Subject: Re: Monarch Butterflies

From: [email-masked] (DanauSakai)
Date: 21 Mar 1995 15:42:01 -0500

To wondering in Rochester, NY

     The tachnid fly mentioned by others is the best bet.  I have never
seen the wasp decribed by [email-masked].  I occasionally have
the same problem in CA.  Look for the pupa (usually brown) on the bottom
of your aquaria, put it in a vial (jar with a screen on top) and wait for
the fly to emerge.  
     You can send it to me or get it identified yourself.  It would be
interesting to see if the CA species is the same/different from the NY
species.  The flies would be an useful addition to science and to monarch
biology
     The problem is usually cyclic.  I would venture toguess that it 
probably will not be a problem for you in 1995.

Walter H. Sakai
Santa Monica College
[email-masked]

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From: "Lee C. Larcheveque" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 1995 12:42:21 -0500

I've been raising monarchs for 15 years and since I raise nearly all from
eggs, I rarely have problems with parasites, but when I do find larvae in
the wild, especially large ones, they're likely to have tachinid fly
parasites (with red eyes) which parasitize a variety of insects.  Most ot
the time the larvae hang upside down as if to pupate, but clearly they
aren't the large plump size of a non parasitized larva.  The maggots
crawl out and leave a thread of slime hanging from the larva.  I've never
experienced any other parasites.

Lee in Syracuse

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From: "Lee C. Larcheveque" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 1995 12:51:30 -0500

Your disappearing monarch eggs might be due to the fact that the tiny
larvae according to my observations often head to the top of the plant
after hatching, where they hide between the two small soft leaves and
feed.  This little hiding place may protect them from jumping spiders
(which attack and kill small monarch larvae).  If you're having trouble
spotting larvae, look for the crescent shaped chew marks with milkweed
bleeding out.

Lee Larcheveque

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From: [email-masked] (Pierre A Plauzoles)
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 1995 20:34:31 GMT

In a previous article, [email-masked] (PA AVOCET) says:

>Last summer, I, too, raised Common Milkweed specifically for Monarchs.
>Late in the summer, a pair mated in a nearby shrub.
[....]
>Several days [later], when I went to check on the eggs, I couldn't find 
>any of them.
>Louise Zemaitis at Cape May BIrd Observatory [....] suggested that spiders 
got my eggs.

Not necessarily: I have been growing blue-crown passionvine for the gulf 
fritillary in our back yard and have found that the green lacewings that 
are so effective against aphids also actively seek out the fritillaries' 
eggs; the same could be true in your case.

>  BTW, I've had Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) for several years. Do
>Monarchs lay eggs on them, too?

Yes, they will.  I think the adults are also attracted to the flowers as 
a nectar source.

-- 
Pierre Plauzoles   [email-masked]
Canoga Park, California