Thanks, David! Dan Matyola *https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery <https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery>*
On Mon, Mar 22, 2021 at 3:49 AM David Mann <[email protected]> wrote: > 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. > -- %(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.
