1st grade @ ISU monarch lab

1st graders visit insect lab at ISU 
Five first grade students from Guthrie Center elementary school visited the ISU entomology department's monarch lab.  Keith Bidne, the insectary manager in the Entomology Department, had the students' attention as he showed them some monarchs which had just emerged from their chrysalis.  If you look closely, you can see that the monarchs emerged from a chrysalis that had formed on a 6 oz. cup!  The monarchs will be processed and moved to a larger home once their wings have dried.

(photo courtesy of Kris Langgaard)

Below Mr. Bidne sterilizes his equipment so he can test each recently emerged adult monarch for the disease OE.

 Below: After sterilizing his equipment, Mr. Bidne takes a piece of tape and presses it against the monarch's abdomen.  He will look at each piece of tape under the microscope to see if any of the football shaped OE parasites are present.

The 1st graders also helped Mr. Bidne transplant some tropical milkweed in the greenhouse.  He even gave us some to take home!

(photo courtesy of Kris Langgaard)

1st graders to raise monarchs in May
At the beginning of May, Mr. Bidne will supply each of these 1st grade students with a monarch larva to care for.  Every day they will be responsible for cleaning the frass from their "cage," putting a new milkweed leaf in the cup, and writing about their observations.   When the butterflies emerge from their chrysalis at the end of the school year, we will release our monarchs in our school's rain garden, where our Conservation Corps  (our elementary students involved in after school conservation work) have planted the monarch's favorite milkweed and flowering plants.

1st graders in leadership role next fall
Next fall, as second grade students at Guthrie Center Elementary School, these students will be in leadership roles assisting other class members in raising their own monarchs.  This will be the second year in a row that our students will do that, thanks to the generosity of the ISU monarch lab.
 
A great website for elementary students to learn about monarchs:
https://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/
Before our field trip to ISU, 1st graders used this website to learn about monarchs.

To follow the ISU monarch consortium's activities and to learn about their latest research, go to: http://monarch.ent.iastate.edu/

Breaking news: Monarch numbers increase!

How are the number of monarchs counted every year?  One way is to count the number of acres (or hectares)  of oyamel forest land that are occupied by wintering monarchs in Mexico.  This helps determine whether monarch numbers are increasing or decreasing.  Two years ago monarchs wintering in Mexico had decreased by 95% and reached an alarmingly low amount.  Entomologists were concerned that monarchs might not be able to recover.   Thankfully, the past two years have had mild weather in Mexico, and monarchs wintering in Mexico have increased.

Just last week, Monarch Watch, the support organization of the University of Kansas, released their count showing an increased number of monarchs this winter in Mexico.  Monarch numbers more than tripled since last winter season.

As you can see from their graph below, in the 2014-2015 winter season, there were 1.13 hectares, or 2.8 acres (2 1/2 acre = 1 hectare) of land covered by monarch butterflies, compared to 4.01 hectares (9.9 acres) this winter season, more than 3 times more butterflies.  Looking closely at the graph, you can also see the high year is in 1996-97, where there were 18.19 hectares (45 acres) of land covered with wintering monarchs.  The low year was 2013-14, when monarchs only covered .67 hectares (1.7 acres) of land. 


There are a number of factors that contribute to a decreased amount of monarchs, many of which relate to loss of habitat in both the summer (Midwest cornbelt) and winter (Mexico) habitats.  Of course, deforestation of oyamel forests contribute to monarch's lack of protection during their November - March hibernation.  Late winter storms can also have a detrimental effect on monarch numbers.

However, one of the biggest reasons for loss of habitat is that since the late 1990's, farmers have been planting glyphosate tolerant corn and beans.  Therefore, when chemicals are sprayed to control weeds in fields, milkweed, the only plant that monarch larva can eat, are also killed, thereby reducing the number of monarch butterflies.  Recent efforts to increase milkweed numbers in gardens and non-crop areas, have no doubt helped adult monarchs find places to lay their eggs!  Efforts have been made by universities and garden centers to make milkweed more available to those of us who want to help monarch butterflies. 

Next 2 blogs:  ISU Monarch Consortium hosts 1st grade students;  Monarch migration beginning

Tall Green & Purple Milkweed

I'd like to share information about the tall green (Asclepias hirtella) and purple milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens)

Below is my research plot on August 7th with the 9 varieties of milkweed.  The tall green milkweed is in front of the grass, but you can't see a lot of green!  That's because not many of this variety of milkweed survived in my plot.  It also did not do well in Iowa State's research plots, so I'm assuming that it doesn't transfer well.   I did see one egg on a plant that was about 3 inches tall, but by the next week the plant had died.  I did replant some tall green last fall, so am hoping I have some come up this spring.

