Mary has planted lots of milkweed in our yard, and it’s paying off. We keep finding more caterpillars, and we’ve seen as many as a half-dozen butterflies at once fluttering over the tasty field of monarch food growing here.
It’s nothing compared to the swarms we’d see 20-25 years ago, but we’re doing our part to cultivate more.
spider appreciation
https://bsky.app/profile/jamellebouie.net/post/3lxafhyyzsc2f
Even though I planted lots of native milkweed around my yard, in hopes of attracting monarch butterflies, I have never seen one. They used to be here in central Washington State, but now are very rare. I do get a lot of milkweed beetles, though. So there’s that.
Even though you’re pretty far north, as the climate changes, your garden may become a Monarch sanctuary.
The one on the Texas border near McAllen has most likely been destroyed to make room for “the wall”.
Our sanctuary here on the Monterey Peninsula has had a devastatingly bad year. The folks who volunteer there were very alarmed at the low count this year. Then they found thousands of dead and dying butterflies in neighboring private yards.
Analysis has shown each butterfly to have an average of seven pesticides in its body.
I’m not sure if they assume that was cumulative from their entire migration, or if they encountered the pesticides here in our area.
The Monarchs are having a very difficult time surviving.
The monarch butterflies should be the only monarchs we have to deal with. I’m glad PZ is encouraging them with that milkweed. And, I hope that they aren’t fully exterminated by what is being done to them elsewhere by way of habitat destruction and pesticides.
@ ^ shermanj : Spot on. Agreed.
@ magistramarla : Ye non-existent gawds! That is horrific news. Please could we have a link or three to those?
@ PZ What plant species is the caterpillar eating there? Milkweed?
Guys, you get he just wants to feed them to his spiders right?
;-)