PLANT MONARCH PLANTS AND RAIse MONARCHS !!!

9)  I'm presently teaching the method Dr. James and I teach of "Mass Captive Rearing"  monarch butterflies to increase the monarch migration, at Yale University. Our method was observed and approved by staff lepidopterists at the Peabody Museum on the campus of Yale.  Our monarch hatchery has been displayed in the renowned 'Discovery Hall' at Yale shown in the brief video at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO00Ry0QBL0 

10) This is a mini-documentary where I introduce Mary and I  with:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfn9wuvVaDw&t=139s   

11) Again, I am the founder and administrator of the fast growing 10,000+ member group of monarch citizen scientists with 25+ local Chapters, many of which are participating in the 'MONARCH RESEARCH PROGRAM'  I hope you will observe the group, and you're welcome to join if you like. You will find this instructional information in a post pinned to the top of the Facebook  group's  timeline feed so it will always be there. You're welcome to share that post and/or any other post with all your friends on Facebook and other social media platforms. https://www.facebook.com/groups/HowtoRaiseMonarchButterflies

12) We are recruiting 1000s of monarch lovers, many who already participate in monarch conservation, to participate in this monarch mass captive rearing research program being conducted throughout the Midwest, Northeast, and Canada this summer, in late May, June, and July. This is the time when the monarchs start arriving in the summer breeding grounds. You will only be spending a few hours during a period of a month depending on when the monarchs arrive in your area and the milkweed is tall enough to harvest at the same time.

13) We will be 'RAISING' the monarch migration to increase the monarch migration by hundreds of millions of healthy strong monarchs going south to Mexico this winter !!!

14) YOU SHOULD READ THIS ENTIRE PAGE FIRST SO YOU WILL UNDERSTAND HOW SIMPLE AND REWARDING THIS PROGRAM IS. SANITATION OF YOUR "MINIMAL" EQUIPMENT IS The MOST IMPORTANT AND SIMPLE PART OF THIS PROGRAM.  A monarch hatchery is $7 and up, a $2-4 butterfly net, a  $3-5 60x power mini-microscope, and a few household items listed below is all you'll need. IF YOU WANT TO CONTRIBUTE 200-300 MONARCHS TO THE MIGRATION YOU"LL NEED TO GET THE 2' x 2' x 3' popup hatchery for around $20.  GOOGLE 'BUTTERFLY HATCHERY HABITAT'

15)  IF YOU HAVE A HATCHERY YOU'VE USED BEFORE, It's a requirement of this program for you to disinfect any used hatchery and every time you use it, by folding it up in a circle and completely submerging it in 1 gallon of unscented household bleach and 4 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket for 24 hours and then removing it, rinsing it well before opening it and letting it dry. You won't need to disinfect a new unused hatchery !!! DO THIS FIRST, NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO DO IT !!!  

16)  Here is the list of supplies you'll need that are talked about below, GOOGLE them, order them now, while supplies last, and have them delivered; EASY PEASY !!!

1.  butterfly habitat hatchery ($7-30)
2.  butterfly capture net ($2-15)
3.  60x power mini-microscope ($3-5)
4.  5 gallon bucket ($4)
5.  cutters for 3/4" stem
6.  1 gal.unscented household bleach ($5)
7.  clear scotch tape ($2)
8.  paper towels
9.  1-3 one gallon milk jugs
10. water spray bottle ($1
11.  thin rubber gloves

17) The total for everything is approximately $25 for the small and $40 for the (better) large hatchery set up unless you already have a netted pop up butterfly hatchery similar to the ones

described below.

18) PLEASE READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW CAREFULLY AND SEND ME AN EMAIL TO: CraigTheButterflyman@HowToRaiseMonarchButterflies.com so I will have your email to send you Newsletter updates of how the program is going. 

19) Each program participant will raise approximately 100-400 healthy monarchs ( they raise themselves, you mostly watch) in a netted butterfly pop up hatchery (hatcheries) approximately 14" x 14" x 24" (100 monarchs) and/or 2 feet by 2 feet by 3 feet (200 -300 monarchs).

