Date: 08/31/2002

Number: 1

We have been monitoring home gardens and our experimental garden of 120 or
so Buddleias plants at Sweet Briar College. Also, SBC has large meadows
with healthy Asclepias syriaca growing. Monarchs are here at the College
now (last two weeks of August) in very small numbers as at home gardens
which is fairly typical. The next few weeks will tell the story of how
well they are doing in this part of their range.
Larvae have been few and far between this summer..

31 August 2002. LPB
checked our milkweed patches out in the meadows next to the new observatory
slab at Sweet Briar College, Amherst County VA. The milkweeds (Asclepias
syriaca) have responded to haying in last month plus the recent rain and
are in good condition, all about 1.5 feet high, none blooming or in pod.
Checked about 300 plants for evidence of 5th instar eating (frass
accumulation on leaves, plus monarch chewing); Found only one late 5th
instar larva.

LPB's home garden Asclepias syriaca plants in a patch of about 40 milkweeds
(now over 6 feet tall and in pod) in Roseland,VA has not had any monarch
immatures on the 40 plants since 10 May when I found 13 first instars.
See data entry below

10 May 2002. LPB home, Cat Rock Mountain, garden in front of our house.
An area of about 8 x 2 m. Counted 41 ramet stems of the single A. syriaca
plant that my gardener Meg Smith planted two years ago.. They are ranging
in size from 8 to 18 inches and are pristine and healthy pre bud and early
bud stage.
Found a total of 13 first instar larvae, all about the same growth stage
(probably 2 days old), plus evidence of 4 more based on holes chewed
through the leaves. Very likely all laid by same female.
Larvae are mostly in the apical leaves.
Plants are very healthy. A few have earwigs in the apical leaves and
developing buds, and a few had some aphids being tended by ants.

LPB census: around noon, 10 May 02.
21 plants, pre bud 0 (no eggs or larvae)
Early bud, 4 plants had one first instar on apical leaves.
Prebud, 6 plants had firsts in the apical leaves
Prebud, one plant had 1 first instar larva on underside of a sub-apical leaf.
Early bud, underside of lower leaf, 1 first
Prebud, apical. One larva mired and dead.
No eggs seen.

Sweet Briar, VA

Latitude: 37.6 Longitude: -79.1

Observed by: Lincoln
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