Raising Book Resources
Raising Hope for the 2021 Monarch Migration- Raise The Migration Results
Raise The Migration is an annual North American challenge to raise monarch butterflies to release for fall’s annual monarch migration. The time has come to share your 2021 experience and raise it forward…
The raising season is coming to an end, so we’d love to hear how many butterflies you released for fall’s annual 2021 monarch migration…and more importantly, what lessons you’ve learned through this amazing raising experience?
If you’ve still got some raising to do, raise on! But please post in the comment box at the bottom of this page after you’ve released your last butterfly.
Every year, I start Raise The Migration in July, but monarchs raised at that time aren’t actually migration generation butterflies…they’re the parents to that amazing generation of travelers.
There’s no way to tell whether butterflies will mate or migrate, but one telltale sign of a migration generation butterfly is its size, which is dependent on how much the caterpillar eats. The first super-sized caterpillars start to form chrysalides around the first week of September in our northern region…
In the garden, you can tell non-migratory butterflies by their worn out wings. Non-migratory males are also more aggressive, chasing off potential competition while seeking out female companionship…migratory monarchs are in sexual diapause and only interested in stocking up on nectar for the long journey ahead.
So how did our Raise The Migration Monarchs fare this season and what lessons did we learn raising forward?
===========================================================================================
If you’re interested in a step-by-step guide digital guide with free updates (before each monarch season begins in spring) please check out the monarch raising guide by clicking this butterfly photo:
For anyone who purchases the guide (or any other item) from Monarch Butterfly Life, you will be invited to our closed facebook group where you can discuss raising monarchs with other raisers and post your photos.
===========================================================================================
Here are Raise the Migration results from the past eight seasons:
2020- 82% survival rate
2019- 81% survival rate
2018- 93% survival rate
2017- 100% survival rate
2016- 96% survial rate
2015- 96% survival rate
2014- 90% survival rate
2013- 100% survival rate
As you can see from the results, this raising system is consistently producing healthy monarchs to help support the struggling monarch population.
Raise The Migration 2021 Results
I released 15 healthy monarchs (14 females and 1 male) from July 29th to August 16th with a 100% survival rate. I am fairly certain all of these butterflies were parents to the migration generation.
The seven monarchs we raised after that, were counted as our official Raise The Migration monarchs for 2021...
Caterpillar Escapes
By keeping monarch eggs and baby caterpillars in sealed food containers, and raising larger caterpillars in the mesh cages, we never lose caterpillars.
I think the closest we have come was two years ago when I forgot to close a cage door and found a caterpillar crawling on top of the cage. 🐛 😱
Unexplained Caterpillar Deaths
We didn't have any unexplained monarch deaths in 2021.
Caterpillar Diseases and Parasites?
I'm happy to report no disease issues in 2021. All of our raise the migration participants were brought in as eggs so no issues with tachinid flies...a couple eggs were parasitized by trichogramma wasps, and we discarded those eggs when they darkened and never hatched.
Accidental Deaths?
We experienced one accidental (and completely preventable) accidental death. See the Butterfly Eclosure section below for more details...
Chrysalis Problems
No chrysalis issues to report in 2021...
Community member Jude R. recently used the microfiber method to rehang one of her fallen chrysalides:
Jude reports: There was zero silk and I wasn't sure what to do. Your tip worked and just in time. I was a little worried the bfly's feet would get stuck in the microfiber, but it had zero problems.
Butterfly Eclosures
We had one eclosure disaster this year. An early morning butterfly (emerged from chrysalis before 7am) fell from our kitchen overhang on to the floor.
She lost a lot of fluids from her abdomen when this happened. Her wings recovered 'somewhat' when I hung her from inside a mesh cage, but she was injured badly from the fall on to the wood floor, which is about a 7 foot drop.
Starting in 2022, we will no longer rehang chrysalides on our overhang. It's much safer to rehang them inside the cage where they can crawl up a mesh wall after falling a much shorter distance.
