With Spring around the corner, my thoughts automatically turn to the return of flowers and butterflies. My favorite butterfly, the orange and black Monarch, stole my heart away when I was 15 years old, and every Spring I am on pins and needles waiting to see the first return of the new year.
Monarch butterflies return to Chautauqua County about June 1st.
This is a journal entry that I wrote on June 2, 2008.
"Today I saw my first monarch butterfly of 2008! I went to the nature center to work on the butterfly garden a bit, and the first thing I saw when I got out of the car was a monarch butterfly flitting past me.
Last year the first one I saw was a female and she showed up on June 10th. I followed this pretty little monarch as it flitted across the field. Every once in awhile it would dart down to the ground as if looking for something, and then fly on. This is common behavior for a female butterfly when she is looking for a host plant to deposit her eggs on. Milkweeds (Asclepias) are the only plants that monarch larvae can thrive on. As well as a food plant, milkweed when ingested by a monarch caterpillar, also provides a natural toxin that discourages birds and other predators from eating the larvae and adult butterfly.
Each year it becomes more and more difficult for female monarchs to find enough milkweed to lay their eggs on. Years ago a female would generally deposit only one egg on each plant. Now that milkweed is harder to find, it is not uncommon to see up to 10 or 15 eggs on one plant at times. Open meadows and grass lands where milkweed grows wild are developed into new housing and shopping areas. Road crews spray or mow milkweed down along the edges of the byways where it commonly takes root and grow. Corn, soybean, and other crop fields are treated with herbicides like glyphosate (Roundup) to control weeds. Due to the cumulative effect of these and other factors, it has been estimated that in the US alone, 167 million acres of monarch butterfly habitat have been lost in the last 10 to 15 years. Monarch numbers are dwindling as their habitat dwindles.
To see a graph of the decline in Monarch numbers click here: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/monarch/PopulationMexicoAnalyzeGraph.html
That is why I planted a butterfly garden, and have started a Monarch Waystation. I encourage common milkweed (A. syriaca) and swamp milkweed (A. incarnata) to grow along the edges of my yard and in my small meadow. I also have "butterflyweed" (A. tuberosa) which is another milkweed native to New York State that is compact and grows nicely in a more formal garden. They call it butterfly weed because it is a favorite nectar plant for all butterflies and also a host plant for monarch butterflies. I am also trying my hand at propagating several other types of milkweed that are not as common as these three."
To read more about how you can start your own Monarch Waystation and help out monarch butterflies click here: http://monarchwatch.org/waystations
Plant Milkweed to help our beloved Monarchs!
Monarch butterflies return to Chautauqua County about June 1st.
This is a journal entry that I wrote on June 2, 2008.
"Today I saw my first monarch butterfly of 2008! I went to the nature center to work on the butterfly garden a bit, and the first thing I saw when I got out of the car was a monarch butterfly flitting past me.
Last year the first one I saw was a female and she showed up on June 10th. I followed this pretty little monarch as it flitted across the field. Every once in awhile it would dart down to the ground as if looking for something, and then fly on. This is common behavior for a female butterfly when she is looking for a host plant to deposit her eggs on. Milkweeds (Asclepias) are the only plants that monarch larvae can thrive on. As well as a food plant, milkweed when ingested by a monarch caterpillar, also provides a natural toxin that discourages birds and other predators from eating the larvae and adult butterfly.
Each year it becomes more and more difficult for female monarchs to find enough milkweed to lay their eggs on. Years ago a female would generally deposit only one egg on each plant. Now that milkweed is harder to find, it is not uncommon to see up to 10 or 15 eggs on one plant at times. Open meadows and grass lands where milkweed grows wild are developed into new housing and shopping areas. Road crews spray or mow milkweed down along the edges of the byways where it commonly takes root and grow. Corn, soybean, and other crop fields are treated with herbicides like glyphosate (Roundup) to control weeds. Due to the cumulative effect of these and other factors, it has been estimated that in the US alone, 167 million acres of monarch butterfly habitat have been lost in the last 10 to 15 years. Monarch numbers are dwindling as their habitat dwindles.
To see a graph of the decline in Monarch numbers click here: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/monarch/PopulationMexicoAnalyzeGraph.html
That is why I planted a butterfly garden, and have started a Monarch Waystation. I encourage common milkweed (A. syriaca) and swamp milkweed (A. incarnata) to grow along the edges of my yard and in my small meadow. I also have "butterflyweed" (A. tuberosa) which is another milkweed native to New York State that is compact and grows nicely in a more formal garden. They call it butterfly weed because it is a favorite nectar plant for all butterflies and also a host plant for monarch butterflies. I am also trying my hand at propagating several other types of milkweed that are not as common as these three."
To read more about how you can start your own Monarch Waystation and help out monarch butterflies click here: http://monarchwatch.org/waystations
Plant Milkweed to help our beloved Monarchs!
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