Quiet weekend

Eggs were candled on Saturday and I removed two more "quitters" as they did not progress.  They both had an embryo inside.  I did not see movement and each had developed very slowly and stopped progressing.  We now have 10 eggs.

Just candled on Monday night and saw two more (#12 and 18) have too much yolk and not enough duck.  Will crack at school on Tuesday.

Several Monarchs should emerge this week.  So far, we have released a male (chrysalis #1) and a female (chrysalis #3) Monarch butterfly.  Another female (chrysalis #2 - deformed shape of chrysalis and of butterfly body) probably had OE and was put down.  We have 6 more chrysalis left!

I need to get the "nursery"  (brooder) ready for the ducklings tomorrow!

Day 20 live feed set up

I was very sneaky last night.  I knew the Monarch would emerge today (Wednesday), but once she knew it was daylight she would eclose.  I didn't want to miss it, so I placed the cage in the prep room (dark room) until I moved her cage out into the morning light - ready to film the eclose!  It worked like a charm, as I didn't miss a thing!
I used our new school iPads and time lapsed the break-through at 9 am.  Mrs. McCoy brought down the laptop and Aver camera for the "live duckling hatch" next week.  We decided to practice the youtube channel and used our new Monarch girl to observe.

The live feed link is:  bit.ly/koenigyoutube

The duck eggs were moved to my home (we are under a severe weather alert - hail, tornado, rain) in the event we ran into complications at school with power (heat and rotating the eggs).  The camera remained "live" overnight and will be monitored throughout the night and into Thursday.  All the remaining chrysalids and the computer/video set-up will be brought to my home over the four day weekend - due to Easter break.  Students were given the link and wrote the information into their agenda.

Videos from the day may be seen here.

Resources

The Monarch butterfly shop has some great tips (FAQ) and resources for those who need more information on how to start your own butterfly garden or the Timetable of a Monarch butterfly.  This is the company I used to purchase our butterfly cage used in class.  A contest is underway for a free butterfly cage.  Contest ends Friday, April 19, 2019.

Schools have used the Insect Lore site to purchase live caterpillar kits that turn into "Painted Ladies" butterflies.  Kits are near $30 and include the container of food, pop-up cage, tiny caterpillars, instructions and more.  Some deluxe kits include magnets, nectar sponge and stickers.

If you are in the Frisco, TX area (near Coit and Rolater) - Shades of Green has milkweed for sale.  I was lucky enough last year - to get three free Monarch eggs on my plant when I bought it!  They are open seven days a week and is a full service, family owned & operated garden center serving:  The Colony, TX - Allen, TX - McKinney, TX - Dallas, TX - Plano, TX - Frisco, TX & surrounding areas.

Shades of Green workshop:  Saturday, April 27 @ 10am

For many, one of the great joys of gardening is all the wildlife it attracts to the yard. Butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees are naturally drawn to certain plants. Therefore, having those plants in your landscape increases the odds of attracting these fascinating pollinators. In this FREE clinic, will explain how you can make your yard a magnet for your favorite winged friends.

What We’ll Cover

• Best native perennials for butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees

• Host plants and nectar plants for different butterfly species

• How to create safe habitats for butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees so they’ll choose to make your yard their home

• Watering, care, and maintenance tips for long-term success

The clinic – held rain or shine – is free and begins at 10 am under the twin pecan trees. (We will move indoors during poor weather.) You’ll receive 30-45 minutes of quality instruction from one of our professional staff followed by an opportunity to ask questions.

Shades of Green also sells butterfly houses.  As of April 13, 2019, the one hanging to the left of the sign as a teardrop sells for $35.  The hexagon houses on the table sell for $25.

Day 15

Thank you, Frisco ISD!  I was just presented with my very owned Chromebook!  Now blogging will be easier and on the go!  This school district awards teachers, while they are employed with the district, for having lessons (5C badge-Citizenship, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, and Critical Thinking) where teachers complete activities to allow us to explain, implement, and provide proof how our lesson or project exemplifies that digital skill.   These digital skills are important elements of learning and are often enhanced by the use of technology.

As I arrived this morning. a "J-hook" caterpillar was hanging getting ready to make his chrysalis.  A second caterpillar has now joined him at the top of the cage where he is making his cemented silk threading to attach to the top of the cage.
As most of the leaves have now been consumed by the caterpillars of the new plants, I plan to see more caterpillars at the top by the end of the day today.

Duck egg #2 and #7 were cracked open today, as they were not developing.  No heart or blood veins were present.  We now have 12 eggs.  At the end of the day, I observed that #10 had a hairline crack.  Mrs. McCoy and I placed wax over the crack to help it survive the last few days.
They fertilized eggs are #4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20 

Mrs. McCoy has set up an iPad on timelapse to record the caterpillars eating milkweed and video the timelapse of making a chrysalis.  Can't wait to see what that will look like on Monday.

Day 14 release

Our first Monarch was released today during 6th-grade lunch.  There are three factors to consider before a release:

• Temperature - is it warm enough?
• Rain - is there a chance (if so, delay the release)
• Light (release at the beginning of the day)

The temperature was between 65-70℉ by lunchtime (which is the suggested temperature), but it still felt chilly to me!  Rain is predicted for Saturday so this will give our male butterfly two days to get acclimated to the area before the weather changes.
As I looked into the butterfly enclosure, it looked like a fight broke out during the 4th period with four of the caterpillars as they were running out of milkweed! 
Brian, my 18-year-old, was able to bring me my last two milkweeds from home which saved the day!  By the 5th period, every one of the caterpillars had plenty of food to eat.  Yes, they were STILL eating!
By the end of the day, one lone caterpillar made his way to the top to begin to find the perfect spot to make his chrysalis.

