By Carolyn Minson

My last Monarch #90 from this group (A group of butterflies is officially called a kaleidoscope) flew free today. On 6/5 & 6, I collected 145 eggs. The first caterpillar came out of its egg on June 7, and the first chrysalis formed on 6/19. I counted a total of 96 chrysalises and released the first butterfly on 6/28. Sharon and Vic Prislipsky released 7 of this group, and I released 83.

Thanks to Sharon Prislipsky for sharing these amazing/incredible (you fill in your own adjective) photos which she took of the chrysalises that I gave them.

Just in case you are wondering why I gather the eggs and raise the caterpillars in habitats, it’s because so few survive in the wild. One website quotes a survival rate of 10% eggs to adult butterflies if left in the wild. Caterpillars have many predators, including birds for most caterpillars, but birds (except for Summer Tanagers) instinctively know not to eat Monarch caterpillars. Other websites quote survival rates of 2 to 5%. But, at best, if left unprotected, only 15 might have survived to become adults. The survival rate for this group was 62%. Since this is a process I enjoy, both the Monarchs and I win.

This video is from Carolyn: there were 12 butterflies ready to be released in this one habitat. You can tell that one is very ready to fly free. There were 39 butterflies released that day.

But, I am still very concerned about our pollinators if the population of large butterflies is any indication. Beverly Salisbury and I both grow parsley expecting Black Swallowtails to use it as a host plant. I had no takers last summer or so far this summer, and Beverly is still waiting for one to lay eggs on her parsley.

Vic told me this morning that he was at Middle Fork Barrens and found no sign of Monarchs on the Tall Green Milkweed that grows there. In previous years, most of the milkweeds at the Barrens have been munched on by Monarch caterpillars by this time of summer. Great Spangled Fritillaries were a common butterfly a few years ago, and I am still waiting to see one this summer. (Dan Olson did share a photo yesterday.)