Date: 02/15/2011

Number: 1

Every day for the past month we have been seeing 1 or 2 monarchs fly by the house. This seems unusually low.

This week we cut down all of our milkweed. We do this every year at roughly this time. It is usually infested with aphids and grows better once well topped. We also planted additional, fresh seed.

Hence, there is no milkweed up at our location for Monarchs to lay eggs. Most eggs are laid here between July 15 and September 15 with most in mid August. Then there is another much smaller period of egg laying in December and January. Those caterpillars are about 20% smaller than those during the summer months.

Had almost no eggs laid in Summer 2010. It was cold and overcast.

In 2009 the chrysalis were attacked by something that bore a hold in them and liquafied the bodies. It took about 70% of all the chrysalis.

Ventura, CA

Latitude: 34.3 Longitude: -119.3

Observed by: Sandra
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