Hi Folks-
Disappointing news to report... several weeks ago during the real hot spell we had I came home to a bunch of dead adult monarchs... very sad situation! Despite my best efforts to find some wild females to lay some eggs, we were unsuccessful. Consequently, no larvae will be available for classrooms this season...
Sorry!
Jack
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Hi Folks-
I am happy to report that I will have some monarch larvae available starting on Labor Day. They are TINY little buggers... but they will grow by the day! Also, I have many eggs that I am hoping will hatch over the next week.
If you would like larvae for your classroom shoot me an email at jel52@cornell.edu and we will set up a time for you to pick some up.
Jack Little
I am happy to report that I will have some monarch larvae available starting on Labor Day. They are TINY little buggers... but they will grow by the day! Also, I have many eggs that I am hoping will hatch over the next week.
If you would like larvae for your classroom shoot me an email at jel52@cornell.edu and we will set up a time for you to pick some up.
Jack Little
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Hi folks-
I have been getting a number of emails regarding the availability of monarch larvae for the start of the school year. Let me tell you where I stand at this moment. It is the 14th of August and I have a dozen chrysalis that will emerge in the next few days. I am hoping I can get them paired, mating and laying eggs in the next 10 days. If I am successful in doing this (I normally am!) we should have larvae available for the start of school.
I will post updates to this blog as I am going along and will also post when they will be ready for pickup. Please share this blog with your colleagues who might be interested.
If by some fortunate circumstance you catch a female monarch, let me know! We will put her to work as well...
Jack Little
I have been getting a number of emails regarding the availability of monarch larvae for the start of the school year. Let me tell you where I stand at this moment. It is the 14th of August and I have a dozen chrysalis that will emerge in the next few days. I am hoping I can get them paired, mating and laying eggs in the next 10 days. If I am successful in doing this (I normally am!) we should have larvae available for the start of school.
I will post updates to this blog as I am going along and will also post when they will be ready for pickup. Please share this blog with your colleagues who might be interested.
If by some fortunate circumstance you catch a female monarch, let me know! We will put her to work as well...
Jack Little
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Important notice to teachers for Fall 2013
Hi Folks-
Due to some health problems I have been having, we were NOT able to raise any monarchs this summer. We will not have any sort of supply for teachers like we have had in previous years...
There is one outside chance that this could change... we will be looking for female monarchs from now, through the end of August. If we were able to have some egg layers in the greenhouse during the last week of August, we probably could have some larvae for some classrooms when school starts...
SO... IF YOU CATCH ANY FEMALE MONARCHS, GET THEM TO ME AND WE CAN SEE IF WE CAN GET SOMETHING GOING!
Jack
Due to some health problems I have been having, we were NOT able to raise any monarchs this summer. We will not have any sort of supply for teachers like we have had in previous years...
There is one outside chance that this could change... we will be looking for female monarchs from now, through the end of August. If we were able to have some egg layers in the greenhouse during the last week of August, we probably could have some larvae for some classrooms when school starts...
SO... IF YOU CATCH ANY FEMALE MONARCHS, GET THEM TO ME AND WE CAN SEE IF WE CAN GET SOMETHING GOING!
Jack
Monday, September 3, 2012
Teaching resources
Hi folks-
LOTS of teachers picking up the last couple of days... more scheduled for tomorrow. Our supply is holding up pretty well so if you are still looking for some get with us soon.
Here are some teaching resources that might help you out in the classroom. The first one, created by Aileen Grainger, a new Kindergarten teacher at Caroline, is just fantastic!
webquestbutterflylifecycle.weebly.com
www.monarchwatch.org
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1kdelsfkqCPam9rM1ZZSzdTc1MyQjA5NXRNc0h5UQ/edit
Good luck as you start your new school year!
J
LOTS of teachers picking up the last couple of days... more scheduled for tomorrow. Our supply is holding up pretty well so if you are still looking for some get with us soon.
Here are some teaching resources that might help you out in the classroom. The first one, created by Aileen Grainger, a new Kindergarten teacher at Caroline, is just fantastic!
webquestbutterflylifecycle.weebly.com
www.monarchwatch.org
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1kdelsfkqCPam9rM1ZZSzdTc1MyQjA5NXRNc0h5UQ/edit
Good luck as you start your new school year!
