# Our Monarch experience...added new pics of emerging. Please look !



## Gilda (Apr 10, 2015)

t seems we orchid growers have the same interest ! We released 43 healthy monarchs the fall of 2013. This batch was released from the balcony of our condo in Panama City Beach ,FL . They were a lot closer to Mexico from there than TN ! 
It was an enjoyable experience to watch them morph and emerge.


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## Erythrone (Apr 10, 2015)

Congrats for your involvement for the rehabilitation of this beautiful butterfly!


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## Ruth (Apr 10, 2015)

That is terrific!!
So when they migrate, it must be built in them to go to Mexico and then turn around and migrate north. 
Thank you and and Rick for doing this, they are so beautiful.


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## NYEric (Apr 10, 2015)

Fascinating. Where do you even get such things?


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## Heather (Apr 10, 2015)

Fantastic!!!


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## ALToronto (Apr 10, 2015)

Are the black ones dead, or just about to emerge?


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## Gilda (Apr 10, 2015)

NYEric said:


> Fascinating. Where do you even get such things?



Eric , we get them from our backyard. We grow tropical milkweed, which they prefer over the native . We winter it over under lights in the basement.

We try harvest eggs/larvae/ young caterpillars as soon as we see them. If you don't ,they will get parasitized by wasps and there is a fly also , that will use them as hosts for their young/eggs. 

After the caterpillars make their chrysalis , we then attach them to a branch via hot glue. Most hatched in my sun room on our table. We took this bunch to the beach with us because it was getting cold in TN., and we were headed that way and didn't want to leave them out in the cold. 

I have a small video of them hatching but don't know if I can attach it here or not.

We only had a small "cage" to house them in as larvae and caterpillars, so it was daily feeding and cleaning caterpillar poop , and they poop a LOT !

It was an experience I'll treasure ! Last year , there were very few butterflies of any kind. Hoping to see more this year ! So happy Rick and his wife are helping this beautiful butterfly !!


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## Gilda (Apr 10, 2015)

ALToronto said:


> Are the black ones dead, or just about to emerge?



They are going to emerge...


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## Gilda (Apr 10, 2015)

*more pics of the Monarch adventure*

their caterpillar home :





The ones we took to the beach...we had a wedding to attend in Nashville and a few hatched in the car on the way to the beach !





Emerging in my sunroom....took the patience of an orchid grower to catch this..video is awesome..on my FB ...friend me if you want to see.





It's a BOY ! see the two dots on each lower wing close to the body.


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## SlipperFan (Apr 10, 2015)

Wonderful, Gilda. I admire you & Rick for this.


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## NYEric (Apr 11, 2015)

Amazing. Good work. Thanks for sharing.


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## phrag guy (Apr 12, 2015)

that is great


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## Secundino (Apr 12, 2015)

I wonder why these critters do not migrate in Europe, as many other butterflies. They fly year round and lay eggs and hatch year round and the short path to Morocco and then jump to Spain would be a half a day journey for them.


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## SlipperKing (Apr 12, 2015)

Really cool Gilda. New ideas there!


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## Paph_LdyMacBeth (Apr 12, 2015)

Fantastic! 
Looks like I have many online friends who share my love of this majestic butterfly! I can't wait until they're finally back north to visit me  

Sent from my BlackBerry Bold 9900 using Tapatalk


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