Day 12 - New beginnings

There was an amazing surprise as I entered the classroom!  A new friend was in the enclosure.  It was getting crowded, so I visited the FA room and the Art room to borrow their butterfly cages.  Students concluded that a male Monarch butterfly had "enclosed"!  The second period took the news well, about #17, and adopted egg #7 (the Koenig egg).

We candled and weighed the eggs today in all of Koenig's classes.

Due to our candling and not seeing development in some eggs, several eggs were cracked throughout the day.  P2 lost #17; P4 lost #15; P5 lost #9; P7 lost #1 and P8 lost #3.  I might have to crack #6 during the 6th period with Mrs. Harvey's class.  It is not showing signs of development.  The local  NBC news crew and the STMS Yearbook staff came during 7th period to witness our candling and the cracking of eggs!

****Please note that NO DUCKS were destroyed.  The eggs that were cracked and opened were never fertilized.

Whew!  What a day!  Life is amazing!  I still need to preview the 38 student video submissions to select the unique ones to post!  They can be found below...

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some of our recordings.

Day 9 (prepare to discover: 4 stages and discovering if we have Male or Female Monarchs)

We need to prepare for the eclose of the two chrysalids from "before" last week.  First, we need to learn some new vocabulary!  Monarch butterflies have four life stages:
1.  egg (once laid, it takes about 4 days to hatch), 
2.  larva (we call a caterpillar - and he eats for about 2 weeks), 
3.  pupa (the metamorphosis stage which takes about 10 days), and 
4.  imago (adult butterfly - life span is from 2-6 weeks and is spent feeding on nectar, finding a mate, and laying eggs for the next generation - and then dies).

According to Webster's Dictionary:

eclose

 intransitive verb

\ ēˈklōz\

-ed/-ing/-s

Definition of eclose

of an insect

: to emerge from the eggshell or pupal case

We also need to know if we have a male or female!  As the butterfly emerges from the pupal stage (chrysalis) and starts to pump his wings to spread the flow of blood through its veins, we will look for the presence or absence of a spot on the lower portion of the wings.  Spot:  male - No spot:  female.  The female has thicker wing veins and 

has the appearance of being darker.

We remember Sue Stafford's Birthday, #ServeLikeSue

During day 6 and 7 we were misting the eggs with water and keeping the temperature near 100℉.  Due to the required curriculum, we are Geology testing but will candle our three eggs (per class) before we analyze our tests.

The large caterpillar is zipping through those milkweed leaves and getting bigger every day.  One of the two plants is being stripped of all of the leaves as they eat through all the available leaves.  I will need to bring another plant from my home so the babies will have some leaves to eat!  The babies are also getting the munchies as they are growing quickly!
Luckily, Mr. Koenig did a #ServeLikeSue and quickly brought up another milkweed plant from our home.  "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" (TVHC) ate through all of the first plants and two of the babies were pondering about where to find more leaves!  TVHC continued to eat through three more large leaves on the new plant throughout the day.  We transferred the lost two babies to the new plant.

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some of our recordings.

Candling on Day 7 revealed some embryo development!

Day 5

Our 20 duck eggs have settled into a balmy 100℉ oasis of fun.  They get gently rocked each hour and flipped 5 times a day.  As I arrive at school, I mist them with a light spray of water.  Life's a beach for them!

The Monarchs, on the other hand, are simply showing off their maturity! Our one large caterpillar doubled in size overnight.  As he came to school on Monday, we measured him at 2 cm.  Today, he is just over 4 cm!  He chowed down on lots of leaves yesterday!  We now see four more tiny caterpillars ready to follow the eating patterns of the large one!

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some of our recordings from the day.

Day 3

The borrowed incubator was so easy to use and held all of our duck eggs!  Eggs are gently being rocked to keep them moving and not stationary.  Duck eggs need to be turned an odd number of times a day.  Luckily, the ease of this borrowed incubator gave me time to get the Monarch's settled into their mesh cage for transport on Monday.  I've measured a few of the caterpillars - as they are still small and hard to find!  I also saw a few eggs hiding in the leaves.  More to come!

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some of my recordings.

Monarch: pick up and settle in

Duck eggs are stable and moist for day 2 in the incubator.  I drove halfway to Houston to meet my sister and mother (dad stayed behind) for an exchange of Monarch ownership.  My family has a great location and "stopping ground" for Monarchs!  As the Monarchs leave Mexico and travel North, several of these butterflies love to stop by their place in Katy to feast on nectar and lay plenty of eggs.  My family is #ServeLikeSue as they drive across Texas to share their babies with our school!

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some student reactions.

Day 1 in incubator

Mrs. Harvey's 7th and 8th-period classes were able to view the candling of eggs (comparing to a chicken egg) before they went into the incubator!  Each egg was weighed, candled, documented color and any special markings before going into the incubator.
The CBC stayed after school today to place the milk jugs, filled with water, in the courtyard. They also prepared the numbers (countdown to Hatch day) in the front office window!
Tomorrow, my older sister, "Aunt Kathy", will be meeting me halfway to Houston where we will do a Monarch caterpillar exchange. We are about to have some more Monarch butterflies emerge in class!  It is a good thing we planted those milkweeds in the courtyard!

Visit our FlipGrid MixTape to see some student reactions.

Milkweed Planting

We just planted the milkweed in the courtyard.
The Monarch butterflies have started the migration back to the states and are in Houston as of 3/19/19!