20) This is the link for the large 2' x 2' x 3' $19.98 hatchery: https://www.walmart.com/.../SPRING-PARK-Monarch.../135905211

 21)This is the link for the smaller 14" x 14" x 24" $9.88 hatchery: https://www.walmart.com/.../SPRING-PARK-Monarch.../973126925

22) GOOGLE: 'BUTTERFLY HABITAT HATCHERY' IF THESE ARE SOLD OUT AND/OR THE LINK IS DEAD !!!

23) In the larger hatchery you can put as many as 3-1 gallon jugs in the hatchery all at the same time,(raise 2-300 monarchs at once) with 4-5 fresh stems of common milkweed in each jug. REMEMBER, trim each milkweed stem at the bottom immediately before you insert the stem in the jug of water, like you would a flower in a vase. Pull any leaves off the stem that would be under water in the jug. Regularly change out the jugs with the stripped stems, with clean jugs full of stems of rinsed well fresh trimmed stems in them. Sometimes you will need to transfer a few caterpillars to fresh stems. Use your thin rubber gloves to carefully move caterpillars.

24) Please include, in an email to  CraigTheButterflyman@gmail.com as soon as possible, a picture of the hatchery (hatcheries) you have and any of the rest of the materials you need listed above. If you don't have a hatchery and the ones above aren't available again GOOGLE: "BUTTERFLY HATCHERY CAGE HABITAT" Order as many as you like. If you're raising your monarchs with friends you can move your gravid (pregnant) monarch around between hatcheries to lay the approximate number of eggs for each size hatchery. If not, release her outside after she's laid all the eggs you need for your hatcheries.

25)  THIS IS A FUN MONARCH RESEARCH PROGRAM AND WE EXPECT IT TO FILL UP QUICKLY !!

26)  If you don't have at least one hatchery in either of the above sizes or larger, you will need to order at least one in either size or even larger. I CAN'T ENTER YOU INTO THIS RESEARCH PROGRAM IF YOU DON'T REPLY TO THIS EMAIL 

CraigTheButterflyman@gmail.com

27) You will also need to GOOGLE: butterfly net $3-5, and GOOGLE: 60x power Mini-Microscope $3-5, and be sure you have the few household items that are on the list above.

28) You will need to net a female (gravid) pregnant monarch in the wild or order a butterfly explained below. .        Recruit a child to do this if need be. 👧👦

IT IS EXTREMELY NECESSARY YOU CHECK HER FOR A PARASITE CALLED 'OE' before you introduce her inside her temporary hatchery home. If she's 'clean' of OE you can put her in the hatchery to lay eggs, if not, and we hate to do it, she needs to be put in the freezer to freeze her and kill the OE on her body. Please follow the protocol presented here by the Butterfly-Lady http://butterfly-lady.com/what-is-oe/    If you don't want to try to catch a monarch contact the people who sell 'gravid' female monarch ready to lay eggs at 'The International Butterfly Breeders Association' or 'The Association For Butterflies' and tell them you want to order a 'gravid' female. They are usually about $10 each. Order some for your friends so you can share in the shipping cost.  ( the butterflies you order will not need to be checked for OE. The breeders only raise clean healthy monarchs)

29) She will lay up to 400 eggs in a short period of time. Do the math, you will want her to lay approximately 100 eggs in each 14 x 14 x 24 hatchery you have available so it will require 4 of these smaller hatcheries to house her 400 eggs and within a month you will have the adult in-flight monarchs. It will require two-2' x 2' x 3' hatcheries with 200 eggs laid in each hatchery.

30) You are not required to buy multiple hatcheries to participate in our research program !!! If you don't have enough hatcheries she can lay the rest of her eggs in, release her outside.

