Caterpillars, mostly.
Latest monarch count on Monday, June 17: 50 eggs, 55 caterpillars. That's 38 more cats than on the 14th, but 86 fewer eggs. Obviously not all of the eggs are going to make it to hatching, but considering that adults are still showing up to lay additional eggs, and that most of the cats this time were 3mm or less, it's not a good sign. I hadn't seen any cats last time that would have been big enough to move on to the next stage.
I found three dead caterpillars on the ground next to the pot. They'd clearly died from infection (which can have various causes), and I got rid of the bodies and tore off some milkweed leaves that had nasty infectious caterpillar juice on them. One of them had made it to around 25mm (1") before expiring. Dammit!
Anyway, eight of the cats were newly hatched at about 1mm (1/25"); the rest were around 3mm (1/8"), except for three about 25mm (1"). The larger ones, apparently the only survivors from the earlier group, were in the milkweed patch against the wall, not in the big pot. That area has, in the past, been less affected by disease and whatever else kills off caterpillars. I have no idea why. Perhaps it's got something to do with being more sheltered, even though, with less sun, the plants don't grow as big. Or maybe it's something else.
Although it concerns me that so many caterpillars are newly or recently hatched, at least they are hatching, and chomping away. Whatever killed the older ones off, maybe the second wave will do better. At least I hope so.
While I was crouching over the plants, a Cooper's hawk flew over the yard, pip-pipping, and coasted right past the palm tree where the crows are nesting. Oddly, there wasn't a peep out of them. Maybe the parents were out foraging. And a woodpecker was calling from somewhere in the neighborhood.
I found three dead caterpillars on the ground next to the pot. They'd clearly died from infection (which can have various causes), and I got rid of the bodies and tore off some milkweed leaves that had nasty infectious caterpillar juice on them. One of them had made it to around 25mm (1") before expiring. Dammit!
Anyway, eight of the cats were newly hatched at about 1mm (1/25"); the rest were around 3mm (1/8"), except for three about 25mm (1"). The larger ones, apparently the only survivors from the earlier group, were in the milkweed patch against the wall, not in the big pot. That area has, in the past, been less affected by disease and whatever else kills off caterpillars. I have no idea why. Perhaps it's got something to do with being more sheltered, even though, with less sun, the plants don't grow as big. Or maybe it's something else.
Although it concerns me that so many caterpillars are newly or recently hatched, at least they are hatching, and chomping away. Whatever killed the older ones off, maybe the second wave will do better. At least I hope so.
While I was crouching over the plants, a Cooper's hawk flew over the yard, pip-pipping, and coasted right past the palm tree where the crows are nesting. Oddly, there wasn't a peep out of them. Maybe the parents were out foraging. And a woodpecker was calling from somewhere in the neighborhood.