Monarch Butterfly Conservation
Photo: D. Girgente
Trained volunteers from our chapter participate as citizen scientists in the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project. They can individually adopt a milkweed patch convenient to them and visit it weekly throughout the summer to document and report on their observations of monarch eggs, larvae, and pupae to help track the distribution and abundance of breeding monarch butterflies.
The Life of a Monarch:
From Egg to Butterfly
Photos by Diane Girgente
The female lays an egg on any species of milkweed, the only food monarch caterpillars eat.
Eggs are usually laid on the underside of a leaf, but can be anywhere. They are about the size of a pinhead
A caterpillar (larva) hatches from the egg in about 4 days and begins to eat and grow.
As larvae grow, they must molt into a bigger skin. A monarch larva passes through 5 stages, called instars, between molts. We can tell what instar a caterpillar is in by changes in appearance and size. The little caterpillar above has just molted and is leaving behind its old skin.
Larvae have 6 true legs near the head, and 10 false legs called prolegs that hold firmly to the leaf with Velcro-like hooks. Monarch larvae have two pairs of tentacles (front and back), which function as sense organs. They also have a pair of very small antennae near their mouth. Larvae eat constantly, pausing only to shed their skin. After about 14 days, they will stop eating. At that point, they usually leave the milkweed plant to find a more secluded place to pupate into the adult form.
As the larva molts this final time, a green chrysalis appears. This is the skin of the pupa. There is no silken cocoon around it like those spun by many moths. Inside the pupa, the caterpillar body is rearranged into the form of a butterfly.
As the time for emerging—or eclosing—draws near, pigment develops, revealing the colorful wings that will soon unfurl. The pupal stage usually lasts around 2 weeks.
When the butterfly emerges, it pumps fluid into its wings to expand them. Note the empty skin it just emerged from.
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A brand new butterfly needs to dry for a few hours before it is ready to fly and begin its adult life!
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Milkweed Planting Project
Photos by Sarah Reilly
Chapter volunteers planted a milkweed patch at Powhatan State Park. While many pollinators including monarchs use milkweed for nectar and pollen, monarchs require milkweed as the host plant for caterpillars. Each summer volunteers monitor the plants for monarch eggs and larvae and submit the data to the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project.
In a few short weeks after installation of the milkweed plugs, monarch butterflies had found the young plants and laid tiny white eggs! Caterpillars were soon feeding hungrily. It was a clear demonstration of the monarch's appreciation for the hard work of the volunteers!
