In preparation for the coming migration, the Native Plants and Animals of Texas class began their projects studying the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). Students began their projects by creating a PowerPoint to document their research. To help them begin their research, we invited Erin Cord, an Austin Parks and Recreation Ranger, to give the student some basic information. We were all surprised and happy about how much information the students already knew about the species of insect.
After her presentation we went into our gardens to explore our milkweed population. As most of you know, Monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed which provides them a natural toxin in ingested. We have a few different species on campus: Tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), Antelope horn milkweed (Asclepias asperula), and Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). The most common species we have is the tropical variety. Here you can see the student looking on the leaves to see what they can find.
This was an amazing find! A few days earlier we had gone out to explore our milkweed, and sadly only found two caterpillars. Through different discussion about the weather and monarchs, we came to the conclusion that the migration might have happened earlier this year than normal. What actually seems to be happening is the migration will actually be late! With Erin's help, we were able to spot the tiny eggs, only 1.2 mm long, and even some caterpillars in their 1st instar!
Today I went out and found almost 10 caterpillars in their 5th instar ready to go into chrysalises. Here are the two we found early last week. They went into their chrysalises very recently. Possibly this morning. One still had its old caterpillar head attached and was squirming!
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