Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Plant It and They Will Come #7 Eggs and Cats Oh My, 1 by coleup

coleup wrote:
Muddy wrote
"Monarch eggs are smaller than those aphids?! Wow, maybe I've been missing them; I thought they were bigger. I did look with my reading glasses on today, and even examined some bird poop carefully because I know some eggs or cats look like it : - )"

Yes Muddy, the Monarch eggs are smaller than a pin head. Look at pic #2 above to compare with swamp milkweed bud.

I just got back from Vermont. No egg activity before I left but today as I was squishing orange oleander aphids on some of my milkweed I found 48 eggs! Much like last year at this time, most of the eggs were down low (6-12 inches). Check your A perrenis as I found two on the seedlings you gave me.

I use my reading glasses and a magnifying glass! What really helps me see the eggs however is if I can bend over a stem and turn it in the sun so I can see the egg profile, side view like a little raised dot which is hard to my finger tip touch. Best is to watch a mama Monarch and then go to the plant she was on!

Sally and Muddy and Catmint....if you take the leaf with the egg off the plant, I found last year that I could go back to that plant the next day and find another newly laid egg! If you find two eggs on a leaf it's likely that you have two mamas!

Pic is how I keep my Monarch eggs in Dollar Store cake covers. The tip top of egg turns brown (head of baby cat showing) just before hatching.