Wednesday in the garden: Gifts of the Monarch.

Queen butterflies continue to flood my backyard with their beauty. I counted around a dozen today. It is impossible to get a completely accurate count, because they just won't stand still for it.

They are indeed lovely and I never tire of watching them.

But in addition to the Queens, I'm seeing an increase in the numbers of Monarchs passing through the garden.

The Monarchs like the almond verbena, too.

And as the Monarchs pass through on their way to Mexico, they are leaving me gifts in the form of their eggs. I've been finding caterpillars on my milkweed plants over the last few days. These two were quite large when I first saw them. When I checked on them a couple of days later, they were gone - already moved on to form their chrysalises I'm sure. 

There was a smaller sibling still on the plant.

The chrysalis of the Monarch is as striking as the butterfly or the caterpillar. In this one you can see the butterfly already almost fully formed and ready to emerge.

I'm checking the milkweed plants regularly now for Queen caterpillars as well. I'm hoping they, too, will leave me such gifts. 

Monarchs of November

Female Monarch visiting the milkweed in my garden this week. 

November has been a very good month for viewing Monarch butterflies in my garden. All of 2017 has, in fact, been a good year for them. All year long there has been a constant stream of the beautiful butterflies visiting my flowers, but in November, that stream became a torrent as fall migration picked up and millions of them headed toward the mountains of Mexico for their winter. 

That's not just my observation. All across the continent, butterfly watchers have been reporting increased sightings of Monarchs this year. It seems the population is on the rise again.

The real crunch, though, comes in the winter. Recent winters have been devastating to Monarchs because of a combination of nasty weather and illegal logging in the mountains where they spend the winter. The insects are actually capable of surviving fairly cold temperatures but when those temperatures are combined with prolonged inclement weather, that can be deadly for them. Thus, the coming months will be crucial for determining if this resurgence of the Monarch population continues.

Meanwhile, I continue to enjoy my daily encounters with the butterflies.

Earlier this week, I tried to determine how many Monarchs were in the garden on one sunny afternoon. I counted six, but there were probably more that I didn't see. It's almost impossible to get a completely accurate count because they won't hold still for it.

As they pass through, the Monarchs often leave a deposit with me in the form of their eggs.

I took this picture of a Monarch egg a few years ago. You can actually see the tiny embryo inside. 

Those eggs quickly hatch into hungry, hungry caterpillars. Like these.

In the fullness of time, caterpillar becomes chrysalis.

And chrysalis becomes a butterfly.

And the circle of life for the Monarchs of November is complete. 

Backyard Nature Wednesday: Monarchs of the glen...and the garden...and the byways

For the last few years, the news about the Monarch butterfly has been unrelentingly bad. A disastrous series of bad winters in the mountains where the migrants spend that season in Mexico, coupled with habitat loss across North America and the profligate use of pesticides in farming operations in the heartland of America, had reduced the butterfly's numbers to dangerously low levels. Some wondered if the charismatic insect would ever be able to recover, or would it follow the path of the Passenger Pigeon to extinction? 

A massive effort was undertaken to educate the public and especially farmers and gardeners about the needs of the fragile fliers. All across the continent, people who had never heard of milkweed started planting it in their gardens. The aim was to create a "butterfly highway" right across the continent, to provide the insect with the plants that are absolutely essential to its survival. Finally this year, we are seeing the positive effects of all those efforts.  

Just a few days ago, Mexican environmental officials announced that they anticipate a quadrupling of the iconic butterfly's population this year as a result of the joint efforts of Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. If we can sustain those conservation efforts, keeping up environmental regulations of logging and pesticides and continuing to plant milkweed, there seems a good chance that the growth in the population will continue.

My own anecdotal observations support the optimism of the officials. Over the last two to three years, Monarch visitors to my garden have been few and far between. Beginning in early spring this year, I began to notice an increase in traffic and I would often see eggs like this one on my milkweed plants.

I would monitor as the tiny embryos developed in those eggs.

And the eggs hatched into caterpillars like these.

And eventually those caterpillars developed the chrysalis where they would turn themselves into a beautiful butterfly.

Female Monarch on milkweed.

