God the butterfly care community are so much nicer than the reptile care community. Y'all are wonderful

@MrLundScience

4 жыл бұрын

That's how we roll.

I planted milkweed in my yard years ago but never saw any caterpillars but I did have monarchs visiting my plants a lot (I found out by sitting outside watching that wasps and spiders were grabbing the tiny caterpillars. I decided to do a KZread search about it, found you - watched your 5 part series and oh my - so far I have released 7 butterflies and have a few more that may hatch or whatever you call it - I am having so much fun, but it can also be devastating when caterpillars have seizures, spew green stuff and even with me admitting them to ICU they still die. Well today I had a butterfly hatch that was hidden in the plant and it fell into water - I tried to save it but to no avail, he did go ahead with me holding him and put his straw together but just could not fill the wings. Anyway thanks for your videos - I just hope I am not doing more harm than good...

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

Unfortunately, yes, losses will happen. Still, the ones that make it through the process are grateful for your help. Thanks for taking this on!

I’ve been raising butterflies passionately since I was just 8 years old, and was even treated as the butterfly expert in 3rd grade! Still, I’m learning a lot from your videos!!

Ah! We are just now getting through what (by symptoms) seems to be an NPV outbreak in two of our enclosures. I’ve never seen anything seemingly take hold of our little guys so quickly! At first, they just sort of folded and died, some just looking like they were still alive, but no “liquefying”. Then we had j-ing cats die, and lastly, started losing fresh chrysalides. They would look a healthy, brilliant green, and suddenly be yucky brown within minutes to an hour. We’ve lost around 20, with 2 still quarantined. I’ve always been so careful, but clearly missed something. Thank you for stressing the importance of sanitizing our Monarchs’ temporary homes. As hard as it’s been to have so many not make it, I’m grateful the virus hasn’t spread any further- and that our many others are safe. A bit of good news... my family’s efforts to help the monarch population are working! I’ve been able to find very few plants (out of hundreds) in our hilltop milkweed patch that don’t have tons of eggs or munching caterpillars. Earlier in the summer, we would only find eggs on the small groupings of plants nearby. There are so many, we can’t take them all in- the nursery, overflow nursery, and overflow overflow nursery are all full! Hooray for the butters! I can’t begin to tell you how much your videos have helped and inspired me, Mr. Lund! Thank you! Thank you!

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

That's some fantastic good news about your milkweed patch! Awesome to hear that the eggs and cats are plentiful! I needed that good news today. Thank you!

just found my first ever monarch caterpillar (4th or 5th instar) while i was looking for eggs, and i’m very excited to rear it to hopefully a healthy adult. Thank you for all your informative content, I would have been clueless without these videos.

My containers have a layer of paper towel. Two to three times a day I empty the frass off the paper towel and once a week or more change out the paper towel to a fresh one. I know some may feel paper towels are a waste but they are biodegradable especially since I use the paper bags from my pharmacy prescriptions to dispose in. Also I can detect green vomit easier which may be the sign of an unhealthy caterpillar. I then isolate the nearby caterpillar(s). I also sanitize eggs and all leaves which has helped my success rate. These videos have educated me so much - thanks!

10:08 you say that the ideal situation would be to have just one caterpillar per container. I rear in mason jars. That makes having one per container practical at about the third instar stage - though I do often keep more per jar until they are close to being ready to pupate. Jars are one of the options Monarch Watch recommends for rearing. I keep eggs singly in condiment cups, then first instars three or four to a four-ounce jelly jar, then at second or third instar I move them to pint jars (two per), then (singly) to quarts at fourth or fifth instar. I have a LOT of flats of jars. This does require winter storage space. It works great for me and they are easy to clean and sterilize; plus they last basically forever. I have some mason jars that are 80 years old - though those are not used for rearing, lol. Just thought I would share with you an option for keeping them housed singly.

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Jars, such as what you describe and Monarch Watch mentions, are certainly an option. What I like about my food containers is that they can be stacked (bottoms with bottoms, lids with lids) and don't take up too much space when not in use. But yes, many options exist. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for this. I never really sanitized containers when raising my 5 Monarchs because I was worried about the soap causing them to die. This is reassuring, thanks. 👍

Ive noticed here in northern Virginia we had ALOT of monarchs they were all over flying thru DC lol.I have a nice size patch of tropical milkweed ,swamp milkweed and butterfly weed.I have noticed that monarchs have a preference toward tropical milkweed.I love tropical milkweed because it needs no cold treatment,cuttings root in plain water,it grows fast,pretty flowers and its easier to manage than native milkweeds.I urge anyone growing tropical to cut it to the ground in fall and lay a good layer of mulch down to protect the roots in winter in zones 7 and 8.If tropical is planted outside in spring its root system is well established in the fall so it can come back if mulched well enough in zone 7.

Good to see your system is similar enough to mine. That's somehow very reassuring. This has been such a fun experience, being my first season of raising caterpillars (and I started late!) So far, I've lost one caterpillar to tachinid parasitism, but I also brought in two larger, healthy guys from outside at 5th instar and literally what wound up being a day away from pupating, and my two remaining older caterpillars have also pupated. So I have four chrysalises in two separate cages. The older two should be eclosing somewhere between this coming Monday and a week from today. The smaller ones should be a two or so days after, if all goes well. I'm so excited to see these guys become butterflies. I got to watch one pupate, because out of the four, only a single one was polite enough to do it in the daytime and let me see. It really goes fast! The last caterpillar thus far seems to be a fifth instar, despite my having thought it should have just molted to its fourth, but... yeah, I guess I missed a molt. I had an egg, but in the process of bleaching it, I accidentally squished it. :( These damn hands... But these videos have been CENTRAL to my success thus far. Every little question I could have, I could come to this channel and have it solved. r/monarchbutterflies has been a great place to hang out, too.

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

Others are telling me too that this seems to be the process most are already using. I think experience may have directed us independently to come up with similar procedures.

You are a wonderful human being. I wish everyone were like you.

Hey Rich! Thank you so much for making such informative videos. This is my first year attempting to raise Monarchs. I've got 5 in chrysalis right now - thought I was done - except for the release, of course. I just found another one in 4th instar on my Cinderella plant! I have no idea how it just appeared out of nowhere because I check it thoroughly every day. Your videos have contributed to my success and I just wanted to let you know you are appreciated. P.S. My Monarch journey has inspired two other households and I direct them to your videos for their training. Keep up the good work!

Have been planting several variities of milkweed & increasing other flowering plants for bees/hummers & butterflies. Thanks for your videos & suggestions. You're correct when you state the "numbers raised" are a true guiding baseline.

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you for not just helping the Monarchs but pollinators in general. Hope your season went well!

I thank you as always for making this sensible video. I just eclosed a Monarch that looked like a monster. I’m impressed with the knowledge that cleaning my container weekly with 5% bleach solution may deliver all normal Monarchs or close to it.

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

Glad that it could be of use!