31) You will need to locate many common milkweed stems that grow everywhere, and will be 2 feet tall by June 1st, in the Midwest and maybe a week or two later in the Northeast, and Canada. ANY SPECIES OF MILKWEED QUALIFIES FOR THIS PROGRAM AS LONG IT'S LEAFY, AND AT LEAST 50 STEMS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE SMALL HATCHERY AND 100 AVAIlABLE FOR THE LARGE HATCHERY !!! This is a map showing the summer breeding grounds: https://images.app.goo.gl/dVX21qTKc7ko9YbT6

32) You will need approximately 50-2 foot long common milkweed stems to raise 100 monarchs in the small hatchery ( leave about 4" between the top of the hatchery and the top of your milkweed stems) and approximately 100-2 foot stems to raise 200 monarchs in the larger hatchery. Pull a leaf off the plant and if white sap comes out it's milkweed. (picture below) Happy hunting !!!

33) You may get lucky and catch your egg laying monarch while she's laying an egg while you're hunting for milkweed. Here's what she looks like laying eggs on common milkweed, click:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qffxA06vV94

Google "Common Milkweed" so you will know what it looks like

34) Once you catch her, put your egg laying monarch in a plastic grocery bag with small holes in it, put her in the shade, and take her home with you along with your 5 gallon bucket of 15-2 foot long milkweed stems you trimmed at the bottom just before you put them in 6" of water in the bucket, to keep them fresh. IT IS EXTREMELY NECESSARY YOU CHECK HER FOR A PARASITE CALLED 'OE' before you introduce her inside the hatchery. If she's 'clean' of OE you can put her in the hatchery to lay eggs, if not she needs to be put in the freezer to freeze and kill the OE on her body and throw away the bag she was in and disinfect your net and wash your hands and gloves. Please follow the protocol presented here by the Butterfly-Lady http://butterfly-lady.com/what-is-oe/

35) When you get home, put your female monarch that's in the plastic grocery bag, with holes in it, in a cool shaded place and quickly put your well rinsed trimmed stems in one gallon milk jugs full of water, with the leaves pulled off that would be underwater. Put the gallon jug full of milkweed in your disinfected or new hatchery that won't need disinfected, on a table, near a window, and put that jug in your hatchery on a triple bed of clean paper towels covering the entire bottom of the hatchery.

36)  IF YOU HAVE A HATCHERY YOU'VE USED BEFORE, It's a requirement of this program for you to disinfect any used hatchery by folding it up in a circle and completely submerging it in 1 gallon of household bleach and 4 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket for 24 hours and then removing it, rinsing it well , open it, and let it dry. You won't need to disinfect a new unused hatchery !!!

37) IF YOU'VE CHECKED HER FOR OE,  you can add your egg laying monarch to the hatchery and zip the flap door closed. She will begin laying eggs in a little while. You will want to guess/count how many eggs she's laid before you need to move her to another hatchery or let her go outside if you don't have another hatchery for her to lay more eggs. 100 eggs laid for the small hatchery and 300 eggs laid for the large hatchery with 3 jugs full of milkweed in it IT IS EXTREMELY NECESSARY YOU CHECK HER FOR A PARASITE CALLED 'OE' before you introduce her inside the hatchery. If she's 'clean' of OE you can put her in the hatchery to lay eggs, if not she needs to be put in the freezer to freeze and kill the OE on her body. Please follow the protocol presented here by the Butterfly-Lady http://butterfly-lady.com/what-is-oe/

38) REMEMBER: THE HATCHERY NEEDS TO BE DISINFECTED IF IT'S BEEN USED BEFORE, THE STEMS OF MILKWEED NEED TO BE RINSED WELL AND THE STEM NEEDS TRIMMED AND IMMEDIATELY PUT IN THE JUG FULL OF WATER WITH ANY SUBMERGED LEAVES PULLED OFF, THE EGG LAYING BUTTERFLY NEEDS TO BE CHECKED FOR OE, AND PAPER TOWELS NEED TO BE SPREAD ON THE BOTTOM OF THE HATCHERY BEFORE YOU PUT THE FEMALE BUTTERFLY IN THE HATCHERY. SHE WILL START LAYING EGGS SOON AFTER YOU PUT HER IN THE HATCHERY IF YOU NETTED HER WHILE SHE WAS LAYING EGGS.

