On Mar 22, 2021, at 5:25 AM, Daniel J. Matyola <[email protected]> wrote:
> As you may recall, I am a butterfly not, and am particularly fond of > Monarchs. I raise them from eggs and then tag and release them. I take > many images of them in all stages of development, using the asme camera and > lens that you used here. So, I can admire your work and envy the > remarkable results you achieved here. Yes, I was thinking of you when I took the photos. Our swan plants are absolutely inundated with caterpillars so it wasn't too hard to find a few well-placed ones. > A few questions: > Where exactly did you find these larvae? We bought some swan plants and put them in a planter box in the garden. We initially had them under a cage of netting with the side left open to let butterflies in. The netting is useful to keep butterflies out once you have enough larvae, to prevent them stripping the plants and starving. We had to remove the cage as we weren't getting any eggs but now we've ended up with too many and will have to get some more plants very soon. We'll also be putting the cage back on. When they pupate we'll open it again so the new butterflies can get out. > Are they wild or were they raised by you or someone else? They're wild. Monarchs are very common here. A lot of families grow them as it's a good opportunity to educate kids about their life cycle. I'm hoping that my daughter gets to watch one hatch this year. We just missed one last year. > What is the Monarch season in your area? I don't actually know... I'm hoping this crop of caterpillars have time to pupate before it gets too cold but I think they should be OK. We won't be getting frosts for a while yet. > Do they migrate down there? If so, from where and to where? I don't think so, but I'm definitely not an expert. They usually spend winter in parks as far as I know. One such park is close to me but that one doesn't see great numbers. Some people tag them so they can be tracked through winter. > Do you have an organization like Monarch watch own under? Not that I'm aware of, but we've never thought of looking. This is the closest I could find with a quick search: https://www.nzbutterflies.org.nz/species/monarchs/ Cheers, Dave -- %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
