Date: 04/16/2011

Number: 1

From Waystation 1692, Brevard NC (Western NC) This afternoon I saw a female in our recently emerged (April 9th) common milkweed patch. We have over 300 plants now--some of which are just poking out of the ground and some are about 6" high. She laid eggs on most of them--even the stems. She even laid an egg on a violet leaf next to a milkweed. I got a good look at her--faded, but flying vigorously. She stopped to nectar on wood hyacinths. So the monarch flags are out!

April 17
A faded female was back again this afternoon ovipositing on the common milkweed. This is a growing concern for me because, even though we have over 300 plants, they are barely out of the ground. As I mentioned yesterday, a few are about 5-6". I may need to go to a nursery to supplement until the others grow. Anyone else had this happen? Last year we didn't have activity until mid August! We had a massive front come through from the west on Sat with strong winds.
Maybe they got blown off course?

Courtesy of Monarch Watch

Brevard, NC

Latitude: 35.2 Longitude: -82.8

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