BE SURE YOU CHANGE OUT THE PAPER TOWELS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE HATCHERY REGULARLY !!!

39) After the eggs hatch and the caterpillars start to eat the milkweed, you will need to add rinsed trimmed stems to the jug or jugs and remove the ones that are stripped of leaves. The caterpillars will move from stem to stem until they eat all they want and climb to the top of the hatchery and turn into a chrysalis. Lift up the milk jug and or jugs and change the paper towels as they get soiled. There needs to be paper towels on the bottom of the hatchery below !!!  That's a male below with the two dots on his secondary wings.   The female doesn't have the scent gland dots.  PLEASE TAKE PICTURES AND VIDEOS OF YOUR MONARCH RAISING EXPERIENCE AS YOU MONARCHS GO THROUGH THE STAGES OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT AND POST THEM ON OUR GROUP FACEBOOK PAGE 'HOW TO RAISE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES' TIMELINE LINKED HERE:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/HowtoRaiseMonarchButterflies

40) In 10-14 days adult butterflies will emerge from the chrysalis hang and dry for 24 hours before you check them for OE with your mini-microscope by following the directions at this link. http://butterfly-lady.com/what-is-oe/ If you check 7 of them and none of them have OE, release all of them in a garden center or near lots of blooming flowers. If any of them have OE, you must check them all and freeze the ones that have OE. You can't let them go, they will infect the outdoor wild population.

41)  One generation or batch of monarchs is all you should raise this season to keep the migration healthy and not take, even the slightest chance, of spreading OE. Now it's time to disinfect your hatchery and materials as described above, and put them away until next May ,June, or July.   

42 ) With 10,000 participants WE WILL BE ADDING A TREMENDOUS NUMBER OF MONARCHS TO THE MIGRATION !!! If 10,000 citizen scientists in the summer breeding grounds had a 2' x 2' x 3' netted butterfly hatchery pop up and introduced a (gravid ) pregnant female in May, June, or July, (REMEMBER, YOU MUST CHECK YOUR BUTTERFLY FOR OE BEFORE YOU PUT HER IN THE HATCHERY !!! ) and each netted pop up hatchery produced 300 monarchs a month later and half 300 x 10,000 = 3 million divided by 2 = 1.5m are females ready to lay eggs in the wild.
43) and each laid 400 eggs (600,000,000 total eggs) 1/2 females = 300 million female monarchs x 400 eggs laid each, in the wild, that would be 120,000,000,000 eggs that's billions of eggs, and 5% of those monarchs made it to the adult in-flight stage in the wild, that's 6 BILLION, THAT GREW UP IN THE WILD GOING TO MEXICO that have what it takes to get there and back to Texas in the spring !!! If only 5% make it to Mexico, there will be at least 300,000,000, that's 300 million 2 hundred million more than the 2021-22 population, or 6 hectares of monarchs overwintering in Mexico as tourists view their spectacular beauty.


44) WHEN YOU HAVE SOME TIME I HOPE YOU WILL READ MY FREE EBOOK:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRQ6DmqlcusEjps8XvMtFl4RK-KarmFn8l9MM0fZOpZ4rWzJkZxtSNvXqi13I8OYxToV_PLAo7udlBl/pub

Sincerely, www.CraigtheButterflyman.com
GREAT BUTTERFLY BIOLOGY MOVIE LINKED HERE: http://subscriptions.viddler.com/Go2RPI/yvmq2w
TO DATE: NO PLANET HAS BEEN DISCOVERED WITH THE NATURAL LIVING BEAUTY OF EARTH 
Genesis1:11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis  26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Genesis 2:8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. 10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
Genesis 2:15,  "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it   And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help mate for him.  20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field.