Date: 06/12/2007

Number: 1

The year is beginning very well for Monarchs in Manitoba.
I took some holiday time and could not report earlier. Also, I came home to a load of Spring preparations.

Monarchs were here in force when I looked out on June 2nd and there were plenty of eggs.
Monarchs are now around my land continuously, egg-laying in ernest, and a male is handy for tanking up the females. I found one first instar outdoors June 11th, the hot weather will speed up the hatching.

I have not tried an MLMP count yet. But ranging over a couple acres of milkweed it looks like 1 egg on every second plant. One small shoot of common milkweed, 8 inches tall, has 8 eggs, and 4 are on one leaf. A quick count on the way to the "dump" gave
8 eggs, 1 first instar and 1 weevil(Rhyssomatus lineaticollis) on 10 stems of common milkweed.

This year I found the first eggs on the dwarf milkweed A.Ovalifolia and never on the common milkweed. Some of the common had been 'topped' by rabbits (not deer), and the Monarchs have not laid any eggs on the re-grown stems, preferring to lay on adjacent, even very small stems. Later ovipositing has occurred on the common, which makes up the bulk of the 'biomass' here.

For the first time I found A.Tuberosa - butterflyweed - plants for sale in Winnipeg. I will try to over-winter it in a sheltered spot.
This one has sat outside in a large pot set among common milkweed plants and has no eggs. I believe this isn't unusual.

Courtesy of Monarch Watch

Winnipeg, MB

Latitude: 49.5 Longitude: -97.1

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