SCIENTISTS ASK CITIZENS TO RAISE HEALTHY MONARCHS !!!

1. PLEASE SHARE THIS WEBSITE WITH ALL YOUR  FACEBOOK FRIENDS !!
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3. I RECOMMENDED YOU START THE PROCEDURE TO RAISE YOUR ONE GENERATION OF MONARCHS "BEFORE" JULY 4th. Rearing monarchs after July 4th requires additional effort to raise healthy monarchs.
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5. You will need your own approximately 15" x 15" x 24"  $10-12 hatchery/nursery or better a 24" x 24" x 36"- $20-30 popup netted hatchery/nursery  
6. Click here for MONARCH HATCHERY / NURSERY   SUPPLIERS
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8.  I don't recommend smaller than approximately  15" x 15" x  24". The $20-24" x 24" x  36" (CLICK HERE) gives the butterfly laying eggs more room to fly around in the hatchery even if you put 2 one gallon milk jugs full of water and milkweed stems inside
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10. If the hatchery/nursery you purchase has a net or vinyl bottom you should put a triple layer of paper towels under your one gallon milk jug (s) full of water and  full of a bouqet of  milkwed stems, and up the sides a couple inches when you're raising your monarchs.

1. Unless you are just collecting stems with eggs on them
2. You will need a butterfly net.
3. Click here for BUTTERFLY NET SUPPLIERS .
4. They are all good if they have a net about 1 Foot or more n diameter
5. "Dollar Tree " store sometimes has smaller $1 nets
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7. You will need 2-one gallon milk jugs rinsed well
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9. You will need a 5 gallon bucket with 6 inches of water, some gloves, and some cutters to cut  the 3/4" milkweed stems you will be harvesting.
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11. If YOU"RE RAISING MONARCHS IN A PART OF THE COUNTRY WHERE THE NATIVE MILKWEED IS OTHER THAN "COMMON" MILKWEED,  ANY SPECIES OF MILKWEED CAN BE SUBSTITUTED IN THE BELOW DESCRIBED METHOD INCLUDING PLANTS GROWING IN POTS 
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13. AS LONG AS STEMS  LEAVE A SPACE  4" FROM THE TOP OF THE  HATCHERY/NURSERY AND THEY"RE RINSED WELL.  Here is a link for common milkweed's range and discription;
14. https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/asclepias_syriaca.shtml
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16. Common milkweed grows  everywhere in the Midwest and Northeast, and beginning June 1st, is about 2 feet tall just as the monarchs arrive in these areas.  Farther South in the U S, milkweed is 2 foot  tall a little earlier. You will need to know where there are 40-60 stems of common milkweed  at least  20"  tall to raise up to 100 monarchs using my approved method. You won't harvest them all at once you just need to know where they are when you need them.   This link is a picture of common milkweed  during the 3rd week in June.  https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10165018228590290&set=pcb.483811796001541
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18.  YOU SHOULD WEAR GLOVES AND NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE OR EYES WHEN CUTTING OR OTHERWISE HANDLING MILKWEED. MILKWEED CONTAINS  SUBSTANCES THAT WILL IRRITATE YOUR EYES AND SKIN !  
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20. The following 2 minute video shows what common milkweed looks like at the Yale University campus on June 1st  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saxx36cngQw
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22. The following video actually shows me finding and harvesting common milkweed stems around June 1st. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MyBUVQSV5U
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24. 2) Now that you have your hatchery/nursery and net or you're waiting for them to arrive it's time to go find where "common" milkweed is growing, see if there's any eggs on the leaves and/or where you can catch a monarch butterfly to put in your hatchery/nursery to lay eggs on the milkweed.   You may have to go out looking for a number of days until you find monarchs flying around laying eggs.  
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26.  It's advantages to get some common or other more milkweed started growing along with some nectar plants; in your yard, that will attract monarchs when they arrive in your area, on their migration, so you won't need to leave your yard  to find eggs on your milkweed and/or net a monarch laying eggs.         

Once mature common milkweed sends out lots of runners and new stems will pop up. It gets 5 feet tall and will take over the area you plant it in so give it lots of room If you're raising monarchs y

1. Please watch this one minute video of a monarch laying an egg on common milkweed  so you'll know what you're looking for.  Common milkweed, in the video below , is a lot taller than it is in the video above taken in June.
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsgZd8cFJOg
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4. PLEASE TAKE VIDEO AND PICTURES OF YOUR CATCHING A BUTTERFLY EXPERIENCE OR FINDING EGGS ON PLANTS AND IF YOU"RE A MEMBER POST THEM ON OUR FACEBOOK GROUP TIMELINE FEED CLICK AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE.  
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6. When you go exploring It's best to take someone with you ! You may want to take a friend  or find an experienced monarch butterfly enthusiast in your area by going to the map I have at the following link. If you find someone,  they may be able to tell you where to find milkweed and/or share a female to lay eggs on your plants.  You may want to  put your location on the map so you can help new people too. To put your own location balloon on the map Click "Additions" then "Marker Detailed" You can put your name and the link to your personal Facebook page, local group page, monarch event, and/or website. Move your cursor over your location and click and your balloon will appear https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=3262577
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8. Don't forget to take your butterfly net, plant stem cutters, a pair of gloves, a 5 gallon bucket with about 6 inches of water, and your popup hatchery/nursery to put your egg laying monarch  butterfly in.   Sometimes you can get your milkweed, find eggs under or on top the leaves, and/or catch an egg laying monarch in one trip  IT"S BEST TO CATCH AN EGG LAYING MONARCH BUTTERFLY.  
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10. THE REARING STEPS CONTINUE ON THE TOP RIGHT >>>>>

1.  THE MILKWEED PLANTS YOU HARVEST YOUR MILKWEED STEMS FROM WILL RECOVER ITS LEAVES AND STEMS IN LESS THAN A MONTH TO FEED MORE MONARCH CATERPILLARS.   
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3. You should harvest 12- 20" long common milkweed stems with lots of leaves and maybe with a few eggs on them and/or better, catch a monarch laying eggs with a net so you can put her in your hatchery and lay all the eggs you will need to raise up to 100 monarchs.
   