First time..been waiting for 3 years for them to decide these plants were big enough, good enough to lay their eggs on, common Milkweed. Well, happy day! I had about 80+, eating like a house afire. We put Bird Netting up to keep them away....but it was the nighttime that was the wipe-them-out-time. Only about 50 and less each morning. Had ordered the net cages (still have not arrived!) and made our own Home for them. The Cats had literally eaten 3 of the 4 yr. old bushes - stripped them of small leaves, flower buds and down to the large leaves. I only had one place in town that was Organic and purchased all the milkweed they had (10 small pots), they wiped them out in 3 days - had already ordered 10 more (have yet to come in), HOWEVER, they only ate the small leaves. I see you put large leaves in your containers---what's your trick?? Since they were just dying in my container, I let them back loose and all (yep all) have made Chrysalis's---underneath our Stairs. I've removed some (too close together) and have done the dental floss then taped that floss to a pole with them about 3 inches or more on either side --- will do the remainder when I purchased another Pole and all will go in our Screened in Porch. Best I can do until the Release Cages Come and I can put the about to hatch in there with a pin through the Tape to hold them. Nope--I did not know about the Bleaching--and have no microscope---Yes, I was unprepared. I suppose this an example of someone with good intentions but stupidly uneducated and possibly will be releasing diseased Monarchs out into North Carolina. Thanks to your Video's----I will be much better prepared next Spring. Please keep up the Good Work and much Praise to everyone that is following in your footsteps. Grateful.

Lots of clear, concise instructions. Thank you for bringing awareness to the plight of Monarchs. This is my first year collecting eggs. I hope to release 22 Monarchs. I am converting gardens to pollinator gardens as well. Keep up the great work you are doing. Your passion is contagious! It will be interesting to see if the Monarchs are placed on the “Threatened or Endangered” list and what it will mean for us. I remember when the American Bald Eagle was almost wiped out by human carelessness. Hopefully Monarchs can make a comeback like the Eagles did.

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Definitely. Here's hoping. This is a cause, though, that when I first encountered it, saw it as not your typical conservation effort. It's something we can actively take part in helping out by doing some fairly normal things in our own back yards, like planting the correct types of plants. If the Monarch (at least, North American populations) were to go away, it truly would be due to our own apathy. The interest people have had in this was not predicted when I made the first five videos. So cool to meet so many enthused people!

I love your videos!!! Thank you so much!!!

Thanks Rich for all the videos you have put out here for us to learn from. What's sad is the fact that you have to defend yourself against people who just can't seem to leave others alone. They always want to take people down for some reason. And I'm sorry you have to put those things in your videos about yes you don't have to agree with what your saying it's just your way or your opinion on things and if it helps some then that's great. I can just imagine the reason you felt the need to say what you did. Anyway, thanks for your help and some of out here want your help with raising our Monarchs. Keep up the great work.

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for understanding, Bridget. I suppose I could omit those parts, and let things fly the way they may. Still, sometimes if I can get ahead of a potential issue and troubleshoot it, it might be saving me some headaches. As you say, if this information can benefit others, well, that's the intention. But, I've tried to always make it clear that I'm not an expert. I'm just a guy trying to help out the Monarch butterflies. I learn from experimentation, experience, and definitely from helpful knowledge from those who know more than I do. Not to mention, I learn from others who are part of this community. We learn from each other. I hope with the added message in there, others can see that it's a humbling experience, we don't have total control over it, and we all will make mistakes. What's important is that we learn as we go. Thanks for doing what you can to help them out as well!

I'm new to this as of today. Your videos have been really helpful. Did a few hours of looking today and got 40ish caterpillars all in different sizes. Found 6 eggs but gave those to a friend who got me intrested in this a few days ago. Thanks for sharing all the great info.

@MrLundScience

4 жыл бұрын

Happy to have helped! Thanks for using it!

Thank you so much for the info. I am going to take sanitation more seriously now too

Hi Rich. Epic success this season. Thanks to your series I collected many more eggs this year than I had in the past.....with great success. I have released 376 butterflies so far and have 20 chrysalides remaining. I’m near Toronto so latitude wise it may be getting a bit late in the season.....but it is what it is. I had massive overcrowding issues because I obsessively kept collecting eggs and cats.....fortunately I had very few casualties.....about 12. Next season I’ll be increasing my habitat numbers and bleach treating more often. Thanks for your series and your dedication to this worthy endeavour.

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Hey Northern neighbor! Sorry about our current political situation, by the way. Cool to hear that these videos have been useful to you. Yeah, it's late in the season, and the later it gets, the less of a chance they have, but still, they've had a better chance with your help than without. Great to hear that you had such success!

Love your videos’ I’m raising monarchs for three years I’m from Michigan to love your videos

Thank you for your videos! They're very helpful!

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

You're welcome, for sure. Glad to be of service if I can be.

I excitedly started raising monarchs about 3 weeks ago after watching your videos and buying some milkweed plants raised for the local Florida butterflies. I decided to bring them to enclosures on my screened porch after having no cats survive past instar 2 - or perhaps one made it to 3. I pretty much followed all your suggestions, cleaning frass daily and rinsing leaves but did not bleach the leaves or enclosure.Unfortunately all stopped eating and died mostly at instar 2, a few at 1 or 3. No black bodies or unusual discharge. One made it to J hanging but I found him on the floor of his enclosure after about 24 hours with a partially shed skin and a blackish discoloration at the other end. No evidence of parasites. He did appear small, hadn’t been eating for 24 hours and looked uncoordinated at during the last 48 hours before J hanging. Your videos gave me the impression that NPV or OE are mostly manifest at the chrysalis stage but since all the others, about 10, died around instar 2 and without signs of OE or NPV I am wondering if this could be something else. The porch probably has been getting up to 90 degrees but they do not have direct sun and their enclosures have excellent ventilation. I would try bleaching eggs and progressing from there but there are no eggs remaining. I am hopeful that bleaching the leaves and weekly sanitation of the enclosure will save the last cat that I retrieved from the outdoor plants yesterday. Any thoughts on the cause of my losses? Thanks so much. It has been surprisingly sad.

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Ouch. That's unfortunate, and I'm sure didn't feel good. It can happen, though, so I hope you're not too discouraged. I would agree, if they aren't turning black, you should be able to rule out NPV, and OE parasites, if they take them out, it's usually during the chrysalis stage, as that's when they *really* start using the Monarchs resources to form the spores, and if there's enough of them, can lead to fatalities. There's two things, then, that jump to mind. One would be some amount of bacterial infection. Bacterial infections can definitely take out, en masse, caterpillars. And if the bacteria was plentiful enough, it can take out the younger ones even easier than the larger, older ones. The other possibility would be pesticides. I know that you have stated that you purchased these plants that were specifically raised for Florida butterflies, and yet, this sounds very similar to what pesticides would do - taking most out when they're pretty young. If you confirm with those you purchased it from that there were no pesticides (not even "organic" pesticides, like BT bacteria) then I'd be forced to lean towards bacterial infection. Again, I don't know, but that'd be the most likely possibility. The 90 degree temperature shouldn't have been a problem for them at all. Sorry that I don't have a better, more firm answer for you. If it was bacterial, the bleach treating of leaves should be able to prevent that in the future, or at least prevent the majority of it. As I say in the video, I haven't had any outbreaks since doing this level of sanitation. I *have* still had losses, but it's always been just one at a time, followed by sanitation. So, no bacteria or NPV could get a foothold and cause infection in others. Good luck with your remaining ones!

Another great video🦋🦋

@MrLundScience

4 жыл бұрын

Merci!

Thank you for Helping my kid Learn About butterflies

@MrLundScience

2 жыл бұрын

Thank *you* for raising a kid who is interested in learning about them!

I was very confused a few days ago when 2 of my healthy monarchs out of 3 (who were separated from the rest because they were older) died, turning black only in the middle and falling sideways. The third looked okay but this morning he had suffered the same fate, though he was also separated from the rest because I knew he might die of the same thing. I will definitely sanitize the larvae today!! There are 7 others who are separate from the ones who died.

Awesome video! Tagged 11 reared Butter flies today, its been a great year here north central, WV for Monarchs!

