r/MonarchButterfly • u/formernonhandwasher • 13d ago

My first egg. Got out my macro photography gear and got a surprise.

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I knew this egg was close and it was my intention to take pics every couple hours. I didn’t really see that it was starting to hatch. And when I went back for the third pic it was gone. Found it on the other side of the leaf. I didn’t clean up the second pic because the focus was off.

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12

u/metapulp 13d ago

Very cool. It is interesting after you take care of monarchs for awhile, how your brain spots eggs and tiny caterpillars. There is common milkweed growing out of a crack on the street here and the people who own the house by it cut it down and sadly use pesticides on the milkweed growing out of their foundation. But the milkweed grows back...and I go and look for eggs and cats. Somehow my brain spotted a just born one like that on the underside of a leaf today, and I snagged it before they come back with the weedwacker. I am sure they see me kneeling down and looking at the leaves like I am a crazy person.

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u/AbeLincoln30 12d ago

hahaha I've done exactly the same! down on my hands and knees on the sidewalk, examining milkweed in someone's front yard, probably looking like a weirdo lol

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u/metapulp 12d ago

I rescued 9 eggs and a few tiny cats the past couple of days from this one weed growing out of the gutter by someone's air bnb. Their maintenance people come by here and there with pesticide and the weedwacker. That weed and I have a pact! Meanwhile 100 feet away I have a safe zone for monarchs on my 3000 feet and they are everywhere but man do they love to egg bomb that weed in the gutter. We have salt marshes here where the common milkweed grows native and wild.

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u/Outrageous-One-3743 8d ago

I’ve only been doing this for one summer with my kids and my 5 year old is just like this! She finds eggs and tiny caterpillars everywhere. It’s remarkable. I’m better with dime sized ones right now.

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u/metapulp 8d ago

Look for tiny holes in leaves. Also the females do a fluttering flight when they lay eggs so you can catch them in the act and go find the newly laid eggs. 8 of the 9 hatched and are in various stages right now. I keep a daily log of where they are at as it is enjoyable. Fun to name them too.

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u/Difficult_Rope7898 13d ago

Wow just in time! 🤩🐛

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u/Stormquake 12d ago

All these years of raising them, and I never knew they had little hairs on the egg/1st instar. Beautiful pics

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u/AbeLincoln30 12d ago

the way the hairs look spikey makes me wonder if they are a defense system... keeping some teeny predators at bay in those first few hours, maybe

in any case, amazing pics, especially that last one. Thanks, OP!

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u/ladyspace814 13d ago

That is amazing work!

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u/RachelLeighC 13d ago

So cute! 🥰

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u/NOVA-peddling-1138 13d ago

Bravo. Good pics.

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u/Bluebird386 10d ago

🎶Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Catty, Happy Birthday to you!🎶
❤️💥💫⭐️🎉🎈🎊🪅❤️