I've described the entire breeding strategy and setup elsewhere.
But if you opened the honeymoon hotel and no eggs appeared, here are some tips.
Because non-reproductive butterflies begin to eclose about mid-August, the proportion of non-breeders increases.
It's confusing... How can you spot the ones that can breed, vs the migratory ones? And for the recently eclosed butterflies that might be breeders, how do you know when they are ready to mate or lay?
Observations during feeding help you sort them out
Look for indicators the butterflies may be reproductive and near to laying--listed here from strong to weak...
- Matings-- These two butterflies are now verified as reproductives. Record their numbers. The female may begin to lay within a few days.
- "Tries to Lay" TTL. The female assumes the laying position on a leaf, but no egg comes out. For this and the KC below, test each female with a milkweed stem or leaf.
- Aggression by males--against other males or females--is strong indicator of reproductive ability. They may "pounce" on another butterfly. The strongest indicator is if they grapple another and extend their abdomen.
- Females give an extremely rapid and hard to see "karate chop" with their tiny (usually invisible) front legs. Test them by putting them on a milkweed stem. They sometimes do it to the artificial flower. Some will lay a day or two after the first KC. Others take much longer before laying.
Focus your efforts on females likely to lay
- A mated females is valuable--you've worked hard to get this far. Don't let her escape or skip a feeding.
- If the female is harassed by males or gets distracted by additional matings which take a long time, house her in a separate tent.
- Test her daily by presenting milkweed, looking for KC or TTL. You can even distinguish high or low levels of these activities.
- Once you see TTL, she'll probably lay the following day if the weather is good.
- When the female first lays, she must be tested for the OE parasite. If she is infected, then release her (or euthanize if heavily infected).
- Every morning when you need eggs, present her with a fresh milkweed stem (noting KC or TTL).
- Monitor laying during the day to make sure you don't get more eggs than you can use.
- You can even provide several stems in sequence, for different schools, removing a stem when you have enough eggs. Label each stem with the date laid and females laying.
- Continue to provide TLC for this valuable butterfly. If you can keep her safe and protect her claws from injury, she may lay for several weeks.
- Occasionally, females can be so motivated they deposit eggs on the tent wall or artificial flowers. You can still harvest these, especially from the floor, with a fine, moistened brush, moving them to an ice cube tray.
More on recording your observations in the tent.