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| List: Carolina-Leps Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2025 21:54:12 +0000 From: David Ritland (via carolinaleps Mailing List) <carolinaleps...> Subject: Monarch larvae, nw SC |
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--_000_PH7PR15MB56429E7745B08440EDF3BFF0C109APH7PR15MB5642namp_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Locale: nr Honea Path, SC (extreme s Anderson Co.) [ 34.42 N, 82.42 W] Short version: Unprecedented density of late-summer Monarch cats at this locale. My patch (~ 0.2 Ha) of Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca; >500 plants) attracts occasional attention from spring female Monarchs when plants are 'fresh,' but fall Monarch larvae have been scarce for years. Plant senescence over hot/dry summers in this too-south, too-low site presumably contributes to lack of attractiveness to ovipositing females. Focused manual irrigation this summer, plus a serendipitous rainy period in Aug, prolonged plant succulence and re-sprouting. Currently, L3-L5 cats (100+), with up to 5 per plant. --David Ritland Professor of Biology, Erskine College (ret.) --_000_PH7PR15MB56429E7745B08440EDF3BFF0C109APH7PR15MB5642namp_ Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <style type="text/css" style="display:none;"> P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;} </style> </head> <body dir="ltr"> <div style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="elementToProof"> Locale: nr Honea Path, SC (extreme s Anderson Co.) [ 34.42 N, 82.42 W]</div> <div style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="elementToProof"> <br> </div> <div style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="elementToProof"> Short version: Unprecedented density of late-summer Monarch cats at this locale.</div> <div style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="elementToProof"> <br> </div> <div style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="elementToProof"> My patch (~ 0.2 Ha) of Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca; >500 plants) attracts occasional attention from spring female Monarchs when plants are 'fresh,' but fall Monarch larvae have been scarce for years. Plant senescence over hot/dry summers in this too-south, too-low site presumably contributes to lack of attractiveness to ovipositing females. Focused manual irrigation this summer, plus a serendipitous rainy period in Aug, prolonged plant succulence and re-sprouting. Currently, L3-L5 cats (100+), with up to 5 per plant.</div> <div style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="elementToProof"> <br> </div> <div style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="elementToProof"> --David Ritland</div> <div style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="elementToProof"> Professor of Biology, Erskine College (ret.)</div> </body> </html> --_000_PH7PR15MB56429E7745B08440EDF3BFF0C109APH7PR15MB5642namp_-- |
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