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

Awesome to hear! Yep...it's tagging time!

Great video.

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks. I hope it can be a helpful resource for those who wanted to see how I do it.

Thank you again!!!

Thanks for responding so quickly, got my containers all set up, and have 2 already in the chrysalis stage and 1 j and several at different stages. I collected eggs and just watched your 2nd video to see if i was doing it correctly. So far no luck hatching any but it has only been about 4 days. We have lots of butterflies right now and I copied your trap for getting the female to lay eggs and it worked fine. so I am hoping to complete the cycle by having an egg hatch, then I will have gone through the whole process. My Grandkids are my cat hunters LOL So I have them involved now. I am looking forward to your outside project,,as I want to try to hang them up like yours and need a place to do it. Again thanks for all your information

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Filming some of the last parts today. Editing begins to night. A few days out, but on its way. A new Herp Quest is coming out soon too. Do your Grand kids enjoy the occasional turtle?

This is the first year that I have raised monarchs. I have released three and have three more on the way. I’ve lost two to flies. I’m going to start a few larger patches of milkweed next year

you are sooo helpful

@MrLundScience

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Thank you for taking the information and using it!

Thank you for this video. This is the part of raising catipiliers that takes up so much of my time and I was interested to see how you do it.

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

No problem. I have tried to streamline things as best I can without infringing upon the health of the lil' guys.

@donnasaverino8949

5 жыл бұрын

@@MrLundScience I would also love to see how you do it. Let us see the room and watch you while you go through the whole process. I vision you having large shelving with many containers all in some kind of order.

Hey rich👋 , it’s cool to see parallel thinking. I literally do exactly everything you showed in this video. 1 exception, I only sanitize at the end of every season, all my containers. However that’s not fine print. I have so many food containers for 1-3 instars that they end up getting switched sometimes anyway. We use the exact pet containers as well for 4-5th instars. (You’ve seen my setup). And with the exception of floral tubes. The cats frass also doesn’t stick as much as yours does though. It’s also cool to see something and be like oh, that’s what I do. I haven’t had OE , NPV, or a bacterial infection in 2 years. So whatever I’m doing works. I also go by numbers. I raised 22 3rd generation monarchs this year, and about 30 4th generation that will continue emerging this past week up until mid October. Yeah I have a lot:). All of the 4th Gen are being tagged. Hope you had a good season! . But thanks to your videos , trial and error, I’ve learned a lot! And keep learning! -Greg.

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

Interesting to see that you, and others, are telling me that this is essentially what they do already. Perhaps we've already done some of the trial and error and found out what works for our systems already. Experience teaches us plenty.

@dorothyandrews8872

5 жыл бұрын

I just started last yr when I found this you tuber, you say you have a set up do you have a KZread channel? I am trying to learn as much as I can to be successful.

Love the hair color on you

Thanks, very helpful.

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

You're most definitely welcome. I'm glad that this can be of use to people.

I recommend using a paper towel in the bottom of the container and that makes it even EASIER to clean Rich. That way you can still take out the older milkweed and just throw the paper towel with the frass in it away OR you can just dump the frass off of the paper towel and re-use it a few times, depending on how clean it is. ;-)

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Certainly a modification that can work. Still, I sanitize pretty periodically these days, so sticking to not using paper towel saves a few dollars for me. But I've definitely thought about it before, and in the next video on outdoor rearing, I think paper towel will be a necessity.

@donnasaverino8949

5 жыл бұрын

@@MrLundScience I agree with johnifly. My containers are black and hard to see small instars. What I do is buy paper towel that is perforated half sized. Pull off long sheets still attached and fold up accordion style. fold that in half and cut. Now pull the sheets apart so you only have 1 ply. Then pull at perforated sheets and you have made 4 sheets from just one small sheet. I do 10 so I have 40 squares when done.

@jackieperez7735

4 жыл бұрын

Just a question. I just started this adventure of raising these beauties and I find so many eggs. I also find lil ones. I do use the paper napkins ,but I noticed that the lil ones get stuck there....do they or do they just stop there? I also don’t have those huge leaves you do. I have small ones, is that ok? I started last month and already set free 3 monarchs and one swallowtail.

Glad to see I have relatively the same system as you :)

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

If you haven't seen them yet, check out Raising Monarchs Parts 1 - 5. That's the "core" of the series, and these other episodes are all what you could call "supplemental". Parts 1 - 5 show the entire process from egg collecting to adult release, and everything I do in my system. The other episodes were made to cover other details that people had questions about. There's many videos now, but the info in Parts 1 - 5 is still pretty much how I do it. Thank you for helping the Monarchs!

Hello Mr.Lund, Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with butterflies. I recently found your videos and am so glad I did. My niece and I took in 3 eggs. This is my first time seeing the entire process. I’m sorry to say I was ignorant of OE and that I live in a high OE area. I now suspect that all three became infected, as the two who emerged (one did not) were weak (fell from chrysalis). Once I realized something was wrong, I felt horrible (still do) and I immediately wanted answers as to how I could do better. I am loving watching the videos in this series and the milkweed series. I not only feel more informed but ready to help these amazing creatures.

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Fret not about the OE. I was in your shoes once, and I was oblivious to its existence. We learn as we go. I am just fortunate to live where OE isn't prevalent, but if I were in Florida, I would have experienced similar. As we learn more each year, our process refines and improves. Good luck this season!

@birdy-vd8nv

5 жыл бұрын

MrLundScience thank you! I cut back my milkweed and it’s already growing new sprouts! Im getting more tomorrow as well. Good luck to you as well!

Hi again MrLund! I am currently raising 28 Cats and all eggs were bleach treated so I’m waiting to see the results when they can be tested for OE spores after they make their chrysalis and emerge as butterflies. I’m hoping I have a awesome result. I will always do the bleach treatment in future rearing’s..it’s a little more work but worth it if I’m releasing healthy monarchs. Will update again when these guys emerge.. Happy rearing to you 😊

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Cassandra! Good luck with your care taking!

@Seeba1967

5 жыл бұрын

MrLundScience update finally on the bleach treatment I did.i gathered a few more eggs from the 28 I had that brought my total egg count to 35 and those 7 eggs were treated also. They all were OE free.. I did raise 36 total but the one was a cat I found and raised.sadly it had OE and I had to euthanize so no OE on bleach treated eggs and 35 healthy monarchs released into the world to make more monarchs!

I subscribed because he still posts about monarchs cause I saw vids from 2k14

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Indeed he does. And he's posting a new one tomorrow!

For sanitizing the containers, another good method after hand washing them, is to use purell food service sanitizing spray. It's strong enough to kill norovirus in 30 seconds and less toxic than bleach :)

Great video series, I'm watching them straight through from #1. I'm wondering why you are tossing the frass instead of adding it to your garden? I read that frass is an excellent compost/fertilizer for milkweed.

Hello, love you videos! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I have a few questions. If the newly hatched caterpillar does not eat it’s egg should I be concerned? I’ve had it happen to several. Is it ok if there is condensation in the containers? Do you suggest drilling air holes? I’ve noticed today I have a caterpillar or two with it’s feelers curling. Have you seen this? Is it a disease? I hope you can help! Thanks!

To add on my daughter and I wash are hands too before changing them twice a day.

Is there a more natural treatment, like vinegar or neem, that would emulate the bleach cleaning without the chemicals?

what are the containers called with the green top? i need to get some for my 4th and 5th instar caterpillars but don’t know what they are called

I have a milkweed in a pot and have a large 2-ft mesh rectangle container around it, how do you clean it when the milkweed is in the soil and you don’t have a tiny container like that?

