Monarch Butterflies by Byron Chitwood, Master Gardener.

Monarch Butterflies reach our area in early to mid spring.  Surprisingly some of these butterflies overwintered in the Mariposa Monarca Biosphere in Mexico. Some of the later spring migration that you witness may be the offspring of earlier ones that migrated from Mexico and reproduced along the way.  There are several other mass migrations of Monarchs, some of which are the ones west of the Rockies and others that overwinter in Florida.  The ones that we see and are interested in are the ones that are migrating east of the Rockies and through the Texas route.  Their life cycle is fascinating and this article will briefly describe it.

In the northern migration, the females mate along the way.  They can lay from 200-1,000 eggs.  These eggs are then laid on the underside of a milkweed leaf.  Only one egg is deposited per leaf.  After the female has laid her eggs, she dies.  Males die after they have mated up to fifteen times.  The eggs hatch after 3 to 8 days and the larva begin feeding on the milkweed leaf.  Apparently, milkweed leaves are the only food the larva eats during their caterpillar stage of life.  During the caterpillar stage, the larva goes through five stages.  At the end of each stage, the larva molts or sheds its outer skin and a larger caterpillar emerges.  At the end of the fifth stage, the caterpillar spins a silk cocoon and hangs upside down from the milkweed host plant until it morphs and emerges as a butterfly.  The young butterfly that has emerged waits until its wings have dried and then it flies off and heads north until she reaches sexual maturity in 3 to eight days at which time she mates and the life cycle begins all over again.  This life cycle continues among her following generations four or five times until these later generations reach their northern most part of the migration in southern Canada.

There are theories on how they know where to go.  My guess is that they follow the milkweed route as the weeds mature going from south to north in the spring and then north to south in the fall.  The milk weeds are the key to their survival.  As the larva consumes the leaves of the milkweed plant, they ingest a poison from the plant’s leaves that protects them throughout their life cycle against predators.  Without the milkweed plant, there would be no monarch butterflies.  Soy beans have become a huge cash crop for farmers.  The farmers and seed producers have determined that weeds in soy bean fields compete with the soy bean plants for water, nutrients from the soil and direct sunlight.  Soy bean genes have been manipulated (GMO) such that soy bean plants are Roundup^® resistant.  If these GMO seeds are planted, a field can be sprayed with Roundup^® to kill the weeds and not adversely affect the soy bean plants.

I am not against using GMO (genetically modified organism) seeds.  We have a whole world out there to feed and GMO plants have increased yields dramatically where used.  Our mission is to plant Monarch Butterfly Way Stations along the butterfly’s migration.  Any and everybody can plant a few milkweed seeds in a small garden spot.  It is the Monarch’s job to sniff out these delicious and poisonous weeds to insure their survival.  Hunt County Master Gardeners have such a plot in our Heritage Garden and we have many Monarchs visit for a tasty meal and to deposit a few eggs.

Butterflies by Madeline Sullivan.

Watching butterflies gives you the opportunity to enjoy lovely weather and pretty areas.  Butterflies are at their best on calm, sunny days. In the southern states, some species fly all year round, but most of the time March to October is when you can observe large numbers of different butterflies.  Different species have different times of the year they are active, so walks in spring, midsummer, and fall will usually reveal different butterflies. Here in Hunt County, there are fields and prairies that have wildflowers in abundance, which are a main attraction for many species of butterflies. If you are an avid watcher of butterflies, you can visit different habitats and plant communities such as wetlands, bogs, dunes, woodlands, tundra, and chaparral, and each area will have its own species of butterflies.

If you would like to attract butterflies to your own yard, there are some things you can do to make your habitat inviting. First, you need nectar plants and host plants.  Butterflies drink nectar, so growing nectar-rich flowers will attract them to your garden.  Then, once the butterflies are in your garden, they need good host plants on which to lay their eggs, so that they become more prolific.  The eggs are often laid on the underside of leaves, and as the caterpillars go into the chrysalis or pupa stage, they usually hang from a twig and are often camouflaged. When caterpillars hatch from the eggs, they eat the foliage of the plant on which they were laid, and preferred host plants vary from species to species.  So, growing the right types of plants to feed the caterpillars is important.  Some good choices of plants for your butterfly garden are listed below.

Next, you should have water available.  To make a “puddler” for your butterflies, place some sand in a shallow dish and add water–just enough to make it very moist, and keep it moist at all times.  Another way to make a puddler is to have an open area in your garden in which you make an indention (hand or foot sized).  You will want to add some sand to it, keeping enough of the indention that it will hold a little water to keep the sand very moist.  The butterflies will appreciate a good drink from either kind of puddler.

When you water your plants, try not to water overhead if you can avoid it.  The overhead water dilutes nectar and washes away pollen.  Finally, it a good idea to have a nice rock or two in your garden, in full sun, so that the butterflies can perch and soak up radiated heat as they position their wings to get the maximum amount of sun.

Some plants for your butterfly garden:  Verbena, Parsley, Turks Cap, Roses, Lantana, Zinnias, Bee Balm, Purple Coneflower, Penta, Sage, Butterfly Weed and other milkweeds, Butterfly Bush and Brown Eyed Susan.