Raising Book Resources
Raising Hope for the 2023 Monarch Migration- Share Your 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 2023 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 2023 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 how to raise monarchs book (choose paperback or PDF download) 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:
2022- 100% Survival Rate
2021- 86% Survival Rate
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 2023 Results
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 a few years back when I forgot to close a cage door and found a caterpillar crawling on top of the cage. 🐛 😱
Unexplained Caterpillar Deaths
None
Caterpillar Diseases and Parasites?
None
Accidental Deaths?
I carelessly removed a small caterpillar that was getting ready to molt inside the plastic food container. It was not able to fully shed its skin and did not survive.
Chrysalis Problems
None
Butterfly Eclosure Issues
None
Final Results
Our totals will be taken from all eggs that have successfully hatched in our care. We don't count eggs that were parasitized outside or monarchs brought in as caterpillars because they could have parasites too.
This year, we ended up with 9 migration generation monarchs...all have been 'unintentional' after pulling wayward egg-upied common milkweed coming up in the lawn.
So how many survived to reach butterhood?
1 accidental death
0 disease or parasite issues
0 unexplained deaths
3 healthy males
5 healthy females
89% survival rate
Lessons Learned
There have been a few lessons learned throughout this season and it's the result of having a new outdoor raising setup.
In past seasons, we raised in a 3-season porch with the windows open, which protected growing monarchs from extreme weather, while still exposing them to environmental cues telling them to migrate. This year, we raised outdoors and barely avoided a couple catastrophes:
- Protect the cage from heavy rains above- we did this by placing the cage on a bench under an evergreen. On the other side of the deck, we place cages under the awning (prevents drownings and falling chrysalides)
- If heavy rain is forecast, consider removing the poo poo platter so rain doesn't pool on the cage floor (prevents drownings)
- Protect monarchs from strong winds- we ended up using two paver bricks in each cage (prevents cages from falling or blowing away)
- Crowded Caterpillars often Pupate on Milkweed Leaves- We used smaller cages this season and having to use two pavers inside each minimized space which made plant leaves too enticing to form chrysalides
- If a caterpillar pupates on a leaf that's OK, but separate it from feeding caterpillars (prevents chrysalis from falling to floor if leaf gets eaten)
- Use your magnifier- our lone accidental death of '23 could have been prevented if I used it to see that a small caterpillar I moved was actually molting. (When you see better, you do better!)
- Keep Cages away from Predators- we have been lucky with insects and larger predators chewing through the cage to this point, but there is always a greater chance you will have issues with an outdoor raising setup
We were very lucky this season was a success. On a windy night, the cage nearly blew off the table it was on becuase I was using rocks instead of the heavier paver bricks to secure the stage. This could have severely injured or killed most of our brood
I much prefer the indoor setup with exposure to natural outdoor conditions. We will be investing in a greenhouse or arboretum for raising purposes next season and will keep you posted.
Migration Memories 2023
Our Mexican sunflowers were a big hit with migrating monarchs, swallowtails, hummingbirds, and bees this season. Here's a Minnesota Migration Moment from early September:
...and here's our final release monarch female stocking up on nectar September 20th:
I hope you enjoyed reading about my Raise The Migration '23 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 at the bottom of this page and let 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 2023
189 comments
My first attempt at raising butterflies did not go well. I only had 8 cats and successfully raised 2. My second batch was better. I had almost 50 cats in 3 habitats. I gave about 15 to friends who had not found any on their milkweed. I have successfully raised 30 cats. There are 2 in a habitat that will be released tomorrow (September 24). Three chrysalises remain and 1 cat is in the process of making a chrysalis. I look forward to next year when I can look for eggs. I got a late start this year.
The good news for 2023 is 105 butterflies F65 M 40. Best was 152 in 2019.
The bad news is that like in 2022 I have had many 1st, 2nd and 3rd instar deaths. 2022 36 and 2023 34. They start to writhe around and at first I observed but it is always fatal so I euthanize now. All my milkweed is well rinsed and for some reason it only affects a few, even eating from the same leaf.
I also lost 2 chrysalises from Tachinid flies which was a first. I hadn’t noticed the chrysalis was turning black from the top and all of a sudden there as a maggot on the cage floor. My mistake as I had accepted a couple of 4th instar cats from a neighbour…eggs only, going forward.
I also lost 3 butterflies from possible O.E. They eclosed but were too weak to hang on and fell so euthanized.
2 other cats J’d and then melted…didn’t stink so maybe not Black Death and no others in that cage were affected.
Almost too upsetting to continue but hopefully next year will be better.
Cathy M Sept 23, 2023
[near Peterborough in Central Ontario, Canada]
I’m from Northern Michigan, near Gaylord. I’ve been raising monarchs every summer since 2013. It was a late start; I didn’t find any eggs until around the second week of June, and I saw my first Monarch around the 3rd week. I began collecting eggs in my backyard waystation or down a country gravel road nearby. I discovered through previous years that if I got enough eggs from this generation, I would have many migrators to look forward to. I released 278 monarchs this summer, less than the last few summers. It was a perfect amount and so enjoyable. I released my last Monarch on September 7.
I have raised Monarchs for years with 80-100 over the Northwest Wisconsin season. Last year and this one I have had a new problem with their indoor sunroom location. In June and again in August I had weak butterflies with good barbs on their feet yet could not hang onto anything after eclosing. No other signs of problems except that. If I held the creature by its feet I could get it to pump up the wings but it was too weak to fly after up to a day of protection in the cage. In July, however, I had 25 healthy ones. The difference I postulate is that I did not give my cat her flea and tick medication in July. Even though I always keep my cat away from the cages I believe the carpet fibers from our aging carpet combined with cat dander may have carried the toxins to the cages as we vacuum and move about. SO, next year I will set up an outdoor raising area using Tony’s experience this year as a guide. Also, we are removing our carpeting—but not the cat.
I tagged 46 monarchs this season in Erie, PA.