Date: 03/20/2024

Number: 33

Today I did a milkweed survey for monarch eggs and larvae. I looked at 251 native milkweed plants (Asclepias viridis) and found a total of 213 eggs and 33 larvae. I did the survey from 10:30am – 4:30pm, covering about four acres.

It was a cool, overcast day with temps in the mid-60’s. I saw monarchs at times, including three egg-laying females around noon, but it was a bit chilly for their usual activity. I observed a good many newly emerged milkweed plants, so there are good options for the monarchs in the coming days.

These are the monarch egg count results:

107 milkweed w/0 eggs
102 milkweed w/1 egg
27 milkweed w/2 eggs
9 milkweed w/3 eggs
2 milkweed w/4 eggs
3 milkweed w/5 eggs
0 milkweed w/6 eggs
1 milkweed w/7 eggs


These are the monarch larvae count results:

1st instars: 27
2nd instars: 6

Note: Some of the milkweed with 0 or some eggs also had one or more larvae.

This is a photo of one of the little monarch caterpillars seen today munching on a milkweed leaf.

Montgomery, TX

Latitude: 30.4 Longitude: -95.8

Observed by: Kathy
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