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I found mating monarchs and brought them inside my house as it's very cold in South Florida right now. They have been "at it" for 3 days now and I'm feeding the one (female) that is more interested in eating than the other one. She is trying to get away but can't. He is immovable but is not dead as I've noticed he does move. What should I do, if anything. Is this behavior and length of mating normal? How long do they "do it?" Thanks.
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Usually, mating takes about a day. In most cases, they pair off in the afternoon and separate early the next morning. I've never heard of monarchs mating for 3 consecutive days, but I suppose it's possible. Since you brought them inside, it's good that you're trying to feed them, but other than that, you don't need to do anything. You definitely don't want to try to manually separate them, as that could cause injury. If the temperatures climb into the 60s, you could safely release them outside again.
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why do scientists need to tag monarch butterflies during their annual migration
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Scientists tag monarchs in order to track their migration patterns. It can tell them how far a monarch migrates in a given time and where they migrate to.
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We have a Monarch catepillar that went into the J stage but then it got knocked off, so I tied it back up using sewing thread. I really did not think it would live after being knocked of it's silk button but it went into the next stage just fine but when it did it came loose since the thread was attached only to the old catipillar skin. It is now laying on tissue paper on the bottom of our cage. It only 'fell' about 3 inches and had a very soft landing, so I'm sure the fall did not hurt it. Any ideas about what to do? Will it be ok not hanging upside down? I have heard that you can use super glue to close human cuts that might require stitches, so would it work to put a dot of glue on the end of it and 'rehang' it?
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In order to tie up a chrysalis you should use thread just as you did before and loop it around the cremaster, or black region at the top of the chrysalis. You can use tape to fasten the ends of the thread to the top of your container.
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What are a group of catepillars called and a group of butterflies called?
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Monarchs are solitary insects and do not function as a group. They do cluster to form colonies when they travel south to overwinter. caterpillars are generally not found in groups as there are usually only a few if any per milkweed plant.
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Next year I would like to turn my 24 x 24 foot all screen room into a butterfly sanctuary. What will I need to have to sustain the full life cycle? I want to tag and release in the fall.
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Monarch caterpillars rely on milkweed to survive. Eggs are only laid on milkweed plants and monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed plants. You can plant asclepias currasavica (tropical milkweed), it generally grows well in a greenhouse. Common milkweed and swamp milkweed are other kinds of milkweed that work well for raising monarchs. Adults need either nectaring flowers or a source of honey water. We use a 20% honey to water solution and saturate a sponge in a small dish to feed butterflies in a butterfly sanctuary.
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