I'm raising about 50 Monarchs this year, and because I don't have enough of any one species of Asclepias to feed all of them, I am offering them cuttings of 2 or 3 species when they are small (A. incarnata, A. syriaca, or A. curassavica) and eventually they seems to adapt and eat all of them. A. tuberosa is the least favorite. I tried feeding some to the larger cats, but the leaves were pretty drought stricken and not even the hungry 5th instar cats ate much. Do you have any other type of milkweed? If that's all you have and you are trying to transition the baby cats, then I would pick the smallest and most tender leaves possible.

My hatchery is actully a base cabinate my husband bought from Lowes. He lined it with plastic and placed a small computer fan if the back wall and an exhaust fan that is controlled by a thermostat set to pull an extra batch of fresh air in when the inside temp goes above 80 degrees. Both fans have gaurds on them so the butterflys can't get out or hurt by the fan blades while the fans are running. He put a top shelf that holds three LED flood grow lights set on an adjustable timer. The lights are really cool. The can burn all day long and are still cool to the touch and use less electricity than a 20 watt regular light bulb. He orginally made it for displaying some of our smaller orchid plants in orchid shows we go to. It got too heavy to haul around so he converted it for cats when I first started hatching out BST's. We used a glue gun to glue two key rings to each side wall and we streach the pupated cats on the string by using a small piece of paper with a tiny hole in the middle of it then a dab of hot glue on the suspension string the cats used to mount themselves on the plants with. It keeps the preditors away from eating them while they are pupated. Turned 12 monarchs loose today. There were two that managed to tear their wings when they exclosed. Can't save them all I guess. Stil have 19 more on the string, some I expect will eclose tonight. Still have four more on the outdoor plants two them have started pupating today. I leave them set for a full day after they pupate so it makes them easier to handle for the mounting process. Most of the ones I turned loose today stayed in the area all day. What a beautifull sight!

Hi Sandy, Thank you for your nice comment on the photo. I noticed the same native Liatris blooming along the freeway while on my way to London, AR. I'm going to let the seed heads on my plants dry and see if I can be successful with seed germination this winter. I've never had luck germinating seed of this plant. Yes, I believe MaryAnn did have several different Asters available. Don't they make nice color this time of year plus provide a much needed nectar source. I can't wait to see how this Peachies Pick does. It has some dried seed heads on it and I crumpled up one and sprinkled it in a mini greenhouse to see if anything germinates. Be happy to share some seed, if they're viable and come true from seed. My potted plant also has a fresh bloom, which I think is beautiful ... love to try new plants! http://www.perennialreference.com/perennials/stokesia.html Pine Ridge Gardens is having another open house in mid October. That might be an ideal time to consider driving over. The Open House dates are on MaryAnn's website. ~Mary Here is a link that might be useful: Pine Ridge Gardens

Those little butterflies know a good thing when they see it. It's nice to know that your hard gardening work is paying off and the butterflies recognize that! I can only sit here in sheer envy of your butterfly bounty. The last monarch I tagged here in CT was the first of Nov. and I saw another one on the fifth, but it was way up high flying to the South West. I will have to be patient...I have another 5 months until I begin checking my 50 or so overwintering BSTs for activity. Connecticut has such a long, cold butterflyless winter... Maryann