Date: 05/21/1999

Number: 1

Contributed by Monarch Watch

I spotted my first monarch (a female in medium condition - 3 on a scale of
1 to 5) of the year in Roseville MN (lat 45.00 degrees, long about 93
degrees) on May 21. This is within three days of my first sighting for
several years. What is unusual is that almost every common and swamp
milkweed plant in my garden (about 20 A. syriaca and 10 A. incarnata) has
at least two eggs on it, possibly laid by this female. I've never seen
this density of eggs in this suburban garden. There are no eggs on any of
the 6 A. tuberosa plants. The A. syriaca has been up since Apr 28 and is
from 10" to 16" high. The A. incarnata emerged 8 days ago.

On the contentious Bt issue, it would be extremely useful for people on
this list to monitor milkweed plants in and near corn fields. We need to
know how many milkweed plants grow in and near corn fields, and the degree
to which monarchs use these plants. We need this

Roseville, MN

Latitude: 45 Longitude: -93.2

Observed by: Karen
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