Yes! And thank you! They look kind of like elongated lady bugs to me, rather cute. And while they eat some leaves, they don't eat enough to compromise the milkweed plants in any way.
What an excellent, interesting post on this subject, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and found that in my few days here on this planet I'd never heard of raising Monarchs for fun or any other reason before; I have not seen a Monarch butterfly for a long time, they sort of went out with the Redtail hawks and Hummingbirds around here I used to see in plentiful amounts, now a couple of Hummingbirds now and then, oh, and also not many honey bees either; I think they have been massively affected by the aerial spraying and geoengineering. I'm on the west coast in Silicon Valley / SF Bay Area.
Thanks, James, for the comments! It's so distressing to hear about the loss of wildlife in your area! I do hope we can turn this around. I do have great hope as I know people are becoming more and more aware each day. Wishing you all the best!
Great story and really amazing photographs. So those red and black beetles are milkweed beetles!
Yes! And thank you! They look kind of like elongated lady bugs to me, rather cute. And while they eat some leaves, they don't eat enough to compromise the milkweed plants in any way.
What a great memory to have! 🦋
Photos and emails reminded me of the details. :-)
What an excellent, interesting post on this subject, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and found that in my few days here on this planet I'd never heard of raising Monarchs for fun or any other reason before; I have not seen a Monarch butterfly for a long time, they sort of went out with the Redtail hawks and Hummingbirds around here I used to see in plentiful amounts, now a couple of Hummingbirds now and then, oh, and also not many honey bees either; I think they have been massively affected by the aerial spraying and geoengineering. I'm on the west coast in Silicon Valley / SF Bay Area.
Thanks, James, for the comments! It's so distressing to hear about the loss of wildlife in your area! I do hope we can turn this around. I do have great hope as I know people are becoming more and more aware each day. Wishing you all the best!