Summer 2023: We're Back!

The Milkweed came up right on time, and the first Monarch explored my yard mid-May. It was a promising beginning and lived up to its promise! By June 30th, I had more caterpillars in one month than all of 2022.

My Milkweed is living up to its reputation, too. It has spread throughout the "allotted" garden space, crowded out lilies, tulips, and Fall Orpine. At this point, I had all the leaves I needed for the 75+ caterpillars that would grow and hatch in my little nursery.

In June, I had 24 eggs and caterpillars. While the weather was cool, and the summer seemed slow to start, the conditions were right. By July 10th, 26 butterflies graced my garden: 14 males and 12 females. Then, of course it began all over again.

The first signs of NPV virus and the Tachnid fly appeared in early June. My regimen of sterilizing the caterpillar condos and rinsing the leaves with a mild Clorox solution kept my caterpillars healthy. The only ones that succumbed to the virus were those that were mature when I found them.

As the summer fades into fall, there are fewer eggs, as it should be. Let's see if I find that one last caterpillar that races the frost.