Monarch Cold Weather

by Jane
(Houston, TX)

The weather has turned cold - should snow tomorrow. I have many chrysalis and 1 monarch hatched outside and is hanging on to chrysalis. If I bring it inside will it eat hummingbird food? Houston, TX will warm up on Sat.

Karen says:
Jane, you could bring it inside and feed it the hummingbird food. I read that monarchs have been known to survive snowstorms, but that there is a greater chance of them dying because they don't survive the cold as well when they get wet. Usually when it just gets cold they find somewhere protected to remain stationary until the weather warms. FYI - I also read that the chrysalis can't handle the cold as well as the butterfly. I wonder if you should try and bring in the chrysalis if possible? To do this, you could remove the chrysalis leaving as much "stem" at the top as possible and tie a thread to it. Tie this to a branch in a vase so it hangs freely. Hope this helps.