4/6 Kim's Simon amps 117 and OT/Monarch caterpillars!

Status
Not open for further replies.
kim and simon

kim and simon

Member Since 2012
Missed yesterday--here is the previous day

Not much to report on the kitty front. Simon's doing well, looking pretty lean and mean (but not too skinny!). He hasn't made any houdini escapes lately and has mostly stayed out of contraband. I shaved his dose a little (I'm using some calipers from work to check the height of the insulin and cross-reference with the lines on the syringe--interesting. The lines aren't so accurate!)

How often should I shave assuming he stays green? Weekly or more often?

We are rearing Monarch caterpillars this week. They started appearing in Dallas a couple of weeks ago. The kids and I collected 6 eggs-3 for home and three for DS's 1st grade classroom. 4 have hatched and 2 are about to--the white egg gets a black dot when it's ready (the dot is the caterpillar's head.) We are on milkweed alert and we look for it anywhere someone hasn't mowed! This time of year, unkempt yards and roadsides are our friend!
 

Attachments

Re: 4/5 Kim's Simon pmps 82 +2/75 and OT/Monarch caterpillar

I SEE IT!!!! Love Butterflies--We havent seen many up here like we used to, they usually come around August-Sept.. Beautiful Like Simon's numbers ;-) ;-) ;-)
I do shave Moonie's doses when necessary..Simon is on such a great path--Wishing that he has lots & Lots of Green! Hugs & Love from us!! :mrgreen:
 
Re: 4/5 Kim's Simon pmps 82 +2/75 and OT/Monarch caterpillar

Kim...Simon is looking great!

If he doesn't earn a reduction by going below 50, than you want him to spend the majority of the time in normal numbers for 7 days before you reduce.

Cool phot...my little caterpillars at bright green but I know Monarchs are the brownish color this one is.
 
Recycling this condo from last night because I posted it so late! I wanted for others to see my lepidopteran baby. . .

Simon's doing well.
Last 2 days--AMPS a little up. With a boo! and a hiss! But still ok I think. It was only a LITTLE shave to the dose. . .

Getting ready for a Good Friday gathering tonight with our community of 7 families, 20 kids, and an egg hunt! Gotta go grocery shop!
 
Nice bluish green start! So cool on the butterflies. We used to do that when I was little. You really don't see many monarchs anymore. I bet your kids love it. Have a great day Kim and happy easter if I don't get online this weekend!!
 
Melissa & Tarragon said:
Nice bluish green start! So cool on the butterflies. We used to do that when I was little. You really don't see many monarchs anymore. I bet your kids love it. Have a great day Kim and happy easter if I don't get online this weekend!!
Click to expand...

The Monarchs have declined. One easy thing to do is to plant milkweeds! This helps them on their 4-generation annual migration cycle. The eggs and larvae only live on Milkweeds. You have to find out what is native and winter hardy in your area. Yours might be the same as Dallas--we have Asclepias viridis and A. asperula in Dallas (we need winter hardy varieties). Hard to find seeds, but it's a fun project! We have lots of butterfly plants in our yard, but it took me until this year to figure out the correct milkweeds to perennialize. Most nurseries will sell A. curassavica, Mexican milkweed, but it's not winter hardy.
 
Kim! Wish you were closer to me - I've got FIELDS of milkweed and lots of them have Monarch eggs on them. We have a wonderful 'Texas Longhorn' ranch very near us, he actually mows AROUND the milkweed plants....this sure brings back lots of wonderful memories. My grandmother and mother 'raised' them every year when I was a child, I did the same with MY children, they're doing the same with THEIR kids. SO SO neat!!!

BIG HUG!!!! Thank you for the huge smile and warm heart today!!!
 
Be patient, Roni! They don't show up in the Northeast until late summer, when the milkweed is in bloom. (Their migration is in stages and involves, I think, at least 4 generations; the ones that begin the migration are not the ones who finish it.) Everyone up here in the North Country watches out for the milkweed plants so they don't get zapped by roadside herbicides or mowing (many people put signs out).

Hi Kim, love your photo! We have a "butterfly garden" too--actually, much of our garden has become a "butterfly garden"!

Simon is looking good!!

Ella & Rusty
 
We love them here too. Pismo State Beach is a major overwintering site for Monarchs. East of the Rockies they migrate to a "secret" site in Mexico, west of the Rockies they come here. :-D :-D The Pismo Grove is right on US Hwy 1 and draws visitors from Dec to Feb. They literally cover the trees.

DS's class might enjoy this video,
[youtube]zWIMLOfkB74[/youtube]
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top