The fall migration of these butterflies is continuing. Not a day goes by that I don't see at least two or three of them passing through my garden. It is a heartening display of the resilience of Nature and the tenacity of life - even of such a fragile creature. If there is hope for the Monarch, perhaps there is hope for us all.

Are Monarchs making a comeback?

Last week I wrote here about my observations of Monarch butterflies in my garden and the preference they have shown this year (since they've had a choice) for native milkweed over the tropical variety. After I had posted my conclusions, it later occurred to me that the reason I was able to make these observations was because I have actually had plenty of Monarchs in my garden this spring and summer. That was not the case over the past couple of years when my garden was almost Monarch-free. And that led me to a question:

Are Monarchs making a comeback?

Well, they've certainly made a comeback in my yard, but that's just anecdotal evidence. 

Male Monarch on tithonia.

Female Monarch on yellow cestrum.

Monarch feeding from tropical milkweed.

They do like the cestrum.

And they do like the blossoms of the tropical milkweed.

I wonder if my observations are supported by other gardeners across the country. It will be particularly interesting to see what the data show after this season is over.

Certainly I attribute some of the Monarch traffic in my yard to the planting of native milkweeds this year. Some of the butterflies that I'm seeing now probably hatched and grew on that milkweed. Again, I have no scientific confirmation of that. It's just observation and gut-feeling.

But I do have a good feeling about these butterflies. I suspect that they are beginning to make a comeback and that all the publicity of the last couple of years about the trouble that they are in and about ways that we can help them has begun to have an effect. In short, I am more hopeful about this butterfly's future than I have been for a while. It certainly helps that I'm seeing lots of these around the garden.

Monarch egg with tiny embryo inside.

Unofficial milkweed field trial

Over the past year, there has been a good bit of publicity and discussion in gardening circles about the efficacy of planting tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) in our butterfly gardens as an aid to Monarch and other milkweed butterflies. There has been research that has indicated that this non-native plant might actually be harming these butterflies and urging gardeners to plant native milkweed instead. 

For the past several years, the only milkweed that I had found available in local nurseries was the tropical kind, and so I had planted it in my garden where it has thrived. It lives through the winter here, although it generally dies back to the roots, and I usually cut it back several times during the year. Cutting it back supposedly reduces the toxins which may cause problems for butterflies, and, if it isn't cut back, it gets quite spindly and gangly and not very attractive. But the butterflies seemed to like it. Maybe because there wasn't an alternative for them.

So, I decided to give them an alternative.

After reviewing my options, I decided to order some seeds from Botanical Interests during this past winter. I planted the seeds of butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa) and swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) and started the plants under my grow-lights. 

Most of the seeds germinated and the plants thrived, so by late spring, I had two trays of native milkweed to plant in my garden. I put the plants outside for hardening off and planned how I would monitor both these plants and the tropical milkweed, which was already up and blooming, to try to determine if the butterflies actually showed a preference.

It didn't take long to get the first data from my unofficial milkweed field trial. By the time I went to put my native plants into my garden beds, I found that, in spite of the fact that the plants were still small and had no blooms, several of them already had tiny Monarch caterpillars on them! Meanwhile, all the tropical plants were bushy and healthy and blooming and notably caterpillar-free. The Monarchs had spoken loudly and clearly: They preferred the native plants.

And that has continued to be case. Here is a look at some of my plants today.

This is some of my native milkweed. It all looks like this today. Nothing but stems because the leaves have been devoured by several caterpillars. Actually, it has already started coming back because a few days ago it had no leaves at all. If only the butterflies will leave it alone for a while, it will eventually grow back all the way. Maybe it will even get a chance to bloom.

And here is some of the tropical milkweed, healthy and blooming. These last few days, I have noted a few Monarch butterflies visiting these plants. Once again, until the native plants grow back, they have little alternative if they have eggs to lay. 

There are some Monarch eggs scattered about on this plant. I expect to see caterpillars soon.

 

My thoroughly unscientific, anecdotal conclusion is this: Monarch butterflies will lay their eggs on native milkweed plants whenever they have that choice. If they have no choice, they'll settle for the non-native plants.

My advice to gardeners based on my findings is to locate native plants or get the seeds and start your own and plant them in your garden. Your butterflies will thank you. 

Saving the Monarch

Monarch butterfly on milkweed photographed in my backyard last summer.