J
Friday, August 31, 2012
Larvae Now Available
Monarch larvae are available for distribution to teachers at local schools, beginning Saturday September 1st through Tuesday, September 4th. Please make arrangements for pickup via email at jlittle990@aol.com. A ready supply of milkweed should be identified prior to obtaining the larvae. A small container to transport the larvae is also necessary.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Larvae available
Hello!
Another year begins for the monarchs! We have had a great start to the season with the early arrival of monarchs and very good success in raising the milkweed! We currently have several hundred more larvae in the butterfly house... many more than what we need at this time for breeding purposes. If you would like to try your hand at raising them yourself, shoot me an email at jlittle990@aol.com and we will get you set up.
Another year begins for the monarchs! We have had a great start to the season with the early arrival of monarchs and very good success in raising the milkweed! We currently have several hundred more larvae in the butterfly house... many more than what we need at this time for breeding purposes. If you would like to try your hand at raising them yourself, shoot me an email at jlittle990@aol.com and we will get you set up.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Update for August 28th
It has been a pretty darn good year in the butterfly house so far! We have raised and released about 250 monarchs so far. We allowed many of them to breed and lay eggs on milkweed plants in the greenhouse before their release, so we now have many hundred (thousand?) larvae coming along. We should have plenty of a variety of sizes for distribution to the local school districts.
If you are interested in larvae for your classroom, Johanna is coordinating the effort this year. You can email her at johannalittle@aol.com. They will be available for pickup at the greenhouse over labor day weekend. She can also answer any possible question you could have on raising them!
Various pictures of larvae/butterflies in various stages of development are available at https://picasaweb.google.com/100426844359989897318.
We are looking for a tagging/release date of September 13 or 14th... stay tuned for details!
J
If you are interested in larvae for your classroom, Johanna is coordinating the effort this year. You can email her at johannalittle@aol.com. They will be available for pickup at the greenhouse over labor day weekend. She can also answer any possible question you could have on raising them!
Various pictures of larvae/butterflies in various stages of development are available at https://picasaweb.google.com/100426844359989897318.
We are looking for a tagging/release date of September 13 or 14th... stay tuned for details!
J
Sunday, August 7, 2011
First Generation Raised...
So here we are at August 7th... there are about 250 +/- monarchs in the butterfly house in various stages from larvae to adults. All of these were the effort of just a few females that we raised earlier this summer- see prior post.
We have started to pair off the adults and watch for mating and ultimately egg laying activity. For whatever the reason, we seem to be about 10 days ahead of schedule, so we need to make sure we have eggs being laid over the rest of this month, to be sure we have enough larvae to distribute to all the elementary school classes that want them. Most of the remaining butterflies will just fly around the greenhouse for a few days, but ultimately get released on their merry way. All of this generation will be local breeders rather than migrators. All future eggs laid this year will be the ones who attempt the great migration to central Mexico, overwinter, breed and start the generations who will join us next summer.
My daughter Johanna will be coordinating the distribution of butterflies for the classroom this year. If you are an educator and want some larvae for your classroom, shoot her an email at johannalittle@aol.com and make arrangements. We would expect the distribution to be here at the greenhouse on Labor Day weekend.
The remaining larvae that are raised here in the greenhouse will be tagged before they are released. Generally, we have an open house in mid-September to allow visitors to assist in the tagging and release. Watch this blog for further details on that event...
For more information on monarch migration, visit http://monarchwatch.com/ ...
We have started to pair off the adults and watch for mating and ultimately egg laying activity. For whatever the reason, we seem to be about 10 days ahead of schedule, so we need to make sure we have eggs being laid over the rest of this month, to be sure we have enough larvae to distribute to all the elementary school classes that want them. Most of the remaining butterflies will just fly around the greenhouse for a few days, but ultimately get released on their merry way. All of this generation will be local breeders rather than migrators. All future eggs laid this year will be the ones who attempt the great migration to central Mexico, overwinter, breed and start the generations who will join us next summer.
My daughter Johanna will be coordinating the distribution of butterflies for the classroom this year. If you are an educator and want some larvae for your classroom, shoot her an email at johannalittle@aol.com and make arrangements. We would expect the distribution to be here at the greenhouse on Labor Day weekend.