The tall green milkweed has a small greenish-white flower, long, skinny leaves, and grows to be 2-3 feet tall, so not so tall as the name suggests.  Basic information and photos are available at: http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/prairie/plantx/tg_milkweed.htm

Prairie Moon Nursery's photos give you idea of what Ascelpias hirtella looks like:  https://www.prairiemoon.com/seeds/wildflowers-forbs/asclepias-hirtella-tall-green-milkweed.html

The purple milkweed has beautiful deep purple flowers, and grows to 4 feet tall.   I was introduced to this species at Neal Smith National Wildlife Center, and would love to have it in one of my flower beds.   It is not invasive, so would be a good selection for home gardens, if you can find it!   Go to the North American Butterfly Association's web site for a photo and information:

http://nababutterfly.com/purple-milkweed/

My next blog will be about the monarch's migration to Mexico.

Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed)

Butterfly weed is one of those flowers that people have in their garden and don't realize it's a milkweed.  With its orange flowers and smaller leaves and plant, it's not your typical milkweed.  Here's a close up of a butterfly weed in my front yard with a 3rd instar devouring one of its flowers.

Although all 6 of my butterfly weeds survived in my (wet) research plot, they didn't grow well.  I only had 5 eggs and one larva.  However, the plant in my front yard has been there for 5 years, and it has been very hardy.  In addition, it supports a large number of monarch larvae.  More than once this summer I counted a dozen larvae at one time.  As you can see from the photo below, mine is a large spreading plant, mostly because rabbits chowed down on it. (Which caused new shoots to grow up to replace them).  As you can see, the plant extends from the rock to the yardstick.

Usually eggs are laid on the underside of plants, but this one was laid on top of a butterfly weed.

 In just 2 weeks, the caterpillar below has grown from a larva the size of a dash to 2 inches long.  It has molted 5 times, and is now ready to find a place to hang and form a chrysalis.

Next week I'll be sharing information about the last milkweed in my research plot: Asclepias hirtella and a few other species that weren't in my research plot.

Poke Milkweed (Asclepias exaltata)

Poke milkweed is another species that doesn't look like a milkweed at first glance.  Its leaves are smooth, not as thick as common milkweed, and the shape of the leaf reminds me of a single ash leaf (although the shape can be oval to egg shaped).  Poke milkweed grows to 6 feet tall in woodlands, and if grown in too much sun, they lose some of their green color, as you can see on the lower leaves of the plant below.  They are native to eastern United States, with Iowa being on their western border.

My poke milkweed were fairly healthy with all 6 plants surviving.  I had a total of 8 monarchs:  5 eggs and 3 larvae throughout the summer.  You can see one of the eggs on the plant above.  Various websites report that they are not invasive, and in the wild the flowers attract flocks of butterflies (and rabbits).  The loosely packed flower clusters droop elegantly from slender stalks, somewhat like fireworks. 

For more information about growing conditions, seed germination, and photos, go to the Finger Lakes Native Plant Society's website:  http://flnps.org/native-plants/peaceful-gem-hiding-our-woods

Next week:  butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Honeyvine Milkweed (Cyanchum leave)

Honeyvine (swallow-wort) doesn't look like a milkweed with its heart-shaped leaves and creepIng vine.  (It belongs to a different genus than the other milkweed species). I wasn't sure why it was selected to be in the research plot, and, because it can be invasive, I certainly didn't cheer for it to do well.  However, all 6 plants survived, and it did sustain a number of monarch larvae.  In my research plot, there were 12 monarch throughout the summer on honeyvine; 7 eggs and 5 larva, ranking 6th out of the 9 milkweed species.  Here is what it looked like on August 15th in my research plot.

I found my first egg on honeyvine in on July 19th, and by the end of the July had two 5th instars.  In the middle of September when none of the other milkweed had monarch larva, I counted a 5th instar on honeyvine.

I don't know how invasive it will be, so certainly wouldn't recommend planting honeyvine at this point.  It has exceeded my expectations for attracting monarch, however, so we'll see what happens next summer!

Next week:  Asclepias exaltata:  poke milkweed 

Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)

Whorled milkweed is an attractive, skinny-leaved species that only grows 2 feet tall.  It is beautiful in a flower garden!  However, I'm a little concerned it may be too invasive for many gardeners.  By the end of the summer I did have a number of new shoots growing around my original plants, and online, some people consider it aggressive.   As you can see below, it doesn't look much like a common milkweed.  Here is what it looked like in my research plot on August 15th.:

I also planted whorled in a couple of other flower beds, and despite the insignificant leaf, they did support monarch larvae.  In fact, in my research plot this summer, whorled milkweed ranked 4th out of the 9 milkweed species planted, with 25 monarch, 15 eggs and 10 larvae.  As you can see in this photo taken July 31st, it even supported a 5th instar monarch larva.

Whorled milkweed blooms a little later than most milkweed, (July to September) and the white flowers attract many insects.  They are supposed to be deer and rabbit resistant, but my rabbits loved it, or at least loved to chomp the tops off.  I planted a wave of whorled milkweed beside monarda, so I am anxious to see how invasive it will be in the next few years.  In the photo below, the whorled milkweed is on the left (with the yardstick in the middle of them), and there is a wave of bee balm directly above them to their right.  Lantana, butterfly weed and black-eyed susan are above the monarda.