Date: 09/26/2023

Number: 6

Obviously the Monarchs that I have been seeing in singles for the last 2 weeks have not all reached reproductive diapause. I had 3 small Zizotes Milkweeds resprout in early September. They are about 4 inches tall. Yesterday I discovered 6 Monarch larva, 3rd instar, on the milkweed. Obviously, there was not enough milkweed for all of them to reach maturity, so I moved them to two potted Asclepias tuberosa that had plenty of leaves for them. When I checked on them 3 hours later, not a larva could be found. This morning I found one on the lip of a pot and moved it back to the Zizotes. Since this area of Texas has little to none when it comes to milkweed at this time of year, if this should happen again, what should I do? Any ideas why the larva did not stay on the Butterfly Weed? I have read that it is not a favorite but when it's the only choice, why wouldn't they stay?

Horseshoe Bay, TX

Latitude: 30.5 Longitude: -98.4

Observed by: Sondra
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