Date: 09/24/2015

Number: 43

I collected a large number of 5th instar larvae in an extensive stand of narrow leaved milkweed along the Spokane River. I had gone to investigate a report of this species of milkweed (uncommon for N. Idaho) and found not only the huge expanse of milkweed lining the river, but rescued 43 large caterpillars at the same time! The nights have been dipping into the thirties, and daytime temps in the 60's so I have placed them in a 75+ degree room to hurry them up. Within three days, half have already formed J's or chrysalises. The others are not far behind. They still need an unusually warm bit of weather to be able to make it south, but so far, we have been getting that in the Northwest, so I thought it was worth a try. I will be tagging all the adults with tags from the "Monarchs in the Pacific Northwest" migration research project (check them out on Facebook!), so we'll keep an eye out for recoveries of these late bloomers.

Post Falls, ID

Latitude: 47.7 Longitude: -117

Observed by: Bill
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