I raised 23 monarchs

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

Nice! Way to go!

@ewankirkpatrickcom

5 жыл бұрын

I raised about 10 monarchs and maybe 30 painted ladies

What a relief! I’ve been way overdoing it. Maybe no wonder my cats have been dying. Thank you. How important is humidity? And is your hair actually red in this video? 😬

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Red? Maroon? Fuchsia? Who can say? As for humidity, I don't of it to be a significant factor. Too moist, though, and mold can grow on the leaves easier. Too dry, and the leaves dry out sooner. So, as long as you aren't at either extreme, it should go well.

next year I'm probably gonna do the separate containers thing because this year had 26 caterpillars at once in one mesh cage and there was too much poop and stuff, so it wasn't great. This is my third year raising monarchs and I have released 41 monarchs this year so far and only have five caterpillars left. Since swallowtails aren't as messy as monarchs I will be raising my black, pipevine and spicebush caterpillars in mesh cages again and monarchs in plastic containers.

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

Yep, they definitely have some differences. I'm not all that experienced with other butterflies, but I have raised some Swallowtails twice. The first time was terrible, and lost them all. Mistakenly bought some "organic" parsley from a store, ignorant to the idea that "organic" farmers can still call it organic, even if they are treating it with the natural BT bacteria as a pesticide. Lesson learned.

thank u vrey mach

@MrLundScience

2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

I have 2 questions 1. How do they breathe in the closed containers? 2. Why do you not use a wet paper towel in the bottom of the container? Thanks. I just got into helping out the monarchs first I started off by planting milkweed so far I have about 20 plants . I had 4 monarchs hatch today and they are the cutest.🐛🐛🐛

Will most caterpillars have the same sick symptoms? I'm rasing painted ladys but there chrysalis doesn't turn green like the monarch, how will I know if they are sick?

Hi Rich, Thanks for your terrific videos! I only just started raising 4th generation monarchs this year in the Rochester, NY area. Since I got a late start, I only gathered about 10 eggs, two are still in chrysalis, four females and two males made it and are released, one cat was not able to make a chrysalis, and two chrysalises turned dark, and just dried out. Not sure why, but I thought that sanitation might have something to do with it. I raised them in small food containers until they reached the second instar, at which point I moved them to clear plastic, empty, l gl water jugs (tops removed) and kept never more than two to a container, always with a small stalk of milkweed with several leaves for them to feed and climb around; they seemed to like climbing "up." I cleaned them out twice a day and sprayed the containers with full strength hydrogen peroxide, then scrubbed and rinsed with clear water. I hope that was sufficient. You recommend 5% bleach solution for sanitation and cleaning the leaves. I only washed the leaves,, both with and without the eggs, in water. Perhaps that was not sufficient and caused the loss of three developing monarchs. What do you think? Since I kept the 5th instars separate, one to each container, I believe that whatever afflicted the three monarchs, did not spread. As a general rule, I prefer hydrogen peroxide to cleaning and sterilizing, as I am very sensitive to the bleach odor, but, perhaps that is not sufficient. Question: None of the released monarchs stayed around. I hope that they were able to start their migration, but worry that they might have fallen prey to something...? What?? One more thing: I did not yet registered with monarch watch, but should I let them know what I have released, even though they were not tagged. Sorry to bombard you with so many questions, but I want to do this right! Perhaps you have some suggestions me? I would much appreciate it. Thanks a whole bunch!

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Greetings Evelyn! Hydrogen peroxide is definitely a disinfectant. It's an unstable molecule that is capable of many different reactions with organic material, be it bacteria, viruses, or even human tissues. So yes, it can be effective, but there's two reasons I wouldn't use it. The first deals with concentration. The 5% bleach solution described in this video is diluted from the "straight" bleach that can be store bought. So, you're able to buy something more concentrated than you need, and then dilute it to a concentration that is potent enough to suit the needs. With hydrogen peroxide, that's much more difficult to do. The normal hydrogen peroxide that is available at a typical drug store will be 3% by weight. Some hair salons may sell a 6% solution, as it's also used for bleaching hair at that strength. Still, 3% is what most will come by and I don't know that such a strength is strong enough to take care of the NPV virus. I'll admit, it could be, but I don't know that it is, nor what the exposure time to the chemical would need to be. 3% is pretty weak, evidenced by how nasty a chemical pure hydrogen peroxide can be, yet a 3% solution can be gargled by anyone without harm. The second reason is that hydrogen peroxide is more effective as a sanitizing solution in the presence of blood, or some other catalyst source. When you put hydrogen peroxide on a cut, it starts to bubble. This is because components of blood act as a catalyst to decompose hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen gas. The bubbling is the oxygen. And it's that near 100% concentration of oxygen that does most of the killing. To bacteria, an oxygen rich environment is fatal. So in a cut where the foreign object that did the cutting likely pushed bacteria into the wound, hydrogen peroxide makes sense. It gets into the cut, and even trace amounts of blood set off the reaction, and it's a product of that reaction (oxygen) that's actually doing the sanitizing. Admittedly, the hydrogen peroxide molecule is a strong enough oxidizer to be able to kill plenty of bacteria on its own without being broken down into water and oxygen, but again, the concentration being only 3%, this would be more difficult to do without it bubbling, and on typical leaves, the hydrogen peroxide will not be bubbling like it does with a cut. All in all, hydrogen peroxide seems less effective than the bleach solution for our needs, especially if NPV is involved. I'm not saying hydrogen peroxide couldn't be used, but if so, a 6% solution would be more effective, and even at that concentration, I don't know what the exposure time would need to be, and I don't know that the 6% solution would be as effective at reacting with all "baddies" we're after. Hydrogen peroxide can be effective against viruses, but not all, and I don't know if NPV is one of the "lucky" viruses that can be effected by it. Next, if you release Monarchs, sometimes they stick around, but especially during the migratory season, they're usually ready to head out on their way. It's possible that they could have fallen prey to something, but that's only the same likeliness as any other butterfly out there. Birds, lizards, frogs, mantids, etc. Some things will make a meal of a Monarch. But if the only concern is that they aren't around the homestead any longer, it's more likely they simply went on their way. As for registering with Monarch Watch, I'm not exactly sure what you mean. I know that some get an area of flowers "registered" as a Monarch Way Station, which for a fee, offers you a sign to put by the flowers. It's a way of donating some money to such an organization, and at the same time, spread awareness (and can be useful at buildings where the grounds keepers may otherwise remove milkweed, not knowing it was intentionally planted). Beyond that, though, I don't know what you mean by registering with them. I, for example, am not registered in such a way. You can order tags for tagging Monarchs, but that doesn't require being registered. I don't know that Monarch Watch is in need of how many butterflies a hobbyist releases if they aren't ones that are being tagged. If they wished for such info, they'd likely have a place people could fill such out on their website, and they do not. I hope that helps shed some light on this! Good luck!

@evelynasher3197

5 жыл бұрын

@@MrLundScience Thank you so much, Rich, for your through reply. Very helpful and I will use the bleach solution! As to the tags: someone told me that I had to "register" with Monarch Watch or some org. like that in order to get the tags. I really would like to get involved with this. Where can I get the tags? I have another urgent question and I hope you get this in time. I have two chrysalized monarchs ready to emerge any time between now (Sept 3) and Friday, Sep. 6. Unfortunately, I have to be out of town, leaving tomorrow, coming back Thursday night. What should I do if they emerge during my absence? Shall I leave a bunch of flowers for them to feed, or some honey water in a small cap, or should I clip them to a branch outside and hope for the best. What predators go for the chrysalis? Any? How can I keep them safe? I could just let them fly around the house, but I don't have any flowering house pants at the moment. Any suggestions? Thanks a whole bunch!