The remaining larvae that are raised here in the greenhouse will be tagged before they are released. Generally, we have an open house in mid-September to allow visitors to assist in the tagging and release. Watch this blog for further details on that event...
For more information on monarch migration, visit http://monarchwatch.com/ ...
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Praying Mantis nymphs
With all of the butterfly larvae we raise, it would never make sense for us to use pesticides or herbicides around the greenhouses. So how do we control pests that want to eat up our plants? Over the last few years we have experimented with various "biological" controls including parasitic wasps and praying mantis nymphs... we have decided we like the praying mantis the best! I honestly d0n't know if they do a better job, but they are way cool! The image to the right is a photo of the nymphs emerging from the egg sack.
So it begins!
The greenhouse season is wrapping up at Little's Greenhouse... the "2 for 1" sale is this weekend. One way or another everything will be gone by next weekend! Behind the scenes for many months we have been preparing for a new butterfly season. Lots and lots of tropical milkweed has been planted for the monarchs... dill and parsley for the black swallowtails... our entire effort for the rest of the season will be toward producing lots of happy butterflies!
This week I brought my "breeding stock" in from another butterfly grower in the south.... a dozen larvae ranging from a day to a few days old. Over the next month, they will grow, pupate and emerge as monarchs. At that point will be pair them off, allow them to breed and then contain the females with milkweed plants, where they will hopefully lay eggs. With any luck, we will have three generations of monarchs this year... with the last batch ready to migrate in late August and September. If all goes right, we will have a "tag and release" party in Mid-September at the greenhouse.
Black swallowtails are usually the first butterflies we raise each year. For whatever the reason, they have not been around this spring. We have planted dill and parsley in the gardens and are hoping for some caterpillars sometime soon! If you find any in your garden... on dill, parsely, carrots or on Queen Anne's lace, stick them in a cup and bring them to me. I can show you have you can raise them successfully...
This week I brought my "breeding stock" in from another butterfly grower in the south.... a dozen larvae ranging from a day to a few days old. Over the next month, they will grow, pupate and emerge as monarchs. At that point will be pair them off, allow them to breed and then contain the females with milkweed plants, where they will hopefully lay eggs. With any luck, we will have three generations of monarchs this year... with the last batch ready to migrate in late August and September. If all goes right, we will have a "tag and release" party in Mid-September at the greenhouse.
Black swallowtails are usually the first butterflies we raise each year. For whatever the reason, they have not been around this spring. We have planted dill and parsley in the gardens and are hoping for some caterpillars sometime soon! If you find any in your garden... on dill, parsely, carrots or on Queen Anne's lace, stick them in a cup and bring them to me. I can show you have you can raise them successfully...
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Late Start!
Kind of a late start to our butterfly season... life keeps getting in the way of raising monarchs! Never the less, here are my thoughts for the season...
It has been slow. Reports from Monarchwatch indicate the overwintering area was devastated by storms this past winter, reducing the breeding area to the smallest size on record. Consequently, there are smaller than normal numbers of monarchs headed north this year. Hopefully they will have good breeding season and expand the overwintering area next year.
Locally, we finally have some larvae in the butterfly house... maybe 50 or so. We have a good supply of milkweed growing in pots, so we can support many more if we can get them. We watch constantly for any females visiting our gardens or the milkweed itself, capturing her to allow her to lay eggs on our milkweed.
The calls and emails are beginning to come in from the school teachers wanting larvae for the classroom. Last year, we had many hundreds of caterpillars to share. Unless we really start getting lucky with females for egg laying, we may be short this year for the teachers. We will do the best we can! If you manage to capture a female and want to help the effort, certainly send me an email and we can arrange for pickup.
That's all for now!
It has been slow. Reports from Monarchwatch indicate the overwintering area was devastated by storms this past winter, reducing the breeding area to the smallest size on record. Consequently, there are smaller than normal numbers of monarchs headed north this year. Hopefully they will have good breeding season and expand the overwintering area next year.
Locally, we finally have some larvae in the butterfly house... maybe 50 or so. We have a good supply of milkweed growing in pots, so we can support many more if we can get them. We watch constantly for any females visiting our gardens or the milkweed itself, capturing her to allow her to lay eggs on our milkweed.