4. YOU WILL NEED TO RETURN TO THIS AREA OR ANOTHER LOCATION TO HARVEST MORE MILKWEED STEMS AFTER YOUR CATERPILLARS START GETTING  BIG. YOU MUST START YOUR REARING OF YOUR ONE  GENERATION OF MONARCHS EACH SEASON BY JULY 4th.  WHEN YOU'VE RELEASED  THE MONARCHS YOU'VE RAISED, STERILIZE YOUR HATCHERY/NURSERY AS DESCRIBED BELOW AND PUT IT AWAY UNTIL NEXT YEAR.
   
5.  If you caught an egg laying monarch and brought her home in your hatchery/nursery`It's time to setup your hatchery while she's in it.  Put 6-20" milkweed  stems that have been rinsed well under a faucet, in a gallon milk jug full of water, in the hatchery/nursery on some kind of table, in a window, in your house.  Put the other 6 stems in a bucket with about 6" of water in it. Trim all stems and pull off any leaves that would be under water just a couple seconds before you put them in the vase or bucket so they will take up water and stay fresh.
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6. F YOUR HATCHERY AND NURSERY HAS A SCREEN OR VINYL BOTTOM PUT A TRIPLE LAYER OF PAPER TOWELS, COVERING THE ENTIRE BOTTOM,  UNDER YOUR GALLON MILK JUG FULL OF MILKWEED. POSITION THEM SO THEY GO 1" UP THE SIDES OF THE HATCHERY TO CATCH CATERPILLAR DROPPINGS.
    
7. In the video linked below I'm teaching Yale University students to naturally raise monarchs at the Yale University Farm (the popup hamper is no longer available  at Walmart) Use a one gallon milk jug full of water as milkweed stem container and not the white waste basket https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzVOzPgjwgM&t=252s
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9. After she's laid about 110 eggs on the tops and bottoms of leaves you can  put her in another hatchery/nursery setup to lay eggs or release her.  PLEASE TAKE  A VIDEO OF HER LAYING EGGS AND IF YOU'RE A MEMBER POST IT ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE. CLICK AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE !!
   
   In about a week the eggs will hatch and you will see holes in the leaves. As the stems are stripped of leaves by the caterpillars, add fresh stems from your bucket. (you will have to go harvest at least 20 more stems each time you go) When the caterpillars have moved to the fresh stems  remove the stripped stems. Quit adding stems when all the caterpillars have moved to the top of the nursery   PLEASE TAKE  A VIDEO OR PICTURE OF THE CATERPILLARS EATING AND IF YOU'RE A MEMBER POST IT ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE. CLICK AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE !!
   
10. In about 10-12 days when the caterpillars are as big as they need to be they will move to the top of the hatchery and hang like a J and turn into a chrysalis. IF THE LEAVES ARE ALL STRIPPED FROM THE STEMS, AND THE CATERPILLARS  HAVEN'T ALL MOVED TO THE TOP IMMEDIATELY GO OUT AND HARVEST ABOUT 10 MORE 20" STEMS TO PUT IN THE VASE A COUPLE AT A TIME, UNTIL THEY MOVE TO THE TOP OF THE HATCHERY.  
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12. PLEASE TAKE  A VIDEO OR PICTURE OF THE CATERPILLARS AND CHRYSALIS HANGING ON TOP OF THE HATCHERY AND IF YOU'RE A MEMBER POST IT ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE. CLICK AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE TO GO TO OUR GROUP PAGE !!!
    
    In about 10-12 days adult monarch butterflies will start to emerge and hang to dry their wings.
13. Here's a video showing monarchs emerging
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16.  In about 24 hours they will be dry and moving their wings. You can now take them outside to a garden center or park , or field with lots of nectar flowers, unzip the hatchery and with the unzipped side up release them so they can produce more monarchs in the wild to add to the population and migration that wouldn't have existed without your help.  If people ask you how you did it tell them to go to www.HowtoRaiseMonarchButterflies.com   
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18. This is a great release event Thousands attended at this link  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVcAFLLJRBU  
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20.   Please watch this 1 minute video  of monarchs having emerged  at Yale University in Kroon Hall,the home of the School of the Environment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWxEVsM-33o

• Keep adding rinsed stems (you will have to go harvest more milkweed stems) and  when THEY DECIDE they're big enough the caterpillars will crawl to the top of the popup hatchery and will hang like a "J" and turn into a green chrysalis. A week to 12 days later they will emerge and you will have butterflies ready for release in 24 hours when their wings are dry to breed and help increase the monarch population and migration.
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• These released butterflies will breed again in nature further adding to the monarch population.  
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• The pop up hatchery  can be used again if thoroughly disinfected with a 5% bleach solution for 1 hour   

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• Remove plants from hatchery, collapse hatchery to original folded shape. Fill your 5 gallon bucket to within 6 inches from the top and add 32 ounces of household bleach .  Submerge the hatchery  for one hour.  Remove hatchery and rinse thoroughly and store it until the next year.
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• Potted Growing Plants should be bleached with a 5% bleach solution in a spray bottle. After two minutes, rinse thoroughly with clean water in spray bottle. During plant growing season put plants outside in the sun, fertilize, put plant coasters under them and keep them watered.  After plants recover with new leaves, spray leaf tops and bottoms with bleach solution once more. Rinse thoroughly with clean water.