Monarch Monitoring Project - 9/16/08

It has been another exciting week here at the Monarch Monitoring Project! Although monarch numbers were actually lower than last week (see below), auspicious wind changes yesterday brought new hope to monarch scientists and fans alike.

Week 1: An average of 14.02 monarchs/hour

Week 2: An average of 5.97 monarchs/hour
----------------------------------------------------------------

Cumulative Average for Weeks 1 & 2: 10.16 monarchs/hour

We have to keep our fingers crossed that more monarchs will come our way soon. In the meantime however, the monarchs that are in Cape May have been busy! Multiple monarch eggs were found this week on the underside of tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) leaves.

These eggs are very small and one must look carefully to find them. I, and former monarch intern Bradly Smith, were lucky enough to find two for the MMP's display at the Cape May Bird Observatory's Northwoods Center. After watching a female monarch lay two precious eggs, we cut the plant and rushed to the Northwoods Center to set up a tank. Three days later two tiny little monarch caterpillars hatched! Look below to see a picture of one of our little monarch caterpillars!

This little guy is only one day old in this picture. It's hard to tell but he is already hungrily munching away at the milkweed leaf. Soon enough our caterpillars will grow much larger and develop the bright coloration that is associated with monarch larvae. On this blog I will keep giving updates on the status of our caterpillars, so check back often! You can also visit them yourself at the Northwoods Center located on East Lake Drive right off of Lighthouse Avenue in Cape May Point.

That's all for now, keep trimming those butterfly bushes and wishing for monarchs! Hopefully they will be in Cape May, soon enough!