The calls and emails are beginning to come in from the school teachers wanting larvae for the classroom. Last year, we had many hundreds of caterpillars to share. Unless we really start getting lucky with females for egg laying, we may be short this year for the teachers. We will do the best we can! If you manage to capture a female and want to help the effort, certainly send me an email and we can arrange for pickup.
That's all for now!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Butterfly Tag/Release is TODAY!
OK, we are finally going to tag and release some butterflies! Today, Sunday October 4, at 1:00 PM sharp. Spread the word, all are welcome!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
No Butterfly Release today!
Although there are 100's of monarchs ready to emerge... they have not yet emerged! So our scheduled tag/release for today is cancelled. There is one scheduled for 2:00 tomorrow at CNC... but they are in the same boat with slow development due to night time temperatures. I would call them to determine if their event is on or not.
We will make every effort to reschedule our release for next Sunday, 10/4! Stay tuned!
We will make every effort to reschedule our release for next Sunday, 10/4! Stay tuned!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Butterfly Release
The monarch larvae seem to be developing quite slowly due to the cool evenings... I am afraid that they are not going to be ready for a Saturday, September 26 tagging/release. Watch for a posting Saturday AM if this changes. It will be rescheduled if we aren't able to release this weekend, probably for Sunday, October 4th.
We WILL be conducting a tag/release at the Cayuga Nature Center butterfly house on SUNDAY September 27th at 2:00 PM. Check out their website for details... www.cayuganaturecenter.org.
We WILL be conducting a tag/release at the Cayuga Nature Center butterfly house on SUNDAY September 27th at 2:00 PM. Check out their website for details... www.cayuganaturecenter.org.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Catching up!
I have not posted to the blog for a while... mostly been busy, but it also has not been a particularly good year for the butterflies. We got a very late start as we did not find any larvae in June like usual. We finally brought some in from outside the area in mid- July. They were reared successfully and we had a healthy crop of breeder butterflies in mid-August. They were actively breeding in the butterfly house and produced about 800 larvae, by Johanna's count!
We have spent most of today distributing larvae to the local elementary schools and child care programs for their classroom. If you are involved in education and would like to try your hand at raising some in your classroom, certainly shoot me an email at jel52@cornell.edu and we will get you set up.
There are some educational materials at www.littlesgreenhouse.com/butterflies for your use as well.
We are planning a tag and release party for Sunday, September 26th 2009 at the greenhouse. Stand by for a posting confirming the day and time...
We have spent most of today distributing larvae to the local elementary schools and child care programs for their classroom. If you are involved in education and would like to try your hand at raising some in your classroom, certainly shoot me an email at jel52@cornell.edu and we will get you set up.
There are some educational materials at www.littlesgreenhouse.com/butterflies for your use as well.
We are planning a tag and release party for Sunday, September 26th 2009 at the greenhouse. Stand by for a posting confirming the day and time...
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Monarch Tag Recovered!
One of our monarch tags was recovered in Mexico!
Go to http://monarchwatch.org/tagmig/2008seasonMXrecoveries.html
Scroll down to LCA 022, it is a female we released on 9/16/08.
Whoohoo!
J
Go to http://monarchwatch.org/tagmig/2008seasonMXrecoveries.html
Scroll down to LCA 022, it is a female we released on 9/16/08.
Whoohoo!
J
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Monarchwatch
Here is a link to Monarchwatch's blog... see the March 9th , 2009 entry! They have collected over 1000 tags in the overwintering area andn ot the population overwintered pretty well. Migrating monarchs have been seen in Austin Texas... right on schedule on their return north!
http://monarchwatch.org/blog/
http://monarchwatch.org/blog/
Monday, September 22, 2008
Butterfly tagging on September 21, at Littles Greenhouse
Hey we had a great day for the tagging and release on Sunday, 9/21 at our greenhouse/butterfly house! Over 40 monarchs were tagged that day. In total, that makes 125 tagged for the year of the 425 that have been released. There are 75 more tags... and many more chysalises to go!
Almost all of the larvae have completed the cycle and have pupated... just a few left. We are certainly concerned as we close to the first frost... and hope everyone will make it on their way before that time!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Video of a larvae becoming a chrysalis
Great video of a larvae going into a chrysalis...
http://picasaweb.google.com/pegazzani/Monarch#slideshow
http://picasaweb.google.com/pegazzani/Monarch#slideshow
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)