Monarch butterflies are one of those charismatic animals, like pandas or Bald Eagles, that it seems everyone wants to save. All this good will makes one wonder how they came to be in such trouble in the first place.

And make no mistake, the Monarch is in big trouble. In the late 1990s, the butterfly's population was about one billion individuals. In the past few years that has fallen by 90 percent. That is a catastrophic decline any way you look at it.

Humans have finally begun to take notice of that decline and to actually admit that they might have a little bit to do with it. For a species that finds it hard to acknowledge that global climate change is happening, even in the face of overwhelming scientific data, that admission is a big step.

Having admitted culpability, many are seeking ways to make amends and to reverse the butterfly's trend toward extinction. On Monday, a major effort in that regard was announced. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is teaming up with the National Wildlife Federation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in launching a $3.2 million campaign to save the Monarch.   

The focus of the campaign will be an effort to restore the growth of milkweed plants across the mid-section of the country. The life cycle of the Monarch is totally dependent upon milkweed, and homeowners and farmers have largely destroyed the plants across a huge swath of the continent with the profligate use of herbicides. The campaign aims to regrow it by the masses.

An announcement on the National Wildlife Federation's website lists six ways that they hope to accomplish their aim. 

1. Help Save Grasslands – America’s native grasslands are critically important for monarchs. They offer both milkweed for monarch caterpillars as well as nectar plants for adult butterflies (and many other pollinators too). Today, more than 90 percent of native grasslands have been converted to cropland and development. Grasslands are disappearing faster than any other ecosystem in North America, and that’s a big problem for monarchs. Join NWF in fighting to save grasslands for monarchs.
2. Support Highway Habitat Corridor – NWF and USFWS are working to create a coalition of agriculture leaders and highway transportation organizations to plant milkweed and nectar plants along monarch migratory flyways and in other important monarch breeding grounds along key Midwest and Texas corridors. Learn more about highway habitat corridor plan and how to support it.
3. Plant Milkweed – You can make saving the monarch personal by planting milkweed in your yard or garden. There are many milkweed species found in North America, so no matter where you live, there’s at least one species native to your area. You’ll be rewarded not only with the knowledge that you are making a difference, but by attracting monarchs to enjoy. Find out what milkweeds are from your region.
4. Don’t Use Pesticides – Monarchs are insects, and so spraying insecticides will kill them. Make the commitment to avoid spraying pesticides in your yard. Find out how to garden organically.
5. Create Monarch Habitat– NWF’s Garden for Wildlife program can teach you how to turn any outdoor space into a complete habitat for monarch. Just provide food, water, cover and places to raise young. It all starts with what you plant and you can create a habitat garden in your own yard, at your office, your church or the local school grounds. Entire communities are launching efforts to create monarch habitat. Learn how to create a wildlife-friendly garden.
6. Join NWF Affiliate Efforts in Your State — Eleven of NWF’s state affiliates are active partners in the Garden for Wildlife program, teaching people how to create habitat for monarchs and other wildlife. They offer regional expertise and resources, offering native milkweed seeds, running monarch tagging and citizen science efforts and even working on legislative solutions. Joining these efforts is a great way to get involved on the local level. Find out if your state’s NWF affiliate is working to protect monarchs.

Perhaps the most important thing from NWF's list is to plant native milkweeds, if you want to be a part of the effort to save Monarchs. Tropical milkweeds have found their way into many gardens, including my own, in recent years, but there is controversy about their use. There is some evidence that the tropical plants may actually be harming the butterflies, messing with their migratory instincts. To be safe, we should make the effort to find native milkweed seed or plants for our gardens. These are the plants that Monarchs have evolved with over the centuries so we know that they are safe.

If we can restore enough milkweed to support increasing numbers of new Monarchs, then perhaps we can provide some insurance for the species against a devastating weather event that can wipe out 75 percent of the wintering population in Mexico, as happened in 2002. The Monarch population was at a healthier size back then. If such an event happened now, it is unlikely that the species could survive.

Yes, Monarchs are beautiful and charismatic and we want to save them. The key to saving them is to provide food for their babies. A Monarch cannot become a Monarch until it first finishes being a caterpillar. There must be a message there - for all of us.

Future Monarchs, happily munching milkweed.

