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?
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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.
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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
Starting on August 9th and ending the first week of October I raised 21 females and 19 males. I lost about 5 due to tachinid fly parasites. I still have one chrysalisis on October 16, however, I’m not sure it is going to survive. Half of the chrysalis is developed. I can see wings, etc., but the bottom part is still green. I’m hanging on to it in case it’s just slow because of our weather getting colder. I grew mostly common milkweed and have a few swamp milkweed. I learned that the common milkweed leaves are big enough to keep the little cats satisfied longer. I live in southwest Missouri.
I was a Monarch mom newbie this summer. I raised 8 (6 females & 2 males). I had a small patch of regular milkweed and a swamp milkweed plant I grew in my garden. Had more caterpillars but they died as very tiny ones for some reason, but I did have their habitat in our 72 degree air-conditioned house so thinking maybe they got too chilly? Hope to have better luck next year raising them in a vestibule attached to our garage—with no air conditioning. I sought out one of my Monarch mom friends who gave me some good tips for next year. I miss my orange babies! Appreciate your newsletters.
I live in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. I just released my last monarch yesterday Oct 14th. I raised 50 this year! It was a successful year! I also observed and reported a tagged Male to Monarch watch. That was a cool experience!
I had a banner year releasing 296 butterflies (152 females and 144 males) from my butterfly enclosures. I also had 11 chrysalides outside enclosures that e-closed successfully. I found a few dud chrysalides as well. My first milkweed, monarch butterfly, and monarch egg sightings were about 2 weeks earlier this year than last year. Besides my common milkweed that grows on the side of my house, I also planted balloon milkweed in pots on my deck and front porch. The balloon milkweed was a monarch magnet! One of my goals this year was to bring in more eggs/caterpillars from the ditches and leave the ones around my house alone. However, I did not see much activity in the ditches this year. We had almost no rain in July and I wonder if that was a factor in the lack of activity in the ditches.
This year I raised & set free a total of 51 Monarch butterflies in Wellington, Ohio. There were 20 females, 29 males & 2 escapees that I didn’t get time to sex. Our last one was a chrysalis from North Olmsed Ohio that was made at the bottom of a patio table that my mother found. I carefully removed it, transported it & my son used cross stitch thread to stitch it to the top of my habitat. He emerged beautifully & was set free Oct.3rd. I had to totally revamp my butterfly garden due to a weed issue. In doing so it was a trade off this year. I had less milkweed, but lots of flowers. They simply loved the Mexican Sunflowers! Although we had other issues such as non-emerging eggs & chrysalis issues due to cats attaching to silk on other chrysalis & not on the top of the habitat, all in all it was a great year! My 3 teenagers have helped me do this for 6 years. It is a learning experience for them, helps the Monarch population & we do it in memory of my brother as well as other loved ones. The only major mishap was an Monarch wound up an overnight guest & tore the tip of her wing. Even so, I was rather surprised she still took off, flying quite high & far. As a result, we all learned something new. Not to mention we have been sharing the knowledge we’ve gained on Monarchs & Milkweed seeds with others in order to raise more awareness. I feel that all the hard work & effort that my kids & I have put into these past 6 years has made a difference for Monarchs, my family & others in our neighborhood. Thanks to all who do what they can to help all the different butterfly species!