Date: 08/29/2011

Number: 1

While watering our intermediate school waystation yesterday, I found 15 caterpillars of varying instars for the start of school this week. I left several final instars to complete their cycle at the waystation. Later that day my wife and I went out to our primary school prairie to gather milkweed for the caterpillars. Our prairie is one year old this August. My wife and I have been planting swamp milkweed (near the pond), common milkweed, and butterfly weed since last September. We found 4 final instar caterpillars while gathering milkweed. I have found over the years that when the monarch population in the spring is low, the caterpillar population in the fall is high. Last year we had many caterpillars throughout the summer, but this year it has only been in August that I have seen the population increase.

Courtesy of Monarch Watch

Shawano, WI

Latitude: 44.8 Longitude: -88.6

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