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 fallโs annual monarch migration. The time has come to share your 2020 experience and raise it forwardโฆ
The raising season is coming to an end, so weโd love to hear how many butterflies you released for fallโs annual 2020 monarch migrationโฆand more importantly, what lessons youโve learned through this amazing raising experience?
If youโve still got some raising to do, raise on! But please post in the comment box at the bottom of this page after youโve released your last butterfly.
Every year, I start Raise The Migration in early August, but monarchs raised at that time arenโt actually migration generation butterfliesโฆtheyโre actually the parents to that amazing generation of travelers.
Thereโs 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 regionโฆ
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 companionshipโฆmigratory 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 youโre 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. ๐
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 40ยฐ 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. ๐
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...๐ฅถ
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, hereโs the part Iโm most excited aboutโฆhearing 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 populationโฆremember 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
My husband and I raised and released 90 monarchs, mostly from eggs.
I put my milkweed in small bouillon cube jars with holes punched in the lids for the stems, and filled with water.
I set them in large mesh cages. My next door neighbor has a lot of Joe Pye weed and the butterflies enjoy the nectar!
I live in St.Lazare, Quebec,Canada. This is my second summer in my new house. Last year I had left the milkweeds grow in my garden, I saw two monarch caterpillars. This year I let the milkweeds grow. I observed 6 caterpillars. One made a chrysalis on my front steps. I carefully removed it and brought it inside my sun room where we were able to watch it transform in to a beautiful monarch butterfly. I saw two other butterflies and one of the caterpillars had the Black Death , that was so traumatic for me as I had observed it the day before munching away on the milkweed. All in all, I enjoyed my experience with observing and next year will continue and maybe find other chrysalis. These newsletters were very helpful with my learning.
It is wonderful to read of all of your Monarch experiences! We were in Alaska last year and came back to mid-Michigan to raise and release 15 butterflies (all from caterpillars) by mid-September. This year was a whole different story: we started discovering eggs, mostly on swamp milkweed in mid-July; by August we had caterpillars in all stages, along with a steady stream of eggs that we couldnโt resist rescuing. On 9/11 we released our last two butterflies, a male and female, for a total of 95. We havenโt seen any Monarchs since, where we had been flooded up to that time. We had six that didnโt make it โ 3 eggs that were not fertile, two cases of โblack deathโ at Instar 3, and one Instar 4 which explodedโฆgruesome โ because of a wasp? Corrections for next year include: 1) Start looking later; six weeks of intensive caterpillar-sitting is stressful! 2) Raise the cats in cages which correspond with the plant on which they are found. I had tried to keep them together according to which instar and worried they theyโd all been infested with something and couldnโt tell which milkweed I needed to eradicate. 3) Thoroughly clean the cages more often, as opposed to every other day. But that computer keyboard vacuum is a godsend! Managed that 3-4 times per day.
The things that worked well included: 1) Having a variety of cages and containers in different sizes ready, starting with nurseries:) 2) Keeping track of when and in what stage I found each one, as well as keeping track of their gender and when they were released and under what conditions. 3) Having designated spaces and hooks for the cages. 4) Adding different varieties of milkweed and keeping the swamp milkweed aphid-free with sprayed water (after checking for errant cats). 5) Sharing the experience with friends and family, including my 94-year-old Momโs assisted living companions. We were able to do it in a safe manner and it definitely raised everyoneโs spirits!
For 2020, I raised 26 healthy Monarchs. 8 males, 18 females. All raised from eggs. Brought in maybe 4 cats but all died eventually. One turned into brown goo, one dead at bottom of cage, one never eclosed, and one tiny one just stopped eating and died. Lessons learned, this is my third year and by far the easiest. I put the eggs in individual condiment cups which was so much easier keeping track of them. Used my own milkweed. I moved them to the big cage between instar 2-3 (about an inch long) My set up is your butterfly cages and I put the milkweed in Dunkinโ Donuts large iced coffee cups and then place the cups in the cardboard take out tray to keep stable. Two formed their chrysalis on a leaf and I just taped and pinned the leaf to the top of the cage. All done for 2020. The last one left on 9/13. I am in Morris County NJ. Have seen a few migrators come through.
I live in Tampa, Fl. This is my first year raising Monachs. Itโs been fun and stressful at the same time. So far, Ive rereleased 68. Twelve more to go. Ive been fight wasps and Ahids. Wondering if the season ever ends in Florida.