Monarchs of winter

Many times in 2014 I've bemoaned the absence of Monarch butterflies from my garden. Their visits have been few and far between. Lately though, and somewhat surprisingly, there seems to have been an uptick in their numbers.

I often see them visiting the late blooms that still hang on in the garden here in late December.

And just this week, I was surprised to see a mating pair in united flight across my backyard. I followed their flight and watched them land high in a limb of my next door neighbor's pine tree.

You can just see them tucked in among the pine needles here. They remained there for at least an hour.

But elsewhere in the garden there was evidence of other Monarch pairings. Checking out some of the milkweed that is still in bloom, there was evidence that it had been munched, but I didn't see the caterpillars that had done it. Then I looked at the fence/screen behind the bed where the milkweed lives and there they were - three fat caterpillars!

Not only were they taking a walk on the fence, but the pellets of poop were proof they had been there for a while. 

I wondered if perhaps they were looking for a place to pupate, although they did not look quite fully grown.

Apparently, they were just enjoying a morning stroll before getting down to the business of eating their way through the milkweed once again, because when I went back to check on them later in the day, they were back on the plant, happily having their lunch.

  

It was heartening to see this evidence of Monarch fertility. May their tribe continue to increase.

Backyard Nature Wednesday: Migrating Monarchs

I have noted here at various times throughout this year that Monarch butterflies have been very scarce in my garden for this entire period. Unlike previous years when they were often plentiful, they've been a rare sight indeed in 2014.

I was particularly delighted, then, earlier this week to find THREE of the beauties visiting my backyard at the same time.

Their presence might have something to do with this plant, Eupatorim wrightii, the white mistflower. It is a favorite with butterflies of all kinds and it is in full bloom right now. The Monarchs seemed to particularly like it.

These two were in shadow so it's a bit hard to see them, but they were hanging onto those white fuzzy blossoms.

A nearby marigold also came in for its share of visits.

Three is absolutely the high water mark for number of Monarchs in the garden at one time for this year, so this was definitely a banner day. As the migration continues, I'll be interested to see if that number can be topped, but, in the meantime, I'm just happy I was there to experience these very special visitors.

Backyard Nature Wednesday: The Chrysalis

For the last few weeks, my garden has been home to several Monarch butterfly caterpillars. This is cause for celebration because Monarch butterflies have been so scarce in the garden this year, but, finally, as the migrants have made their way south, several of them have stopped over in my yard to deposit their eggs on my milkweed plants. The eggs that successfully hatched have resulted in hungry caterpillars which have now stripped most of the leaves from those plants.

I've been on the lookout for the next stage in butterfly development, but I had not seen any evidence of it until yesterday.

I found this lovely green Monarch chrysalis hanging from the back of one of my patio chairs.

Now, butterfly development proceeds in a fairly mundane fashion up until the chrysalis point. The female lays the egg on the host plant - the milkweed in the case of the Monarch. A tiny caterpillar hatches after a few days and begins to devour the plant. All caterpillars are born hungry and, as they consume their nursery plant, they grow fairly rapidly. But when they have eaten enough, something inside them tells them that it is time to pupate, to transform into an adult.

At this point, the caterpillar generally will wander away from the plant he has been dining on and will find a sheltered, safe spot in which to attach the protective shell known as the chrysalis, inside which the critter will transform itself into a butterfly. This whole process seems like nothing short of magic.

Within the chrysalis, much of the body breaks itself down into what are called "imaginal" cells. These are undifferentiated, like stem cells, and they have the capacity to become any type of cell. The cells then put themselves back together in a whole new shape in a process called "holometabolism." For most butterflies, including the Monarch, this transformation can take about two weeks until a whole new adult butterfly emerges..

See? Like I said, it borders on the magical.

Here is a video which shows the complete life cycle of the Monarch butterfly, including the formation of that magical cocoon, the chrysalis.

Say goodbye

I've often written here and elsewhere about the plight of the Monarch butterflies and of the bees. They are iconic insects that can be recognized by most people, even those that are fairly ignorant about other insects, and they are hugely important cogs in the ecosystem.

The migration of the Monarch is a tale which borders on the magical. A fragile insect which makes the long trek all across the continent from Canada to Mexico is something which catches people's imagination as a thing that is really quite marvelous.

