Poster Child of Pollinators: Monarch Butterflies

From the time I started this post to finally getting back to finish it, a lot has happened. Who would have imagined where we are today, outside of a fictional story. I hope this post is finding you safe and well in this time of uncharted territory. We are doing ok. As are many families, we are dealing with the logistics of the new normal. We worry about our kids living around the country (including NYC) and their heath and job security, our moms and family scattered around the country, and a remote learning situation for the one still in grad school. It is stressful, but we are managing. Hopefully you and your family are too.

Thankfully since going out isn’t an option for the foreseeable future, I do like to cook and am using this as an opportunity to see what treasures my freezer holds.

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In the next couple of weeks, I’m planning on posting about what we’re doing to keep busy, and how I’m getting the garden ready for spring. Spring sure can’t come fast enough for sure.  And please Stay Home, it’s really important.

On to something more cheerful! Who doesn’t love a butterfly? From the first of the season, to the summer caterpillars, to the late summer ones flitting on zinnias, they just bring a smile to my face.

But, while they entertain us with their beauty, they also serve a vital function in nature. Along with bees, wasps, moths, flies, beetles and even birds and bats, they are necessary for the reproduction of almost all flowering plants and for the pollination of about one-third of our food plants.

Monarchs may not be the most efficient pollinator species, but they are generally considered the poster child for all pollinators. They are amazing, inspiring creatures that are able bring people together to protect pollinators. Creating habitat for monarchs, including milkweed and nectar sources, aids in their survival and benefits many other important pollinator species. 

Monarchs live mainly in prairies, meadows, grasslands and along roadsides in North America. Most monarchs will live only a few weeks, but a second wave emerges in late summer and early fall. These fall butterflies live for eight or nine months and accomplish an amazing, lengthy migration to California and Central Mexico. There they spend the winter before coming back up north in the spring. 

Monarchs, like other butterflies and moths, undergo complete metamorphosis, meaning that they have an egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult stage. Milkweed plants play a crucial role in the life cycle of monarchs. 

Adult monarchs will feed a variety of plants. But female monarchs will only lay eggs on milkweed, which makes sense since the caterpillars will only eat milkweed leaves. Milkweed plants are the the sole food source for the growing caterpillar and it eats almost constantly for about two weeks.

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When full grown, the caterpillar will crawl away from the milkweed to a safe location where it forms a silk pad and hangs upside down in a J shape. It sheds its skin one last time to expose the bright green chrysalis. In 8 to 15 days, an adult monarch emerges.

Monarchs and other pollinators are under threats to their survival, and their loss could negatively impact our agricultural food sources and natural plant ecosystems.

• There’s been a loss of habitat, specifically loss of milkweed in their summer breeding locations and their general habitat in their over-wintering locations.
• Climate changes can impacting migratory routes and habitat conditions.
• Insecticides and herbicides have caused widespread loss of butterflies and milkweed leading to steep declines in their numbers.
• Especially toxic is the neonicotinoids, which are widely used on farms and urban landscapes. While these insecticides are thought to be minimally harmful to humans and other mammals is minimal, they are extremely toxic to arthropods, including butterflies and bees.