Monarch Butterfly eggs

by Donna Tiffin
(Southern Ontario Canada)

What is the best month and approximate date to look for Monarch butterfly eggs? Thank you. Hoping to show my grandson the beauty of Monarch butterflies. Donna in Southern Ontario Canada.

Karen says:

Donna, I live in Minnesota and the monarchs first arrive here the end of May or beginning of June. So this is when the first eggs are laid by females. I usually continue to find eggs off and on through the summer. As soon as you see Common Milkweed along the side of the road you can start looking of monarch eggs on the bottom side of the leaves. Then follow the instructions for raising monarchs.

Are these butterfly eggs?

by Gerard Kelly
(Debary, Fl)

Are these monarch butterfly eggs on my milkweed? Is that bug eating them? What should I do next?

Karen says:
These look like aphids. You can use your hose and spray them off. Make sure that you don't have any monarch caterpillars or eggs on the plant (spray around them if you do).

Check out the photo above to see what monarch eggs look like. Also, here is more information on the life cycle of the monarch butterfly that might be helpful to you.

Help required regarding a Monarch egg

by Anita Marcati
(Hamden, CT. USA)

I collected a milkweed leaf approx. 36 hours ago. I did not place the leaf in a container with moisture until this eve. Not smart, now I know. Is my egg still okay? It has been untouched and is now in a container which I had a caterpillar years ago successfully metamorphasize into a Monarch. It was awesome. Am I too late with this egg?

Karen says:
I would guess you are still OK. Usually it isn't long before the egg turns into a caterpillar. As long as you have some nice fresh leaves for the caterpillar to eat, just tear the leaf around the caterpillar and set it on a fresh leaf. Also, make sure your container is clean and sterilized with a 20% bleach solution.
I hope this helps.

Eggs, but no caterpillars

by Jim
(Ocala, FL)

I have a large amount of milkweed and have seen female Monarchs laying hundreds of monarch butterfly eggs on it, but I am not seeing any caterpillars coming out of the eggs.
What happened this year, no fourth generation?
Jim, Florida
10/13/10

Karen says:
Could be a variety of reasons I suppose.....maybe there are fewer healthy fertilized eggs laid in fall because of weather changes and how they affect the monarch butterfly life cycle, the cooler weather slows down life cycle including hatching process so there is more chance of eggs being eaten by predators....anyone else with ideas?

Comment from Linda:
There are lots of reasons for the eggs disappearing. Most of them because lots of insects eat the eggs. If you are dedicated you might buy a sleeve that goes over either a branch or the whole plant. It doesn't keep everything out, but it will give you a much better chance at protecting the eggs and caterpillars.