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

@@evelynasher3197 Hey Evelyn. Tags are available through different Monarch programs. For Monarchs east of the Rockies, Monarch Watch has them available at www.monarchwatch.org and the link you want is the "Shop" button. You'll find the tags available there. Be quick. The site says they are going fast. If I were in your position, I suppose I would let the chrysalides emerge in nature. Every day held back from the migration is a day where nectar producing flowers are fewer and fewer. They have a better chance of making the migration the earlier in the season they start. Predators can get to them (and I hear wasps are the major concern), but it's not too common, provided you don't place them where you know some wasps exist. I traveled to Italy early in the summer, and so for a portion of this season, I had to stop taking in eggs/caterpillars because I wouldn't have been able to care for them. Any that were in chrysalis at that time, I hung on a yarn outside. Upon my return, all chrysalides were empty (about 15) and no signs that any predators had been present. All empty chrysalis shells looked normal, as if the adult came out just fine. I hope that helps!

@evelynasher3197

5 жыл бұрын

@@MrLundScience Thank you so much for getting back to me so quickly. Unfortunately, we do have wasps--been fighting them all summer, so I think I will keep them inside. If it is true that they will emerge one day after they have turned dark and clear, they should emerge sometime on Thursday. At this point, they are still mainly green. We will be back Thursday night, so I can release them Friday. The last one I released had to hang around inside all day because we had heavy rain. I placed her on a bunch of echinacea flowers and she was ok. Next time, I will feed her your honey mixture.There are still lots of wild flowers around here--plenty of food, I think. Thanks! You are a wonderful resource and I have been recommending your site to several friends, who promised to plant milkweed and, perhaps, even become monarch-moms/dads! Will keep in touch and let you know how it goes. ciao!

I just released my 10th for the year today.

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

Very cool! It never gets old. The first ten. The first fifty. It's always so rewarding.

@aislinnklein9599

5 жыл бұрын

Finally!! People who does this too!! I just released my 71 butterfly today!!

Hi, I had some information that may be helpful to make a video about. I've been raising monarchs since I was five and this was my first year learning about OE. I began testing using a digital microscope and I've found 4 that were positive for the virus, my other 14 were fine. I was going to euthanize but my mother was leaning heavily towards 'just letting them go' or keeping them, to make her happy I decided to keep them. To do this I use a butterfly cage/net that came with a butterfly kit I received as a child. I make sure they all eat each day by feeding them the honey water solution and a sliced grape (butterflys will starve to death and favor the light source if not fed)... They've been alive for 3 weeks now and seem realiviely content with a warm lamp and occasional flights around my home.

@kloclo7922

4 жыл бұрын

I've also just recently learned about OE, but I've seen some websites suggest letting the ones that are lightly infected go if you're sure that they got it from outside. It's completely natural, so it would be normal for a few to have a bit of spores. Just a thought though!

We actually keep our caterpillars isolated from eachother in separate 2oz condiment containers with just a piece of leaf and dry paper towel, until they're at least 3rd-4th instar. We dump out the frass daily, and change out the container and leaf every day or two depending on how fast they eat. It's a lot more work but helps prevent diseases from being spread between them. To clean the containers we soak them in bleach water for a while and then rinse thoroughly. Then we actually put them in a big food dehydrator that we have, to dry them out quickly. We have 16 eclosing today, hoping not too many are OE positive. Despite being in northeast Ohio, and bleaching all the eggs and milkweed, we've still had lots of cases of OE lately, maybe about 1 in 5.

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

That's unfortunate to hear of the 1 in 5 having OE. I've had some from Florida tell me that they used to have the overwhelming majority of their Monarchs come out with OE, but after doing the bleach treating, have had that first year be 100% OE free. (Not sure about follow up years, as that one year was last year, and I haven't heard from them since.)

@anti0918

6 жыл бұрын

Next year we may try a higher bleach % for the milkweed treatment, or soaking for longer.

@cocokitten4342

4 жыл бұрын

@@anti0918 What's your sodium % on your bleach container? 7.0 and higher should be 32:1, 5-7 19:1.

How can you tell if a leaf is dry and not usable for food?

Do your containers have ventilation? I'm not seeing any air holes.

The chrysalis fell off of the ridge of the jar it was on after I accidentally I bumped it. It must not have been attached well. It doesn’t have any silk to attach it to a string! It does have the little black “stalk” on it but he said not to attach that... What should I do?

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

If your chrysalis already formed and hardened, it's quite possible to develop without any problems while remaining on its side. One thing that could cause issues still is if it feel far and hard enough to rupture the chrysalis. You didn't describe that, though, so I'm assuming that didn't happen. You could rehang it, and I show one method for that here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/n39605elicq6ZbQ.html But also, it does not need to hang. If you leave it somewhere safe, on its side, the adult can form without issue. And, the adult can even emerge from the chrysalis with it on its side. However, you'll still need to give it a way to crawl up something nearby so that it can fill/spread/dry its wings. I show this here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/nax33NRxaabRY6g.html I hope these help! Good luck!

Could the frass be added to organic fertilizer? Thank you for the videos. Have my first 6 caterpillars, with the 3 in chrysalis and 3 in 5th instar.

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Great job with the caterpillars! I would have to imagine that frass could be used that way, though I don't know if it would be significantly beneficial. The only possible negative situation I can think of in "trouble-shooting mode" would be that perhaps it's possible a Monarch caterpillar frass could have a significant pH that is different than the fertilizer normally has. That's pure speculation. But possible. And from what I understand, people who actively use fertilizers can be pretty particular about what pH they have. I suppose the best way to know is to test it out with a few test plants and see if there's any benefit/drawback. Good luck!

Are there wholes in your starter containers, sorry if that's a silly question but I didn't hear you say anything about it

My caterpillars aren’t eating! They keep starving to death. I tried getting different milkweed nothing. I tried cleaning more. Nothing. My daughter even tried hand feeding them nothing. I hate seeing my daughter find deceased caterpillars almost everyday. I want to help these little guys! What can I do?

Hey Rich, completely off topic, but I have a question/thought. Do you know if the area they go to in Mexico is protected? Would be a shame if it weren't and something happened to the area.

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

In the past, logging was a problem in those areas, and I think the Mexican government, if I remember correctly, was slow to take action. Since then, I believe most of the roosting areas have been placed under protection which has support in funding from various organizations, and I believe the World Wildlife Fund is one of them. Still, not all areas are protected, and from what I understand, illegal logging still happens.

Is it ok that I don't bleach my containers? should I start to bleach my containers? Mya.

I notice that there were not air hole in the covers of the smaller containers in the video. Is it necessary to place air holes in the cover to prevent moisture or to ventilate?

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

I used to do it, to be on the "safe side", until I did a quick calculation. Even with some estimates not in favor of it, the amount of oxygen in my containers is easily enough to provide for the caterpillars. Even if I were keeping ten in a container (which I don't) and they were all 5th instar caterpillars which would need and use the most oxygen, they still would be fine as long as the container is being opened every so often. As I open mine at least twice a day, they're all good without the holes. I don't ventilate them any longer.

