Nectar Flower

[Farfalla Butterfly Co.]

Hi All,

I'm feeding my monarchs nectar in the flight house but want to add nectar flowers.  I planted some in the flight house, but no flowers yet.  If I buy nectar plants, spray them with miltons and rinse, will the miltons get rid of any OE that could have been left by wild Monarchs at the nursery?  

Thank you,

Keri

[Josh Yu]

Or try looking for those plants that are just about to flower, but have never flowered yet. The chances of wild Monarchs visiting the plants will be slim. 

And yes, do rinse with Milton to offer peace of mind. 

Hope that helps. 

Joshua Y.

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[Sally Allen]

We have 1 or 2 wild Monarchs visiting our Milkweed every day - don’t know how to spot the eggs on the leaves but have had 4 or 5 larvae but can only spot 2 cocoons now…larva have been clever to hide and am surprised at how much ground they can cover. After cocoon forms, how long till butterfly emerges?

Sally 

[Dale McClung]

Keti,

OE transfer from nectar plants is an infinitesimal risk. There are no monarch larva feeding on the plants and the adults do not readily pick up spores on contact except from each other when breeding. If you wish to sanitize the plants with Milton or another plant sanitize, you may do so, but it is more for the plant's health than OE. I do not plant nectar plants in my flight house. I have them in 5 gal. pots so I can rotate them in and out as needed. With anything in the ground when it blooms it is fine, but many plants may only be in bloom for a short while.

What nectar plants did you plant? Is your flight house sunny or in shade (roofed)?

Dale McClung

[Dale McClung]

Sally,

First of all, monarch butterflies do not form a cocoon. Their pupa are called a chrysalis as it is for most all butterflies. A cocoon is a silk house or wraps of leaf litter woven primarily by moths around their pupa.

The butterfly should eclose (emerge) in about eight days this time of year. The timing depends on temperature, cooler longer, warmer shorter.

Dale McClung

[Keri Wright]

Hi Date, Heehee! Thanks much for your input! I planted Marigolds, Mexican Sunflowers,and 2 others that I can't remember at the moment.  I looked then up though, too make sure Monarchs like them. I have part sun in the flight house depending on the time of day.

Many Thanks,

Keri

[Keri Wright]

Thank you, Josh! I appreciate your input.

Keri

[Sally Allen]

Thank you, Dale for your quick response to my question. 

I called the Monarch pupa a cocoon because yesterday I came across an article stating that the Monarch pupa contains no silk so therefore it is more accurately called a cocoon instead of a chrysalis…of course that information might be erroneous.

Sally 

[Dale McClung]

Sally,

Huh? What is the article? Did Al Gore write it? He invented the internet y'know.

Caterpillars of butterflies use silk to attach themselves to the surface they are going to pupate on. With monarchs, it is a silk pad where the cremaster is embedded when the caterpillar molts to form the pupa. With swallowtails and some others like sulphurs, they form a silk button for the cremaster plus silk supports called a saddle to hang as a pupa at an angle. As caterpillars they spin silk constantly as they move. If you watch a caterpillar crawl, they move their head from side to side laying down silk as they travel. That is why they can crawl up glass. They build their own ladder everywhere they go. If you raise a caterpillar in a small container, it will eventually become thinly covered inside wilt a silk film.

Dale

[Sally Allen]

It was a USDA article: I’ll try to find again.  Seemed pretty official