Date: 08/30/2018

Number: 10

Lately, I've begun to gather eggs when I find them and have a sort of nursery where I bring in fresh milkweed leaves each day after they hatch and "raise" them until they are old enough to withstand the elements. I've seen a couple of the older ones starting to J-hang, only to be done in by something. But, I still have between 10-15 still in the wings (so to speak) waiting for their chance. I have a pretty large stand of wild milkweed for them to grow up in.

I noticed that when the larva get to be about 1" long, typical of adolescents, they seem "bored". So, I assumed they were ready to go outside. boy, were they! Almost as soon as they notice the fresh air of the outdoors, they become animated and, I can only guess, are doing their version of running on the leaf they were eating. So, all I have to do is put their leaf on top of a plant's leaf, and off they go! I put out 3 yesterday and 3 more today. I try to keep track of them after they're out on plants, but they can really move when they want. So, for today, I took a count of around 20--about 6 of which look like they might be close to "time".

Martinsburg, MO

Latitude: 39.1 Longitude: -91.6

Observed by: diana
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