Raising Book Resources
Raising Hope for the 2024 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 2024 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 2024 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 milkweed 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:
2023- 89% Survival Rate
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 2024 Results
This seems to be a year of few monarchs for many, after a promising early start in May. Based on reports from the community, I have a couple of ideas on what has been negatively impacting the eastern population migration numbers in 2024:
- City mosquito spraying- these harmful chemicals pretty much destroy your entire garden ecosystem, including monarchs in all stages
- Excessive rains- paired with cooler temps this combo slows down metamorphosis and can also drown caterpillars that fall off plants.
- Late Migration?
On September 17th, 2024 there's more than a dozen migrators fluttering around our Minnesota garden. This is the most we've seen all season, so I'm hopeful this late summer weather, allows more butterflies to finish the life cycle and migrate.
For our lucky 7 this season...
Caterpillar Escapes
none 🥳
Unexplained Caterpillar Deaths
none 🥳
Caterpillar Diseases and Parasites?
none 🥳 We were lucky because we brought in two caterpillars this year and neither was parasitized by flies.
Accidental Deaths?
none 🥳
Chrysalis Problems
none 🥳
Butterfly Eclosure Issues
none 🥳
Final Results
Our totals are 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 7 monarchs...4 were unintentionally brought in after a wind storm knocked down a large stock of common milkweed. The other egg was accidentally brought in getting milkweed for the other 4. The final monarch caterpillars were brought in from our water feature swamp milkweed and a common milkweed growing through a crack in our deck.
So how many survived to reach butterhood?
The first female eclosed on Labor Day, the last male eclosed on a very sultry September 17th...87°F
0 accidental deaths
0 disease or parasite issues
0 unexplained deaths
6 healthy males
1 healthy female
100% survival rate (5 from egg, 2 from caterpillar)
Lessons Learned
We raised outdoors on our uncovered porch again, which I do not recommend because it adds dangerous factors that are out of your control including:
- extreme wind
- soaking rains
- cool night time temps (in northern regions this slows down metamorphosis)
- predator issues (some insects and animals can chew through cages, and stink bugs can harpoon caterpillars through mesh)
- pesticide drift (especially if neighbors or the city spray for mosquitoes)
To protect them from outdoors condition we:
- put the cage under pine tree branches to block rain
- put a clear tarp over the cage to bock rain, but let in more light (as opposed to a solid color tarp)
- put two pavers inside the cage so it wouldn't blow away
- put a flat rock on floral tube rack so it wouldn't blow over
You can easily expose monarchs to natural heat, light, and humidity (without extreme conditions) by raising them on a screened-in (or at least covered) porch and then you don't have to worry about taking extra precautions.
Migration Memories 2024
Two memories stand out during the 2024 migration season
1. Dueling hummingbirds (the OTHER migrators)- we typically have one hummingbird that claims our garden plants and feeder and challengers are chased off quickly.
This year's challenger would not be denied, so I've actually seen them feeding together in between car chase scenes...perhaps the garden is big enough for BOTH of them? 😅 Of course, getting them both on camera/video has proven more difficult.
2. Milkweed IN Water- last fall we left a milkweed container submerged in our water feature and this season, it came back, flowered, and was the milkweed plant I retrieved our final caterpillar from.
I typically don't bring in caterpillars but there were strong storms coming and our resident leopard frog was lurking below, which put our last caterpillar in double jeopardy...
Thankfully, we found the caterpillar before the frog did.
Unfortunately, Mr. (or Ms.?) frog did snatch a giant swallowtail butterfly from the lantana on the ledge of the water feature. To keep the feature from becoming a butterfly death trap, we moved a large mum to that ledge, and moved the butterfly-attracting lantana to our deck. Live and Learn 🦋🐸😱
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I hope you enjoyed reading about my Raise The Migration '24 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 2024
115 comments
This year has been my first year raising Monarchs. It’s definitely been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I’ve had in a while. It started with buying a painted lady butterfly kit for my kids which then snowballed into monarchs. I chuckle now thinking about how I was trying to find monarch eggs or baby cats online only to eventually realize if you have milkweed they will come. No regrets for the money I spent on tents, water vials and of course more milkweed. I have some great photos of eggs and hatching babies. There was definitely heartbreak, especially losing my first outdoor few to tachnid flies. But the more setbacks seemed to ignite the passion to see more butterflies take their first flight. Never dreamed I’d fall in love with them as I have. I’ve got a lot to learn and a long way to go and now spring will bring a new sense of excitement to my life. Next year I plan to document my journey next year so I can get some solid idea of how many graduated and flew off.
I successfully raised 6 monarchs from eggs this year with only 1 causality. I didn’t release my first butterfly until August 15 and I released my last one Sept. 11. I usually release my first one at the end on June. This is way down from the 14 that I raised last year. I simply couldn’t find eggs or caterpillars anywhere – despite having multiple sources of milkweed around the neighborhood. I have pesticide-free butterfly milkweed growing in my flower garden and this is where most of my eggs came from. While still in eggs and until the caterpillar is about 2 weeks old, the little guys spend the first part of their life in a hummus container with fork-poked holes in the lid. This way, they don’t get lost in the netting while they are so little. After that, they spend the rest of their caterpillar life in individual mesh cages that I bought from Amazon. When they are close to emerging from the chrysalis, I open the cage, lay it on it’s side and put it in one of those tall cages and wait for nature to take it’s course. The new butterfly has lots of room to dry it’s wings. I generally keep the small cages in the house, near natural light. The big “nursery” cage is always outdoors on the front porch where the butterfly has access to natural wind and sun.
I live in the Milwaukee area.
Inspired late this summer by 2 friends that have actively raised monarchs from eggs and baby cats, I started checking nearby milkweed plants. In mid August I found 2 tiny caterpillars and 1 more a week later. The latter suddenly turned black and died but the first two ate like pigs, formed a chrysalis and emerged. Both were females released Sept.8 and 12th. Immediately headed south fom Lions Head, Ontario
I live in southport, which is an area at the mouth of the Cape Fear River and we have a lot of migration that goes through here. I have all the equipment to help caterpillars and eggs whatever the milk wheat II live in southport, which is a area at the mouth of the Cape Fear River and we have a lot of migration that goes through here. I have all the equipment to help caterpillars and eggs and the milk weed. I have seen one Monarch so far. I am a Master Gardener and our Native garden, which has many different types of plants, including the milkweed doesn’t have any caterpillars this year. Nanny, skippers, and sulfur, occasional swallowtails. They are clearing a lot of our forest around our area. Could that be the problem? Is it just the weather changes?
Doris Vasaturo
I raised 5 this year, all from eggs I found on milkweed plants in my garden. (Wild milkweed I allowed to grow in back of flower bed). Less eggs found then other years However, all 5 made it to butterfly, the last one flew away yesterday. I washed milkweed leaves with soap & water instead of just rinsing. Seemed to make a difference, since this year no fatalities.
Also tried small plastic containers with hole in cover & making several shallow cuts in stem to keep milkweed fresh longer. Worked. Also I was careful to put out fresh leaves every other day. I raised all inside in mesh laundry bag from IKEA. Babies I had in plastic food containers (with lid not sealed) till they were about 1" long, then transferred to big cage. Babies I fed single leaf at a time with stem wrapped in wet paper towel and stem cut up on both sides about 1/2 ".