Date: 11/22/2021

Number: 130

I started growing milkeed and nectar producing flowers this spring, and mid summer I started gathering eggs and rearing caterpillars indoors through the chrysalis stage until they emerged.
Upon emerging I released the monarch butterflies outside.
Some were raised as caterpillars in a screened enclosure containing several milkweed plants, until they emerged as butterflies.
I had two enclosures outside and when the milkweed plants got depleted in one, and the butterflies released, those plants were allowed to regrow, and the 2nd enclosure was used.
All told I released over 130 monarch butterflies this summer, and still have 6 chrysalis almost ready to emerge.
My goal is 250 next summer.
I'm enclosing a pic of the inside setup. I started putting 6-8 milkweed cuttings in the enclosure, set in thin neck bottles of water, and would have up to 20 caterpillars in there at a time.
There's currently just the 6 monarch chrysalis, and one single "queen" caterpillar about 1 1/2" long.

Valrico, FL

Latitude: 27.9 Longitude: -82.3

Observed by: Daniel
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