Monarch Monday
When I was a kid in school, I had a caterpillar named Harold. He grew up and turned into a Monarch Butterfly, and flew away through an open window. Being a kid, I was angry that he had left me.
Each year, millions of Monarch Butterflies migrate from North America to Central Mexico. But, their number of habitats and availability of resources are falling.
When I was a kid, a patch of milkweed grew in a nearby parking lot, as well as a nearby field. These days, those milkweeds, upon which the Monarch butterfly larvae feed, are seen less and less. When I was younger, I remember when my neighbor was amused when his father cut down some milkweed despite the next-door neighbor’s protests that it attracted Monarch butterflies. Didn’t matter; all that mattered was having a perfect lawn.
As more and more places become developed and as people increasingly use herbicides to kill off “weeds,” Monarch butterflies are losing resources necessary to reproduce. The caterpillars won’t eat just any plant; they only like milkweeds.
If you have a backyard, you can help the Monarch butterflies by setting up a “waystation” for them. Milkweeds aren’t entirely unattractive plants either and any presumed unsightliness is surely rewarded by the sight of the colorful young and the dangling chrysalids they will later leave behind, before breaking out of their shells into lovely Monarch butterflies.
You can order seed kits through Monarch Watch. You can learn more about the waystation program here and order your seed kits here. MonarchWatch also has a lot of additional information on the Monarch butterfly, so be sure to visit their site for more!
You can also read more on butterflies and the Monarch butterfly in “The Birth of the Butterflies.”
People often fret about the environment and protecting species and so forth, but with a backyard and your own waystation, you can help provide for the Monarch butterfly for generations to come!
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