The Monarch's migration is particularly important and is cause for celebration in Mexico where the butterflies have traditionally wintered. A story in The New York Times this week ("The Year the Monarch Didn't Appear") emphasized that important cultural link.

On the first of November, when Mexicans celebrate a holiday called the Day of the Dead, some also celebrate the millions of monarch butterflies that, without fail, fly to the mountainous fir forests of central Mexico on that day. They are believed to be souls of the dead, returned.

The story in the Times goes on to report how that return on November 1 did not happen this year. The Monarchs did not return then. It was only a week later that they began to straggle in in record-low numbers.

Last year saw the lowest ever recorded numbers of the butterflies to winter in the Mexican mountains at about 60 million. So far this year, only about three million have shown up. Some Monarch experts express fears that the spectacular migration of the colorful insects could be about to end. What a loss that would be!

Think of the Passenger Pigeons which in the early part of the 1900s blotted out the sun for days with their mass migrations. And yet, before the century was one quarter gone, humans had completely wiped out the species. Passenger Pigeons were extinct. Could the same thing happen to Monarch butterflies?

There are several factors that are related to the decline in Monarchs, as well as in bees and in insects in general.

Perhaps the number one enemy of the butterflies, bees, and other insects is the profligate use by farmers and gardeners of nicotine-based pesticides called neonicotinoids which kill indiscriminately. But even if those insecticides were no longer used, butterflies and bees would still be in trouble.

A huge problem for insects, as indeed for all animals, is the loss of native vegetation, i.e., the loss of appropriate habitat, across the United States. Typically, all the native plants in an area may be uprooted and destroyed for housing developments, roads, shopping centers, parking lots, etc. The landscaping that replaces them may consist of  imported, invasive species that the local wildlife cannot utilize. Thus it becomes a food desert for those critters.

Another problem is the prevalence of farming with Roundup. This is a herbicide that kills virtually all vegetation except for crops that are genetically modified to survive its application. As a result of its usage, millions of acres of native plants, including milkweed, the plant on which Monarchs are completely dependent for the nourishment and survival of their caterpillars, have been wiped out.

Of course, another big challenge which bees, in particular, face is disease. Viruses and parasites may weaken them to the point that they are not able to overcome the other stressors in their lives - for example, flying farther afield to find food when the supplies closer at hand have been wiped out.

The plight of the butterflies and bees is getting more press and more attention from the public and there are a number of organizations that continue to try to educate us about the need to preserve native vegetation and to plant native plants in our landscapes. Gardeners across the country, for example, are being encouraged to plant more milkweed in their gardens to try to compensate for all the native vegetation that has been lost to the bulldozer or to Roundup.

It is hard, if not impossible, to replace all those millions of acres that have been lost. One is chilled by the thought that in our lifetimes we might have to say goodbye to the Monarch butterfly, as our forbears did a century ago to the Passenger Pigeon.

But meantime, keep planting that butterfly weed. It is better to light one candle, however small, than to curse the darkness or to give in to despair for the fate of the beautiful Monarch.

Female Monarch on milkweed.

The dying Monarch

Lately, the news for the Monarch butterfly has been all bad. It seems that every week we have a new story detailing the depressing news of the beautiful butterfly's decline. Illegal logging, rampant ecotourism, and unusually harsh winters have damaged the butterfly's winter sanctuary in Mexico. Mid-America's big factory farms' reliance on the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides have killed butterflies and their caterpillars and have destroyed the stands of milkweed which caterpillars need to feed on in order to grow and transform into butterflies. And looming over all of this are the effects of global climate change which is reeking havoc with weather patterns, causing extended droughts and, paradoxically, historic floods, and contributing to raging wildfires which damage the butterfly's food source and kill butterflies. It is estimated that today's population of the butterflies is approximately one-fifteenth of what it was in 1997.

This marks the third straight year of decline for this migrant butterfly which is a treasure of all three nations of North America. Indeed, its population is at the lowest levels ever reliably measured. There seems a very real possibility that the Monarch butterfly could become extinct. At the very least, its population will be a mere shadow of what it once was. As recently as 1994, wintering butterflies in the Mexican mountains covered 22 acres. By 2003, the area covered was down to 12 acres. During this past winter, it was only 2.9 acres. That is just shocking.

