After lamenting our lack of finding any Monarch eggs this summer, even during the 2024 Blitz, now, a bit belatedly, they have begun to show up.  Today we found our first.  And just one.  We eventually found 5 Monarch Caterpillars today on some of the Common Milkweeds in our garden.  Four are included in the photo.  I was unable to get a good focused shot of the fifth.

On occasion, in some years past (e.g., 7/8/2018)we have brought found eggs inside on potted milkweed plants to protect them until they grow and ultimately emerge as butterflies.  Unfortunately this year we hadn’t planned that well.  So, now that eggs are showing up, we have no potted milkweed plants to put them on.  (And of course the same is true for any caterpillars we find that we would like to capture and rear.)

My first thought was to dig up some of the milkweed plants from our garden, but their root systems proved too unwieldy for potting (at least in a pot of a size that we could reasonably house inside).&npsb; So, the solution: head for one of our local garden nurseries that still has some Asclepias for sale.  We have purchased four (2 A. syriaca and 2 A. incarnata).  Hopefully, that will at least be enough to get our eggs (and caterpillars) that we find off to a good start.  Will try to keep you posted.

At the time (~10:20 AM), we had an air temperature of 71°F, a dew point of 60°F, 69% humidity, air pressure at 28.67 inches, with a 9 mph breeze coming from the WNW under mostly cloudy skies.

    Latitude:   40.922°N& nbsp;   and nbsp;       Longitude:  77.764°W

                       - Tim