Date: 04/29/2013

Number: 1

I inspected the Urban Reach milkweed patch today and found lots of monarch caterpillars feeding on the milkweed. I observed a total of 23 monarch caterpillars on the main patch, most of them being large and about 1.5 inches in length, and one small individual about ¾ of an inch long. I also observed four large monarch caterpillars feeding on the milkweed patch between the river and the walk for a grand total of 27 caterpillars observed this morning. There are 2 chrysalis beneath the overlook ledge and one caterpillar is currently in a j-hook about to form a chrysalis in the same general area.

There were lots of ladybugs and ladybug larvae all over the plants, as well as numerous beetles, aphids and other assorted insects. Since last week, the leaf beetle population has surged significantly and the leaf beetle larvae have devoured a lot of the milkweed leaves. This pattern is consistent with past spring conditions experienced each year over the past few years at this patch. We were able to manually remove many of the leaf beetles this morning and believe the plants will recover and continue to provide habitat for the monarchs.

San Antonio, TX

Latitude: 29.4 Longitude: -98.5

Observed by: Mary
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