Date: 06/12/1997

Number: 1

On Thursday June 12th I found my first Monarch eggs of the season i small butterfly garden in Terre Haute, IN. It has been very cool and rainy here for quite some time. Generally I do not find Monarch eggs in my garden until July 4th. I tried another source, a railroad track about 1 1/2 miles away where milkweed grows sporadically until mowing begins. I found about 20 eggs and 10 baby caterpillars, only a couple of days old. I also found two 1" (25 mm) which is apparently fourth instar caterpillars, and signs of lots of previous eating on the milkweed. On June 13th I saw a very faded female monarch in my garden on the flower heads of milkweed.I think she was seeking nectar, but nothing is blooming yet. I did not see her attempt to oviposit.I found only the normal 1 or 2 per plant. But, my co-worker brought me 12 caterpillars from 55 mi. So.of Terre Haute, which were on butterfly weed, and said there were many more. Of those 12, only 2 were not parasitized.

Terre Haute, IN

Latitude: 39.4 Longitude: -87.4

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