Final Results
Our totals are from all eggs that have successfully hatched. We don't count eggs that were parasitized outside or monarchs brought in as caterpillars because they could have parasites too.
Seven monarch butterflies emerged from their chrysalides between August 29th and October 5th:
1 accidental death (butterfly fall)
0 disease or parasite issues
0 unexplained deaths
4 healthy males
2 healthy females
86% survival rate
Lessons Learned?
Chrysalides should always be kept in a cage or somewhere where the butterfly has a chance to climb to safety if it falls after it emerges. In my experience butterflies rarely fall, but it can happen.
Migration Memory 2021
I came across these mating monarchs in our Minnesota garden on September 19th when it was an unseasonable 90°:
Before 2021, I had never seen mating past the first week of September in our region.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my Raise The Migration '21 results and lessons learned raising monarchs through the butterfly life cycle .
And now, I'd love to hear about your experience...
Share Your Results?! ✍️
Please share your results below by letting us know how many monarchs you released to help boost the struggling monarch population…remember to include your location.
More importantly, please share the most valuable lesson(s) you learned about raising monarch butterflies, that you believe can help others raising forward.
Thank you for helping to Raise the Migration in 2021
338 comments
In Central Iowa: Egg laying season started early, but slowed down in August when there were many infertile eggs. When the last three eclose, this year’s total will be 140. About 20 of those were migrator size.
My wife and i raised and released 247 monarchs this summer, last one released september 17. Caterpillars collected from our milkweed patch. Thunder bay ontario.
My third year raising Monarchs. Got 25 healthy Monarchs out the door this year. 7 last year. Had 2 more last week which eclosed, but were too weak and very likely diseased. They both fell damaging wings. Unable to cling to anything. Also lost 1 chrysalis. Hope for better results in 2022
Located in Southeastern NY. This was our second year as Monarch parents, and we feel so fortunate to be able to help support these beautiful butterflies! We started small, with only two (caterpillars) last year (2020), and we will have a total of 12 (caterpillars) this year. To date we’ve not lost any, and we have just 2 more to go. We’ve invested in the butterfly cages which for us is perfect. We’ve planted a pollinators garden, and when the new butterflies are out we give them lots of favorite flowers to visit before they go on their way. We hope to find some eggs next year, so far no luck. We do have quite a bit of healthy milkweed, and next year we should have quite a bit more.
One of our biggest joys has been sharing the Monarch project with all of the neighbor children and our grandchildren ~ hopefully this will give them a head start getting involved in protecting these beautiful butterflies. We invite them over to release the butterflies, and it’s a really special experience for us all.
It’s wonderful to be able to read all of the great comments/stories ~ learning alot by all the great information shared. Here’s to the Monarch ~ be safe and healthy!!
I live in Bristol, CT and released a total of 53 monarchs (28 F and 25 M)
raised from eggs in my yard.
Most of the eggs were rescued from my yard – common milkweed put out shoots in our lawn that were covered with eggs (females love to lay eggs on the tender shoots) which I brought in before lawn service mowed.
The other eggs were rescued from branches of swamp milkweed that had broken from several windstorms that came through our area. Seed pods made the thin branches heavy and it didn’t take much to break them and they had many eggs as well. Things I’ve learned – 1. Cut back common milkweed around August 1st to have fresh young leaves for later caterpillars. 2. Keep milkweed watered so cuttings won’t wilt when picked (we had a lot of rain but mine still needed supplemental waterings).
3. Handle caterpillars as little as possible and keep them by an open window, away from A/C if you don’t have an enclosed porch. 4. Cut off seed pods on swamp milkweed (they grow in clusters at the top of the stems) so they don’t weigh down the branches and break. 5. I used mint compost around milkweed plants to keep aphids away and it worked!
This was the best year for monarchs in my yard. Many eggs were laid and many healthy butterflies released. Currently – 9-18 – I’ve counted at least 15 monarchs on my Mexican sunflowers, zinnias and butterfly bushes. What a joy to see them thriving. Thank you Tony for all your help and knowledge,