Thank you for this informative video! This year, I found 23 eggs and 4 1st instars on my milkweed! I literally lost about 4 as they somehow got out of their containers and because of their small size, I couldn't find them :( I like the containers you are using and will get some before the next season. I also lost one when it was in its 4th instar. All the others were either in the chrysalis stage or had already been released. It had diarrhea which was green, recovered and was eating well. A few days later, was laying at the bottom of the cage. Next morning it was dead and a large pool of liquid had discharged. It was very sad and after watching this video, I believe it was a sanitary issue as he was the smallest and most likely on the lower leaves. I try not to get too down, but instead want to learn from my mistakes so that I will not repeat them. Question, Do you put any holes in the lids of the food containers or is there enough air and circulation from opening them regularly?

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

Sorry to hear that this happened, Sandra, but you are correct. It is always a learning process. For ventilation, you can put holes in the lids, but it is not necessary. I used to make sure to always do it. But, then I did the rough, back of the envelope calculation, and found that there is *easily* enough oxygen for even more than 10 caterpillars (even large, 5th instar ones) in the containers I use, provided they get fresh air daily. So, I ceased putting holes in the lids, as sometimes, that would damage the lid and make it useless. What I have noticed, though, is that with the lids that have no holes, mold is something that has more of a chance of happening. So, I think I will be going back to ventilating them all for next year. But, rather than trying to poke holes with a nail, I'm going to heat the nail up with a candle first, and that way, less chance of snapping the lid as I press the nail in.

@thelittlethings8420

6 жыл бұрын

Sounds like a great idea. I think I will go with putting tiny holes in the lid. Enough for circulation, but small enough so the wee ones don't find their way out. Too many hours spent looking for them! Thanks Rich!

@tinay.weaver5766

6 жыл бұрын

You could also use a pin vice to make the holes with. Less chance of burning yourself. LOL

Hey, question. I have one milkweed plant. It just popped up. The plant has 8 cats on it. Some are pretty big. I go out a few times a day and check the cats out. There 11 leaves left on it. They have been chewed on of course but those 11 leaves are the biggest right now. Is that enough? There times I go iut there and there be 4 missing. Where they go don't know but......I am anxious to see their next step. We plan on planting some milkweed seeds next.yr. the seed pod are no longer on the plant. They sure we're busy last night, a lot of leaves down to nothing.

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Milkweed plants vary in what species they are, and how large they are. Leaf size also can be variable, and again, depends upon the species of milkweed. So, it's tough to diagnose if that's enough or not. However, a general rule (and "general" rules always means, there are exceptions) is that one milkweed plant can be devoured by two caterpillars from egg to adult. So, it does sound like you may need to secure more milkweed as the days go on.

Hi. Have you come across any chrysalises that fall but split open and reveille the transformation inside? My neighbor just sent me a picture of one that still has the top attached to their container while the rest fell. If you have seen this before do you know the cause? Thanks

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

What you're describing doesn't sound familiar, no. Sorry that I can't add to it, but I don't think I've seen or heard of this before. If you have a link to a photo, it'd be interesting to take a look.

For the first year of our milkweed finally being successful, it's turning out to be an unbelievable year! I have ten chrystalides, 1 J, and about 21 5th instars. Unfortunately our milkweed is history, and today I even saw a monarch flying around. I would have thought the season for eggs would be over, but I guess not. I heard you mention somewhere about artificial or imitation milkweed- I think someone had asked you about it but you didn't know about it? I am not sure. How can I find out about this?

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

I'm not endorsing any such product as I have never tested it out. Thus, I'm neutral on it. I'm Switzerland. That said, though, there are companies that sell such, and they are usually marketed to science teachers for use in their classrooms. Thus, they are an educational science type of product. If I search in Google "artificial milkweed", links start coming up right away. I hope that helps!

Hi Rich, I remember you said in an earlier video that NPV is in the soil. So as the milkweed grows is the virus found only on the outside of the leaves or is it actually inside the plant like a hosta virus?

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

I reviewed over the video I have on how to sanitize leaves, and that's the one where I described NPV the most I've ever described it, and I don't see where I said it was in the soil. I was puzzled by your comment, and thought I should review the video to see if I misspoke somewhere, or said something that could be confused as meaning it was in the soil. I was mostly confused because I don't know of any parasite or disease that Monarchs can get that would be in the soil, other than maybe bacteria that could be there that could harm caterpillars. NPV, to my knowledge, isn't really a problem being in the soil. It exists in crystals that keeps it dormant until those crystals are eaten by something that has alkaline based cells, such as Monarchs. As Monarchs don't munch on dirt too often, even if NPV crystals wind up in the soil somehow, they still wouldn't likely be ever ingested by caterpillars. So, I'm not sure where this idea came from. When a caterpillar dies of NPV and starts dripping out many of these particles (sometimes, in the billions) then certainly some of these crystals make it to the soil. If a new plant sprouts up from that soil, it's certainly possible that millions of these crystals get onto the plant from just it pushing up through the soil, so that could be one way they are on the plant, but as far as I know, there's no chance that the virus would be specifically inside the plant, only on the external parts. If I did say in some video that the virus is in the soil, my apologies for any confusion this caused, but I don't know where I said such. If you do find it, please point it out to me. I'm curious now.

@dawnwalkley119

5 жыл бұрын

@@MrLundScience I'm sorry I caused you confusion. Maybe I misheard or read something elsewhere online. Who knows! Thank you for clearing it up!

Will the cold weather 20 below or lower kill the O E On equipment ?

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Honestly? Not sure. I don't know what temperature is guaranteed to kill OE, as far as a lower limit temperature. I would say, though, just a thorough rinsing of any equipment should get all OE spores off of it. They are only dangerous to the Monarchs if they are eaten. I'm not sure what equipment exactly you mean, but a dishwashing cycle would take care of any on containers, and a spray with the garden hose would rinse any off that are on gardening tools.

I have been following you since last yr when we released 30 Butterflies. Now today I have found what I think are eggs so I am watching them closely to see if they develope or not, and I have 3 different stages of caterpillers. Are the containers you used in this video made from plastic? as As I need to get something small like that to keep them separated better.

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

I currently use two types of containers, which are all plastic. One version, for 1st through 3rd instars, those containers are some food "to-go" containers. A place nearby that serves Asian cuisine will sell them to me for about $0.25 a piece. Easy to clean, and if damaged, easy to replace. The larger plastic terrariums I use for 4th and 5th instars. They are typically made for something like a hermit crab or some other low mass, small critter, such as newts or hamsters. But, those containers are usually way overpriced. So, when I see one sometimes for $10, I usually pounce on it. Also, garage sales have been places I've scored them before. In the next Raising Monarchs, though, I'll be going over how to set up an outdoor rearing container. Still working out the kinks, but it's coming soon.

@donnasaverino8949

5 жыл бұрын

@@MrLundScience I suggest buying these nice black ones from Costco's for your followers to consider. They look like what Rich Lund uses.

What was the large container you used?

@MrLundScience

4 жыл бұрын

These are plastic terrariums used in the pet trade for things like hermit crabs, small rodents, etc. Many commercial pet stores I'm familiar with in my area have them in the small animals department. Also, a quick online search of "Plastic Terrarium" brings up many options. HOWEVER, as a chemist knowing how little cost it takes to make such a piece of plastic, and knowing that they sell these for exorbitant prices, I look for mine at thrift stores, and sometimes get lucky. Brand new, the largest one I use would be $25 at some stores, which is ridiculous. At a yard sale, I found it for $3.

Is there more moanarchs

Hi my name is mya, and I am 11. I am not able to empty the frass twice a day is that ok?

