How to Make Your Yard a Monarch Magnet
Monarch Butterfly
April 19, 2019
We all likely have heard about the worldwide decline of monarch butterflies, but we can aid their recovery by planting milkweed (Asclepias), the monarchs’ only host plant. The actual life cycle of the monarch is a fascinating study, and easily observable if you plant some milkweed yourself. Monarchs undergo four generations in a single year. Eastern monarchs winter in Mexico, mating in January and February before heading north to lay their eggs. They must find milkweed to do this; so if you have some in your gardens, you are pretty much guaranteed to have butterflies arrive.
The eggs hatch into tiny larvae that quickly consume (and defoliate) your milkweed as they mature into large yellow-and-black caterpillars. Leave the bare stalks alone, or cut them back to a node, and new foliage will appear in a few days.
Milkweeds contain toxins that make the caterpillars poisonous to predators (birds and mammals). Having devoured your milkweed, the caterpillars will find a nearby plant on which to form their pupa or chrysalis. If you see a caterpillar crawling up a twig and curling into a U-shape, it is about to enter this stage. The chrysalis looks like a tiny green jewel box. Inside, the caterpillar will metamorphose over about 10 days into a monarch butterfly.
If you can find a chrysalis, keep an eye on it; it’s amazing to watch the butterfly emerge. The wings are small for the first half hour until fluid has been pumped into them and they reach full size.
Then the monarch is off to find food, so it’s important to have nectar-producing plants as well as host plants in your gardens. This first-generation butterfly will live for two to six weeks, feeding on nectar and laying eggs on milkweed before it dies. The process will be repeated throughout the spring and summer three more times for each butterfly, until the fourth generation emerges.
These are the ones that will make the arduous trek to winter in forests of Mexico, a journey of up to 3,000 miles for these tissue-like creatures. They will live for six to eight months before mating in January and starting the process all over again.
Here are some tips for raising monarchs:
First and foremost, get your milkweed from a reputable source. Home Depot’s plants are sometimes systemically treated, making the entire plant poisonous. The eggs will hatch, but the caterpillars will die after ingesting the treated leaves. There are plenty of nurseries around that have non-treated plants — just ask.
Second, plant the milkweed in a sunny, or partly shaded spot behind or in between other plants. The bare stalks left behind by hungry caterpillars are not particularly attractive. Several species of native milkweed are wonderful: scarlet milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), with reddish-orange yellow flowers; rose milkweed (A. incarnata), with soft pink flowers; butterflyweed (A. tuberosa), with pale orange to deep reddish flowers; and white milkweed (A. variegata).
And perhaps most importantly, don’t spray chemicals while caterpillars are around; pesticides on other plants will inevitably get to the monarchs. They form their chrysalis on any nearby plant, and even on walls. Watching butterflies emerge and then adorn your gardens is a great joy and one I hope you’ll get to experience.
Here are some native plants that will provide pollen and nectar sources:
Southeastern sunflower (Helianthus agrestis) boasts bright yellow flowers that you will love as much as your butterflies. The daisy-like blossoms consist of an outer ring of ray flowers where butterflies can land to access nectar from the tiny disk flowers in the center. Just provide full sun.
Beach verbena (Glandularia maritima) is another butterfly magnet, with clusters of beautiful rose-lilac flowers all year. Occurring naturally on dunes and coastal pinelands, it is salt- and drought-tolerant, perfect for sunny areas with well-drained soil. Fast growing, 3- to 12-inch high, verbena spreads to cover any bare areas in your landscape. It also looks well in a hanging basket, where the flowering stems cascade over the container’s rim. Endemic to Florida, and listed as endangered, this is another must-have native!
Southern wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera), a fast-growing evergreen shrub with glossy aromatic green leaves and clusters of blue-gray waxy fruits, is the larval host for the beautiful red banded hairstreak, as well as being loved by yellow-rumped warblers. Growing 6 to 15 feet, with great soil adaptability and salt tolerance, this responds well to shearing, making it suitable as a hedge or specimen plant.
Finally, cinnamon bark (Canella winterana) is the only native member of the tropical evergreen wild cinnamons. With a dense rounded crown, thick, glossy aromatic leaves, and clusters of beautiful maroon flowers that become bright red berries loved by birds, this is a wonderful small tree for a sunny or partly shaded landscape. As a nectar source for Schaus’ swallowtail, and listed as endangered, this is a great addition to your landscape.
Planting for birds and butterflies will make your gardens more interesting, beautiful, diverse, and fun — while restoring habitat and reducing the need for chemicals. It’s a win-win for all of us!
Original article on the Palm Beach Daily News is HERE.