Date: 04/01/2004

Number: 1

I do not usually get many larvae on the Journey North. However, this
past weekend, I counted 12 larvae in one milkweed-plant grouping. Five
have since hung and turned into chrysalis. At least four more are out
there and have chosen secretive hanging spots that I've yet to find.
The rest are still churning away at the plants. Four climbed all the
way to the eaves of the house, the fifth has found a large pot that
seems an ideal place to hang as well. I have probably around 10 larvae
in the 1/2 to 1 inch size scattered in four locations. The abundance
I'm seeing on my plants is definitely up from last year. Firstly, last
year, I had very little milkweed as it froze to the ground, unlike this
year when it never died back. Only one butterfly; looked fairly new and
she laid just a few eggs this weekend that I saw. I tend to see more
egg-laying done on the migration south than going north, so this is
quite a decent number for my garden this year. I think I am on the
eastern edge of the northbound route. Plus, this observation in my
garden would probably concur with the consensus that they haven't moved
very far East yet. I had one larvae that was most unusual. It looked
like someone had sliced it down the back and then stitched it up again,
it was most unusual. My only thought on this is that perhaps it got in
the nearby rose bush and walked under a thorn which maybe did the
damage. Any ideas?

Humble, TX

Latitude: 30 Longitude: -95.2

Observed by: Sue
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