Help Save Monarch Butterflies (or other butterflies, too in your part of the world)

  • by: JL Angell
  • recipient: All Who Care About Preserving the Earth and All Creation for Future Generations

Monarchs are on the move, but facing new dangers. Long threatened by logging and agricultural activities, climate change poses new challenges. Here's their story and a few steps you can take to help them along the way.

Monarchs were given their common name in 1874 by American entomologist Samuel Scudder, who wrote, "It is one of the largest of our butterflies, and rules a vast domain.



Monarchs cannot tolerate long cold winters. They migrate south and overwinter in Mexico and in coastal and southern California. To stay warm, they cluster together, sometimes tens of thousands on a single tree.

A single female butterfly can lay hundreds of eggs on the leaves of milkweed plants, the only food source for monarchs in their larval phase. Monarch caterpillars feed on the milkweed's thick, gooey sap, which is poisonous to most vertebrates, making monarchs unpleasant to birds and other predators.

The second generation continues northward, once again on the lookout for milkweed plants where they can reproduce. The cycle repeats for another couple of generations before the chill of fall returns and the southward migration begins. Amazingly, even though several generations have passed, monarchs return to the same forests as their ancestors.

Scientists are starting to cite climate change as a growing concern. Extreme weather events — from summer heat and drought to bigger storms — are impacting monarch populations. And several studies suggest climate change could alter the delicate balance of monarch migrations and habitats.

The annual monarch migration is a miracle of nature. As spring temperatures rise, the adult monarchs start their northward migration. But they don't get far before they breed in the southern U.S. and die. The next generation then continues the northward journey.

Pledge to help save Monarch Butterflies.

Options to help:

Avoid Pesticides!

Monarch caterpillars may not be as pretty as the butterflies they'll become, but pesticides may rob them of that opportunity. Try to find more natural ways to keep garden pests at bay.

Plant nectar plants!

Nectar plants are important to monarchs during their breeding season and fall migration. Try to have at least 4 annual, biennial or perennial plants in your garden, and chances are monarchs will stop by.

Plant milkweed!

They'll be sure to stop by on their migration route, and you'll be providing the females with a place to lay their eggs by providing food for their young. It's best to have at least 10 plants, of more than one kind of species

GENERIC BUTTERFLY HELP:

nectar: nectar is without a doubt the primary food source of butterflies.

puddles for butterflies: there are certain minerals that some butterflies, such as swallowtails, sulfurs, and blues need that are not provided in a diet of nectar alone. These minerals are found in standing water, or mud puddles.  Butterfly puddles can be created using most any type of containers that will hold water.

basking areas: provide areas where butterflies can bask when it is sunny and warm. This helps to warm their wings for flying. Basking areas can be made by interspersing several flat rocks in your flower beds. In rural areas, an old tree stump, a log, or a piece of driftwood will serve as a perfect basking spot.  Another popular basking place can be made right in your birdbath by placing several smooth flat rocks in it for butterfly landing strips.

cover and shelter: butterflies need protection from wind, weather, and predators. They like shady places such as trees, shrubs, or vines where they can sit to keep warm on cool or cloudy days. Both shelter and cover can be easily provided by blending areas of shrubbery, trees, or rockeries into your landscape design.

butterfly feeders: Nectar mixes can be purchased or made from sugar and water (to supplement nectar in garden)

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