Date: 03/29/2002

Number: 1

One Monarch on the wing. 83 degrees, humid, overcast, gusty winds ~

This is my first adult Monarch sighting in 6 weeks. One of our rare freezes in late January may have been a contributing factor.

I have spent this period cutting back established milkweed that had become quite leggy (blood flower/curassavica). These are now budding again nicely. No larvae detected on any of these plants.

However, two weeks ago I purchased a couple of trays of curassavica at a local nursery which were highly populated by 1st instar cats. The plants, reportedly, were purchased from a wholesaler in nearby Belle Chasse, LA.

Nectar plants are abundant in our garden & milkweed is plentiful so I expect to see many more Monarchs in short order. Perhaps not this weekend though. The 48 hour forecast calls for rain.

This past week I have made daytime/daylong business trips from New Orleans along the Mississippi River Road (west bank) to rural areas south of Baton Rouge and north across Lake Pontchartrain on Rt 55 to Pontchatoula.
0 Monarchs sighted. Cloudless Sulphurs, yes, a few. During these financial excursions I normally take some of the more rural routes rather than the super highways so that I can get a better idea of the nectar or host plant situation at roadside or near roadside.
I never see any milkweed and often wonder if anything could be done about that.

Anyway, happy watching of the orange and black parade everybody!

Contributed by Monarch Watch

New Orleans, LA

Latitude: 30 Longitude: -90.1

Observed by: Joel
Contact Observer

The observer's e-mail address will not be disclosed.
Contact will be made through a web-based form.