@MrLundScience

4 жыл бұрын

That depends upon what you mean by "ok". It's possible that no problems will occur. It's also possible that if you *do* clean it out twice a day, there could still be an infection. But, the more sanitary you can keep it, the better their overall health will be. When it comes to cleaning them out, though, as that does disrupt the caterpillars, there's such a thing as over-doing it. We want to keep it clean, but we also don't want to cause them too much stress. Twice a day has been a good routine for me. If someone can not do it twice a day, they should still do it as often as they are able to. Certainly letting containers go past a full day uncleaned, though, is causing them unnecessary risk. I hope that helps!

Hi.... love these videos! Burning Question: Do monarchs migrate in flocks? I've never see a cluster of flying monarchs... they always seem solo or at most in couples or one chasing another( which is awesome to see) Any body know? thanks!

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

From what I know, they don't travel in flocks, but they will find common resting pit stops and roost together along the way. Some ideas also include that they follow the pheromones of others along the migratory path, but I haven't found any confirmed study on this, so it's not something I'm "for sure" about.

@jakehayes1345

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!! Amazing creatures.... how they know where and when to head south is incredible. I've wondered about that this summer.. I live in New Hampshire and am still seeing a few monarchs... only a few... but I fear they are confused and may not make it. thanks again!

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

They have formidable instinct. I would be confident they'll know where to go and to head there now. Whether they'll make it is always a question, though.

Hi! My neighbor and I have been planting milk weed and raising monarchs. I had the privilege of releasing one today. So far we've released 8. It's lovely ❤️. A couple more on the way... But I'm Worried about several days of rain storms coming. I'm afraid we won't be able to release them as soon as we have been on sunny afternoons.

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

If you need to keep them for longer periods of time, try to make sure that they are not overcrowded, as they can damage each other's wings. Sometimes, just having multiple in the same container can cause them to be wary of each other, and try to move around more (in attempts to get away from each other). The more they move, the more they can damage their wings, usually their own. Also, for longer periods, it's recommended that you give them something to eat after the first day. If you haven't seen it before, here's a video on how to feed them an honey/water solution: kzread.info/dash/bejne/dXWf1Zqlepy5dLw.html

@td9881

6 жыл бұрын

MrLundScience thank you!

Where did you get your white containers and do you punch holes in the lid?

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Truly? China Express. They're right down the street. They'll sell me six for a dollar. I used to punch holes in the lid for ventilation, but since, I have stopped. I did a quick calculation using very safe estimates, and turns out, even ten 5th instar caterpillars (which would consume more oxygen than younger instars) could be in those containers for about 4 or 5 days before running out of oxygen. As I keep less than 10 in a container, and they are opened up and given fresh air at least twice a day (usually three times, though), the holes weren't really something necessary.

What about bug spray? I had sprayed myself with deet and went to rescue a caterpillar but stopped because of the spray. Can being covered in spray hurt the caterpillars?

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

You did the right thing. While I don't know what deet can do to them specifically, I'd keep any and all foreign chemicals away from them, and especially any that are specifically pesticides or insect repellents. They can cause harm, and even if the repellents aren't fatal, they can definitely cause stress. I'd thoroughly wash anytime before handling them. Good luck!

@donnasaverino8949

5 жыл бұрын

@@MrLundScience I had the same concern after putting on sunscreen. So I make sure to wash before doing the daily job of changing leaves etc.

So, there is enough air inside those containers to sustain the cats? You haven't poked any holes in them? I'm asking because I would like to use them for the cats I found this morning. Also, we are homeschoolers and we appreciate your Monarch videos series. Thanks you!

@MrLundScience

3 жыл бұрын

I was once curious and did a Fermi calculation (also known as a "back of the envelope" calculation) about the oxygen content inside the volume of such containers, and compared that to the oxygen use a caterpillar would need. Fermi calculations involve estimates, but always reasonable estimates. Upon the Fermi calculation, I found that the amount of oxygen in the closed container without ventilation would easily sustain more caterpillars than I house in them past 4 days. As I open the containers at a minimum of twice a day and ventilate them, it is not something I am ever concerned about. In some of the videos you may see holes in the lids, but that is because they were already there for the food they originally contained. I didn't put them there. Still, what some ventilation is good for is to prevent mold. If your containers are getting moldy inside, humidity can accelerate that growth. So, if you find mold grows on your leaves, that may indicate to you that you should decrease how moist the container is when closed, and that can be helped sometimes with holes on the lid of the appropriate size. I hope that helps!

I released 365 butterflies this season after only raising 2 last...... I know, I'm a little obsessive/compulsive, I guess. I tried to find how long the OE lasts on surfaces ? I can't seem to find anything other than it needs to be killed with a bleach solution at the end of each season. Any guess ?

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

I have not found such information either, but, I can say that when in the spores, the protozoans are in a "dormant" state. They are neither taking in nor expelling energy, to my knowledge. You could say their life process is suspended at that time, and similar to seeds having very long life spans of suspended animation, it's safe to assume these spores do too. I'm no official word on the matter, and I can't find an official word on the matter, but I would highly suspect that they are quite viable a year later, and on top of that, a very good chance it could be multiple years that the spores could still be activated once ingested by a caterpillar.

@donnasaverino8949

5 жыл бұрын

@@MrLundScience I would THINK that every time it rains it would rinse the leaves off and into the soil. Yes?

I hope I will get white monarchs when I buy some! Have you ever gotten any?

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

In the years I've been doing this, I've raised over 1,000, and have never encountered one.

Does this virus affect South Monarchs?

MY first 8 went very well for me, but my last 6 I lost 2 male Monarchs. Not sure what happened as I am still new to this. I did notice on the 2nd one I lost that he did not release all of his fluid like the others. Maybe he was sick. Also the last batch eclosed early. It was only 9 days. Is that to short? Looking forward to doing this again next year, but with a nice enclosure of some kind for the hanging of the chrysalis.

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

I've had some that only took 9 days. That's usually the amount of time when the temperatures are warmer. I've had anywhere from 9 to 14 days. During the heat of summer, it's typically 9 or 10 days, with some 11's. When it starts to get to cooler fall temps, they take usually 11 - 13 days, with a couple 14's.

@tinay.weaver5766

5 жыл бұрын

That explains it then. We were having a heat wave when these guy's were changing.

My children and I found 3 Monarch Caterpillars last week. Since we homeschool, we brought them in to study them and see what happens. The first night, one of them made a chrysalis. The second one got out of its habitat and died. The third was smaller so we got to watch it shed its skin and then grow big and strong. Last night it started to form its chrysalis. This morning it didn't change. I watched it all day and nothing. Just a few minutes ago I went in to check, and it looked as if a small white larva crawled out of the hanging caterpillar and now it is crawling around the container. I am looking but not finding an answer as to why this happened. Can you explain this? Thank you.

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

I'm sorry that this happened, Michelle. The white larva is almost certainly a tachinid fly. Tachinid flies will find caterpillars in the wild and inject their eggs into them. The caterpillar then serves as a host, and the fly eggs hatch inside, and eat the caterpillars from the inside. Sometimes they pop out when the Monarch (or other butterfly) is in the caterpillar stage, but often, it's at the chrysalis stage that they emerge. The white stringy hanging part is the smoking gun of the tachinid fly larva. If I can perhaps lend a silver lining... If you home school, I have some other videos your kids might really like (I hope) that cover a range of scientific concepts. They could be used by a variety of age groups. They are the videos on my channel called "Indy Labs". They were made for anyone interested in science, but some home school parents have let me know that they have been great for some of the lessons they wish to teach. Here is the playlist, which contains all of the episodes (so far): kzread.info/dash/bejne/dKGqrdudmpXNiZs.html

I forgot to ask you something else. Do you think sending a strong jet of water through mesh butterfly cages would get rid of any OE. If not, how long can they live without a host? Thank you, Rich!

