyone growing monarch butterflies in my life it was interesting reading to know it can be a succesful undertaking nice!! nope I wont be growing any,... but Ive been given a jam recipe to make with the promise that it is easy so Im attempting such this weekend kak!! kak!! dont like my chances Im hopeless as a cook ,..yuk!! Misi, try the positive mental attitude you would be surprised how it works. LOL.
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Post by misilon on Apr 30, 2008 18:23:39 GMT 12
Hi there meandawwwgy,....
Im scared of anything that squirms and slides and slithers as an excuse for having legs and walking I grow eyes in the backs of my legs and head everytime it rains and there are worms everywhere eeeeeaaarrkkk!!
I swear theyre all out to get me ,..true!!!
how pathetic am I,.... so caterpillars ahhhh nooooooo!!
someone knew how I was with worms (phobic) and sent me an image of massess in a huge pic when I opened it, I was outa my seat like lightning and across the other side of the room,.... screaming for someone to come and zap it out,
Ive been known to drop a book if the next page has a pic of caterpillars or worms ,..**shudders** ,..hahahaha!! what a wussy eh!!
so am I gonna grow monarchs,...ahhhhh dont think so hehehe!!,..
moi aint gonna touch those monstrous cuteys no way no way!!!!!!
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Post by meandog on May 1, 2008 7:17:13 GMT 12
;D I was referring to your comments regarding being a hopeless cook. ;D ;D
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Post by misilon on May 1, 2008 15:22:19 GMT 12
;D oh heck!! grrrrr woof woof!! ;D ;D ;D
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Post by ladeda on May 14, 2008 18:45:31 GMT 12
Did you know that only a few places in New Zealand have the right climate for monarchs that winter over? One is Church Hill, right here in Nelson. The late monarchs (like mine?) will winter over and lay eggs next spring. Washbourn Gardens in Richmond, Nelson, is also an overwintering site for monarchs. They have probably migrated from all over the South Island and there are hundreds hanging in a young rimu. There were also a lot of flying butterflies but the hanging ones are conserving energy and are in a sort of hibernation until spring. Misi - enough butterflies to make monarch jam???
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Post by misilon on May 14, 2008 20:28:33 GMT 12
wow ladeda
I put it into my pics so I could zoom it in,..... didnt work as well as I would have liked how amazing is that,..do they just hang there all winter thru the rain and such?,....
or do they actually fly about at times ?,....I know nothing about them other than theyre orange and black are pretty and fly,.
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