Nature red in jaws and sting, but a bright spot nonetheless.
Yesterday's monarch count: 44 eggs, 6 caterpillars. Four cats were 4mm; two, 11mm. The larger ones were both in the more sheltered bed area, on the plant right next to the wall, on leaves as low and close to the wall as they could get. I don't think that's a coincidence.
While I was counting, paper wasps kept showing up and trying to hunt. I had my Safer's insectidal soap and sprayed them. I used the narrow nozzle instead of the wide spray, hoping I'd be less likely to hit a caterpillar. (Safer's is like using very soapy water; it has to get on the insect to kill it, and is ineffective once it dries.) Twice the wasp got away -- hopefully I got enough on it to doom it -- but I managed to knock two to the ground and stomp on them. I wiped the leaves I'd sprayed as well as I could to help protect the cats. Considering the damage the wasps can do, I thought it was worth the risk.
Here are some photos of a wasp I took in summer last year.
Common paper wasp, Polistes exclamans, on tropical milkweed.
Its body is about 1" in length. They're beautiful creatures, but I'd really like them to go elsewhere. As far as I know, their numbers are not dropping. The monarch butterfly's are.
The bright spot: when I went out to do the count, the chrysalis had hatched! A beautiful new male adult was hanging from the bench. I picked it up to move it to dappled sunlight (it was extremely hot out, so I wasn't sure full sun would be the best idea), but he didn't want to wait. He fluttered up, up and away. So there's at least one success out of this batch.
While I was counting, paper wasps kept showing up and trying to hunt. I had my Safer's insectidal soap and sprayed them. I used the narrow nozzle instead of the wide spray, hoping I'd be less likely to hit a caterpillar. (Safer's is like using very soapy water; it has to get on the insect to kill it, and is ineffective once it dries.) Twice the wasp got away -- hopefully I got enough on it to doom it -- but I managed to knock two to the ground and stomp on them. I wiped the leaves I'd sprayed as well as I could to help protect the cats. Considering the damage the wasps can do, I thought it was worth the risk.
Here are some photos of a wasp I took in summer last year.
Common paper wasp, Polistes exclamans, on tropical milkweed.
Its body is about 1" in length. They're beautiful creatures, but I'd really like them to go elsewhere. As far as I know, their numbers are not dropping. The monarch butterfly's are.
The bright spot: when I went out to do the count, the chrysalis had hatched! A beautiful new male adult was hanging from the bench. I picked it up to move it to dappled sunlight (it was extremely hot out, so I wasn't sure full sun would be the best idea), but he didn't want to wait. He fluttered up, up and away. So there's at least one success out of this batch.