Late Season Caterpillar Quandary and Frostweed Ice Sculptures, Signals of...
First frost often means the end of the season for butterflies, and a new beginning for butterfly magnet plant, Frostweed, which forms intriguing ice sculputres. And: should you bring a late season...
View ArticlePersnickety Texas Milkweeds “May Not Lend Themselves to Mass Seed Production”
Persnickety Texas native milkweeds even vex the experts at Native American Seed Company. The Monarch butterfly host plants are famously difficult to propagate.
View ArticleMonarch Tagged With Dr. Lincoln Brower in 2011 Texas Drought Recovered at El...
Are these insects resilient or what? A Monarch tagged with Dr. Lincoln Brower in the drought of 2011 in the Texas Hill Country was recently recovered in Michoacan and reported to Monarch Watch.
View Article“Squish remorse”— Genista Larvae on Mountain Laurels Create Caterpillar Quandary
A mega hatch of Genista larvae on transplanted Texas Mountain Laurels along the Llano River created an uncomfortable “caterpillar quandary” for me last weekend. It was an odd day, digging up wild...
View ArticleMonarch caterpillar Lil Joe Hatches from Eggs Retrieved from Llano River
Sometimes a blackhead is a good thing….when it signals the imminent hatching of a Queen or Monarch butterfly caterpillar, for example. Labor Day usually marks the kick-off of Monarch tagging season for...
View ArticleOn the Llano River: Caterpillars Galore, but not Many Monarch Butterflies...
It was a caterpillar - palooza on the Llano River in the Texas Hill Country this weekend. Monarch caterpillars everywhere. Although other butterflies were prevalent, we didn't see many Monarchs...
View ArticleMonarch Butterfly Migration Update: Llano River Thunderstorms Don’t Deter...
What a perfect weekend: friends and family gathered to assist in my annual Monarch Birthday Tagging weekend. Lucky me, my October 13 birthday falls smack dab in the middle of peak migration,...
View ArticleThanks, Climate Change! Llano River 9.5-inch Rain Exemplifies Extreme Weather
Drought one minute, deluge the next. A massive rain of 9.5 inches on the Llano River in the Texas Hill Country illustrates "extreme weather" events likely to become more common. Thanks, climate change!
View ArticleOn the Llano River: Ready for Monarch Butterfly Migration
As Monarch butterflies begin their southward migration, the Llano River in the Texas Hill Country awaits their arrival with ample Goldenrod an Swamp milkweed to fuel their journey.
View ArticleMonarch Butterfly EGGstravaganza on the Llano River as Migration Heads South
We’re hearing positive reports from further north about the Monarch butterfly migration. Masses of Monarchs look to be in the Midwest right now, according to dispatches from the DPLEX list, the Monarch...
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