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Water being sprayed could certainly relocate a lot of OE spores. But, it won't relocate them all, and, it won't kill them. So even after spraying, best practices would be to assume there's still spores present. Fewer, but still some. And it only takes one to be eaten for a Monarch to be infected. If it is just one or two or three eaten, the caterpillar won't likely have a heavy infection and will probably still make it to adulthood, but that adult will be coming out with many many many spores that it could spread if released. As for how long those spores can live, the spores protect the parasite inside that is in a dormant state. And the spores protect them pretty well. While extreme cold could potentially kill them, I don't know of what the lower limit cold temperature is. I've looked and haven't found that information. But assuming cold doesn't take them out, the OE spores are still ready to cause harm even after years of being dormant. How many years, I'm not sure. But I wouldn't be surprised to find that they can still be active even after a decade.

@dawnwalkley119

5 жыл бұрын

@@MrLundScience Ok thanks. I don't even know if I had any with OE because I didn't have strong enough magnification. I do now so next season I will test them. I shouldn't have any though because I will be following your egg bleaching process.

Where did you get that large clear box with the green ventilated lid? Thanks

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Years have past enough to not exactly remember. I had three. One broke. One, I believe my mother purchased at a yard sale. The only one I think I ever purchased was years ago at a pet store. They have them usually at stores that sell animals that would require such a small terrarium, such as hermit crabs or other invertebrates. But if you Google "Plastic terrarium" many similar (or identical) options come up. However, they are, in my opinion, quite overpriced. I am pretty sure at the pet store, it was about $25, and knowing that there's maybe $4 cost of materials and processing, it seems a bit outrageous to me. If I needed another one, I'd likely just make one out of food storage containers. But that's just me.

@debsievert4766

5 жыл бұрын

I just bought 2, exactly like Mr. Lund’s at our Meijer store. Large was about $16. I found them in the pet department. Lizard lodges, I call them!

Is there a map that shows where the biggest outbreaks of OE & NPV are? I'm in South Carolina.

@MrLundScience

4 жыл бұрын

I've seen a map before, but am unable to find it now. However, it was an older one. Still, I doubt much has changed. As a general rule, though, where milkweed exists year round, that's where these are usually higher in prevalence. This is because areas where there is a "winter purge" of the milkweed, so then too is there a purge of the virus and of OE. Not so much that the winter "kills" the virus (and it's debatable if a virus is alive in the first place) or the OE spores, but that it kills the milkweed stalks, causing new, OE and NPV free stalks in the spring. Where milkweed is year round, the virus and OE never get this purge, and so the amount of it can be higher. I hope that helps in some way.

@bobbymcgovern

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Rich! I was just curious because I’m in South Carolina where the winters are not as brutal as yours. Fairly mild but we definitely get some freezes. I already have received my milkweed seeds from the South Carolina Wildlife Federation to plant next year. They recommend starting inside in peat pots under lights. So I guess I’ll start those in Feb. some time. I’m going to start a fairly large butterfly / hummingbird garden next year.

@MrLundScience

4 жыл бұрын

Very cool! Yep, for those who wish to plant milkweed next year, the planning really starts now, especially since seed pods and mature seeds are soon able to be collected. Great stuff!

I like your hair

From which plants these caterpillars feed.?

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

In general, Monarch caterpillars feed from milkweed plants, so anything in the genus Asclepias. The leaves featured in this video and any of my others is of the Common Milkweed plant, Asclepias syriaca.

I would like to have some to raise can i i live in ogden ut reply soon

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

There's certainly Monarchs in Utah, and likely there now laying eggs. If you know of a reliable source of milkweed, I'd recommend checking it out. If, by chance, you don't know where there's some milkweed to check, the next logical question would be, how would you feed the caterpillars if you had them? If you're asking if you can have some from someone, I don't send out Monarchs to people. There are educational companies that are willing to send out Monarchs, but that's mostly frowned upon by the communities that raise Monarchs from nature, as it may cause genetic complications when Monarchs from somewhere are shipped to another location that they are not native to. Your interest in them is certainly cool. I would go out into nature and see what you can turn up! Good luck!

Help!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was putting fresh milkweed in it's "cage", I always take every thing out of it, put a fresh, damp paper towel in it, then put some fresh milkweed inside. After that, I cut the caterpillars out of there old leaves and put them on new ones. All was going well, until I accidentally nicked one of me caterpillars with the scissors. I watched horror as 3 seconds later a pit of yellow clear gel came out, I stoped more with another paper towel. What do I do?!!??!!!!

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

I'm sorry this happened. Try not to beat yourself up over it. Accidents are part of this, as with anything else. Best we can do is learn from it, and try to do better in the future. If the caterpillar continues to eat, I'd let it stay the course and make it to chrysalis if it can. Once in chrysalis, a whole new body is formed from the building materials the caterpillar had. I've had one once that had a damaged antenna as a caterpillar. Once it became an adult, there was no visible damage. So, if the caterpillar survived this accident, there's a decent chance it will become a healthy adult.

You just confirmed what I do. My caterpillars poo seems a lot larger, are they eating too much? I am serious they have big poo. My first year I have released more than 30 have 2 in chrysalis and 8 caterpillars.

@emh6021

6 жыл бұрын

The bigger they get the bigger the poop!

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

Indeed!

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

I'm not too sure what size the frass is supposed to be, but, I've never seen that much variety in sizes. Seems to always match the instar size. Don't forget, though, the camera adds five pounds...so...

@debsievert4766

5 жыл бұрын

Hahahahaha!!!!!

Question: Why do you have purple hair off and on?

@MrLundScience

6 жыл бұрын

(Just as an aside, on other videos, you need not state if it's a "Question" or "Topic". That was only for the AMA request video. No voting shall occur here.) My hair may seem to be changing colors often, and I suppose it is, but it's mainly because I bleached it, dyed it red, then dyed it blue on top of that. It from there fades to purple. When it fades enough, I put either red or blue back on it, and have been alternating. Variety is the spice of life.

In my aquarium I shop vac the poop right up. After I take the caterpillars out of course. 45 butterflies released,2 more to go. And only 3 fatalities.

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Just a fair warning, but the shop vac won't get the bacteria or NPV, if it is in there. Not saying you must do the sanitation that I do or anything. Just been down the road before when I didn't know then what I know now. Had years where there were no problems too. But then, last year, had a bacterial outbreak and lost about 30 at once. But certainly, a shop vac can make the poo cleaning a lot quicker!

@sennstrato7281

5 жыл бұрын

+MrLundScience I wash it down too. I'm just saying the little shits just roll right on up,and then I clean. Lol. My neighbor still has lots of caterpillars on his milkweed,he lives more in the country.

@MrLundScience

5 жыл бұрын

Ah, no sweat then. Just some shop vac fun.

@sennstrato7281

5 жыл бұрын

+MrLundScience Just got another aquarium, 20 gallon for next year. What will happen to the caterpillars that are still getting fat and eating. They don't have to much longer,this is MN.

@donnasaverino8949

5 жыл бұрын

@@MrLundScience I did that when I got to thinking about the filter not holding back the npv etc from blowing it all over to others. Just a thought no proof

Save the monarcas, of course, why not? Joe beautiful they até!

How are your milkweed leaves so big?! I have never seen milkweed leaves that massive.

@cocokitten4342

4 жыл бұрын

Common Milkweed