Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - More good news about Monarch Butterflies

Population appears to be rebounding. Milkweed is key. Key steps to recovery: State agencies should avoid mowing milkweed areas where feasible. Mexican authorities need to crack down on illegal logging in protected overwinter areas. As RAH mentioned earlier, we should plant milkweed, especially in the Midwest.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/06/08/2022-monarch-butterfly-update/

These days, I'll take good news wherever I can find it.

Butterfly weed is starting to bloom on our place now. My wife grew and planted these in our prairie areas a few years back. Lots of common milkweed growing right now as well. Not seeing good numbers of monarch butterflies yet. I did identify a new plant on our place this year called hop tree or wafer ash which is a host plant for giant swallowtails. I new some plant in the citrus family was around based on seeing the adult butterflies, but had just not been able to identify it until now. After 30 years we continue to find new plants on our place. Found green dragon plants last year and my wife collected seed and is growing seedlings. Seeds turn bright red like those of the related jack-in-the-pulpit. Need to wear gloves handling the seed due to toxins that irritate the skin, but birds and rodents eat them.

Pat,

Planting milkweed will certainly increase your odds of seeing Monarchs.

However, we have milkweed at our house and farm and we don't see any some years. I used to think those were just "down" years for Monarchs. Now I check the data and have confirmed that there are some years that have abundant Monarch populations and we still don't see them.

Our land is along one of the main migration routes. IMO the location and strength of the weather fronts during the migration periods does affect their route. I believe that some years they are pushed off their main route by unfavorable winds.

You should be in a good place to host some Monarchs if you enhance their habitat a little. The I-35 highway corridor actually appears to assist their migration. Here is a quote from one the habitat enhancement references:

"The landscape that parallels roadways, like the I-35 corridor, can provide natural habitat to support the annual migration of the monarch butterfly. The Pollinator Partnership, including a number of state, local and federal government agencies, corporations, and organizations collaborating and supporting pollinators and conservation of their habitat developed this poster to celebrate the monarch butterfly.

The I-35 corridor follows Interstate 35 through six states from Minnesota south to Texas, following the central flyway of monarch migration. In 2016, these states signed a memorandum of understanding that informally named I-35 the “Monarch Highway” and agreed to implement coordinated management practices along the corridor that benefit monarchs and other pollinators."

Good luck on your potential butterfly project!

As a current scientist, I don't understand the joke:)

Green dragons! Arisaema dracontium, I have been trying to locate these to plant them as they are a cool relative to Jack in the Pulpits. Rare up here in NY, but I have seen only one plant, ever. It was mowed off by the parks department when they were shoring up a washed out bank.

We have a ton of Milkweed, I dedicate 2 fields to butterflies. I have not yet seen a monarch, they are LATE. Bums. But the fireflies this year are getting pretty good. So are the skeeters.

This monarch was on our lilacs, but seems to be a traveler given the beat up condition of their wings. Taken May 29th.

There are a few varieties that are later bloomers. Wyman being one of them (someone related to me developed it, and we have two of them). Our area is ideal for lilacs, so we have a bunch of them.
Saw our first monarch this weekend, late, but finally!