April 4, 2006

Milkweed is poking up around here in Greensboro.

April 14, 2006
Today I found milkweed sprouts between 1/2" and 6" tall, and they were loaded with 90+ eggs as follows:

1 plant, one half inch tall--2 eggs

2 plants, one inch tall-- 4 and 7 eggs

6 plants, two inches tall --4, 3, 15, 10, 5 and 17 eggs

1 plant, three inch tall-- 6 eggs

2 plants, six inches tall (leaves still not open)--6 and 7 eggs

4 or so plants, 3 to 4 inch plants tall--1 or 2 eggs.

I don't see how that many eggs were going to survive on that small of plants. Maybe the early caterpillars would feed on any unhatched eggs as Lincoln Brower suggested, get a boost and maintain pace with the milkweed as it continues to emerge. Anyhow, I collected the "loaded" stems by cutting them off underground, like harvesting asparagus.