The best known fact about the Monarch is its migratory habit. It crosses the continent twice a year. It takes four generations of the butterfly to travel from Mexico to Canada. In order to make that long trek, it must have milkweed to nourish caterpillars into the next generation. You can easily see what the destruction of all those stands of milkweed across middle America has done to the prospects for the successful completion of the migration.

Of course, gardeners across the country have been trying to fill the void by planting more milkweed in their gardens. I have about twenty plants of the stuff and I just added three large plants this past week, because my old plants died back in the winter and were just emerging from their nap. Their leaves were not big enough to nourish many caterpillars. This is probably the most important thing that we, as gardeners, can do to help the butterfly. That and refusing to use chemical pesticides and herbicides in the garden. These can be death not only to butterflies but to so many useful and beautiful critters that make our gardens their habitat.

Many wildlife conservation groups have also made the Monarch's survival a priority. The World Wildlife Fund, for just one example, has sponsored the census of the butterfly and is looking for ways to aid it and to mitigate the forces aligned against its survival.  The organization Journey North, which tracks many migrating species including hummingbirds and other birds as well as butterflies, has invaluable information on its website regarding the Monarch's life cycle and what it needs to survive. They also encourage citizen scientists to report Monarch sightings to that website so that the migration can be tracked. (I've made my reports and I encourage you to do the same.)

Everyone loves the Monarch. No one wants to see it perish. So, why is it in such trouble? It seems to be trouble that is altogether of human origin, even the changing climate. Can we summon the will to change our practices in order to give the butterfly a fighting chance? If we can, we may save more than a butterfly.

A Monarch egg on milkweed leaf. You can see the tiny embryo inside. 

 Monarch caterpillars on milkweed, their only source of food.

  I don't have grandchildren, but if I ever should, I would hope they would still be able to see this sight.

(Cross-posted from Gardening With Nature.)

Wordless Wednesday: A butterfly's life begins

A wonder of Nature

The migration of animals is one of the true wonders of Nature, and none of those migrations is more wondrous, bordering on the miraculous, than that of the Monarch butterfly. Each late summer and fall the colorful orange, black, and white butterflies from all across the North American continent head south toward their winter home in Mexico. For such a fragile creature to make such of journey seems incredible, but it happens to be true. And when winter is over the butterflies head north again.

An individual butterfly may not necessarily make the entire journey. The female butterflies lay their eggs on milkweed plants along the way and succeeding generations of the species then continue the trip until they reach their final destination. Some of them go all the way to Canada.

There has long been speculation about what percentage of the butterflies actually fly the entire distance and what percentage are born along the way. Now there has been some research done which has given answers to those questions.

Researchers at the University of Guleph in Canada sampled butterflies from 44 sites in Ontario and in the northern United States. By analyzing chemical markers called stable isotopes and examining wing wear, the researchers found that about 10 per cent reaching the northern breeding range in the spring come directly from Mexico. Thus, 90 per cent of the butterflies had been hatched somewhere along the way.

In my garden this week, I was visited on two separate days by at least two female Monarchs. Both of the ladies sought out the milkweed plants I had planted for the purpose and left a number of eggs on their leaves.

This Monarch visited on Thursday. Here she is laying an egg on a milkweed leaf.

And here is one of the eggs she left. No bigger than a pinhead now, with any luck, it will release a tiny caterpillar in a few days and that caterpillar will munch the milkweed leaves and grow until it is ready to pupate and become another colorful butterfly. And then the amazing journey will continue.


The Monarch is in trouble for a number of reasons. One problem has been severe weather occurrences in recent years. Drought and excessively cold winters have taken their toll. There is also habitat degradation at their wintering site in Mexico due to trees being cut, changing the character of the forest. Mexicans revere these butterflies and they are making an effort to protect the area where they spend their winters, but, of course, they can't control the weather.


Another problem is development in North America which is destroying much of the milkweed which the butterflies depend on as a host plant for their caterpillars. This, at least, is something with which gardeners and home owners can help. All across the country, gardeners are being encouraged to plant milkweed in their gardens and they are responding as I have. It's a chance to throw out a lifeline for a creature that captures our imagination and makes us pause and consider this incredible wonder of Nature.