Raising Book Resources
Raising Hope for the 2020 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 2020 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 2020 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 early August, but monarchs raised at that time aren’t actually migration generation butterflies…they’re actually 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 seven seasons:
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 2020 Results
I am counting our 2020 migration generation as all butterflies that eclosed September 1st and after.
Caterpillar Escapes
Since using food container hatcheries for eggs and baby caterpillars, this has helped us to easily keep track of the wee cats until they can be placed in the larger mesh cages. We have not lost a caterpillar for years...
Unexplained Caterpillar Deaths
None to report in 2020
Caterpillar Diseases and Parasites?
There were no caterpillar disease issues to report in 2020. Check out a pre and post molt of one caterpillar graduating from instar 3 to instar 4:
Accidental Deaths?
There have been two accidental deaths this year...seems fitting for 2020. 🙃
1. This was an odd fluke that happened in an egg hatchery. There was one container with two eggs that looked like they might have fungus issues from the leaves I found them on.
After monitoring, I thought one of the eggs had succumbed to a rust-like fungus that was growing around it. Little did I know, the caterpillar had hatched and crawled under the paper towel that lined the hatchery....there was even a fresh milkweed leaf under the fungusy leaf piece.
This has never happened before so I was shocked to find the dead baby cat as I cleared out the hatchery.
2. On a cold morning in the 3-season porch (low was 40° F), I picked up the floral tube/racks (with milkweed and caterpillars) and walked it into the kitchen without using the boot tray. Two of the cold, lethargic caterpillars fell to the floor. I rescued one...and stepped on the other. 😔
Chrysalis Problems
Chrysalis formation was perfect this season. I conducted 6 removing/rehanging experiments this year: 3 chrysalides hung up with pins, 2 hung up on a microfiber cloth, and 1 taped to the floor:
All 6 butterflies eclosed with no issues and the butterflies were released to join the 2020 monarch migration. The last male emerged Sunday October 11th, and was released on Monday October 12th:
Butterfly Eclosures
All butterflies emerged from their monarch chrysalises without issue.
Final Results
2 accidental deaths
0 disease or parasite issues
0 unexplained death
4 healthy males
5 healthy females
82% survival rate
Lessons Learned?
Of the two caterpillar accidents that occurred this season, one was a fluke that will likely never happen again.
However, the 'stepping' accident could have been easily avoided if I would have just followed my own advice for caterpillar safety. If moving caterpillars outside of the cage, place them on a boot tray so they will never fall on the floor.
I also learned that keeping chrysalides in the 3 season porch at night (during the fall) is a bad idea for our northern region. Cool night time temps slowed down metamorphosis by at least a week, meaning the excellent window I had to release butterflies in warm weather, quickly shrunk to just a few days.
The chrysalises get plenty of exposure to natural lighting and temperatures during the day through open windows. If these monarchs would have been left to fend for themselves outside, their wintry fate would have been sealed...🥶
Also, my preferred way of rehanging chrysalides is pinning the silk to the top of the cage. Really though, all 3 methods work well, so do what you're most comfortable with when you need to rehang a chrysalis.
August 2020 Migration Memory
And now, here’s the part I’m most excited about…hearing about all the valuable lessons you learned raising monarchs over the past few weeks!
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 2020
348 comments
Hi, northeastern Indiana (Fort Wayne).
I released 40 this year.
I had 3 deaths.
Big problem with aphids toward the end of the summer and never figured out what to do about that.
sorry to say only found 2 eggs this year. my grandchildren were disappointed too. been raising for 4 years.very poor year.the milk weed the eggs and the 1 monarch that went well but died on the flowers i put in the day before release. she wasn’t orange like monarch colors she was brownish on both sides of her.her egg was normal’ the cat was normal the chrislis was normal but she was brownish.we had good luck with one other monarch but she was smaller. hope to have better luck next year. i’m a nwf habitat so i know there isn’t any sprays or dangerous applications going on. had 15 we released last year.we are wintering in tenn.going in nov. i’m taking milk weed with me ’to put on land we purchased.we have all kinds of wild flowers growing there.have a great winter anna lilly palmyra n.y.
This was my best year in the past 10 years I’ve been doing this from zone 7 in Arkansas. I raise them in 3 different mesh cages. I had a large event in late June, and 45 were raised and released with 100% success. Then had another large crop in August/September, and released 72 of 78. 1 never emerged from the chrysalis, 1 failed halfway through forming the chrysalis, and the other 4 were parasitized.
I tried raising monarchs last summer (2019). Since, I am from S NJ; when I had questions I called Cape May Audubon Society and Migratory offices. They are well known for migratory and conservation efforts. They informed me that raising monarchs is not a good idea. They have a low success rate of surviving the migration; since, they are not raised in true environments to make them strong. Therefore, are weaker due to not being exposed to the elements such as wind and etc. So, I decided to just grow plenty of milkweed and have the survival of the fittest. What are your thoughts on this theory?
I have raised Monarchs for decades, long ago did some tagging, but now the hobby is smaller and more manageable for me. I have my own milkweed plants of a few varieties. This year I had success with 70 adult Monarchs, 31 males and 39 females. The last one was released on Oct. 6th after having to keep him in the cage for 4 days, due to our very cold weather. He was very happy to go flying after the shock of containment for that long. I had three deaths, giving me a
95.9 percent success. One was literally stuck in its chrysalis. I tried to help it get out, but the wings would not release, therefore I had to end the struggle and bury it in a nearby flower bed. There were two caterpillars that died in the J position, so they were added to the flower bed also. No understandable reason that those two deaths. I have placed four black swallowtail chrysalis in a container in the garage for the winter, will watch it each time I drive in, keeping it moist and otherwise will wait for a spring emergence. It’s been a good year and hope for more next year.