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I’ve learned a lot in this past year about native gardening. We had our adjacent lot cleared of invasive Brazilian Pepper trees and I’ve planted 15+ native trees along with native plants for pollinators. I have swamp milkweed for Monarchs, passionfruit vine and corkystem for Gulf fritillary and longwing zebras and many nectar plants they all like, most native, a few FL friendly and some invasive.
I’ve seen fewer Monarchs than last year, but many more zebra longwings. I don’t spray any pesticides or herbicides, I never did before, but I’m rethinking neem oil and other “natural” remedies. Everything has an impact further down the line. I’m doing the best I can to make my garden/yard a safe haven for pollinators, but not using heroic efforts to save any one species.
I remember seeing Monarch forests on a TV show a while ago - it WAS magical to watch, so many of them. It makes me sick thinking how people can just bulldoze the trees and build condos, malls, whatever and all the living things that made their home there are displaced - where do they go? That's why there are less and less Monarchs around, just like the honey bees, and all the endangered living things. The politicians don't think of it boomeranging back - you mess with the ecosystem and Nature is changed forever and it affects everyone in the long run, but for many the mighty dollar and greed overrides the future. There is always a price to pay.
The problem of habitat loss for the Monarchs isn't so great here as compared to Mexico-- those Monarch host mountain forests are being cut down and replaced with avocado groves to supply the needs of American party goers for their avocado dip. ...When you buy an avocado, check for the stamp on it-- only buy the CA grown or the Mexican with the stamp that says it comes form the "old growth" growers association.
BTW- Monarchs may need milkweed as its host plant for laying eggs, but they need other plants for food. Don't forget to protect all those wild flowers that many call weeds- thistle, wild carrot, cone flowers etc.
BTW- Monarchs may need milkweed as its host plant for laying eggs, but they need other plants for food. Don't forget to protect all those wild flowers that many call weeds- thistle, wild carrot, cone flowers etc.
Yes, but just so people understand that Monarch caterpillars ONLY eat milkweed. They will die rather than eat anything else. Adult Monarchs will take nectar from other flowers, and I'm all in favor of growing all kinds of flowers to attract a variety of butterflies, but if you want to help Monarchs survive, you have to have milkweed.
I've had lots of Monarch caterpillars this summer and have taken many inside to raise. A few were parasitized by tachinid flies, but most survived. I'm taking a break now because my milkweed plants are pretty much stripped of their leaves by all the caterpillars.
I also raised five Swallowtail caterpillars which I found on a fennel plant. All of those survived and the butterflies have been released. I find them even more beautiful and interesting than Monarchs, actually. I wish more people would plant fennel, carrots and parsley to attracts them.
Well I have more milkweed this year, but I so far have not seen any butterflies or caterpillars. Possibly here in Eastern WA, we are not on the migration path?
Well I have more milkweed this year, but I so far have not seen any butterflies or caterpillars. Possibly here in Eastern WA, we are not on the migration path?
My sister lived for many years in Wenatchee, and was a huge butterfly enthusiast / amateur entomologist (she died last year). She told me that there was a native milkweed, but she never saw any monarchs, although there were plenty of other butterflies. She also speculated that they were not on the migration path. Here in SoCal, monarchs are permanent residents and don't migrate, but perhaps they cannot overwinter in Central & Eastern WA.
My sister lived for many years in Wenatchee, and was a huge butterfly enthusiast / amateur entomologist (she died last year). She told me that there was a native milkweed, but she never saw any monarchs, although there were plenty of other butterflies. She also speculated that they were not on the migration path. Here in SoCal, monarchs are permanent residents and don't migrate, but perhaps they cannot overwinter in Central & Eastern WA.
Given that we see teens and 20's for lows about every year, and I have seen -20F here at least once, yeah, not many adult insects can over-winter here. Certainly not a butterfly.
Yes, but just so people understand that Monarch caterpillars ONLY eat milkweed. They will die rather than eat anything else. Adult Monarchs will take nectar from other flowers, and I'm all in favor of growing all kinds of flowers to attract a variety of butterflies, but if you want to help Monarchs survive, you have to have milkweed.
I've had lots of Monarch caterpillars this summer and have taken many inside to raise. A few were parasitized by tachinid flies, but most survived. I'm taking a break now because my milkweed plants are pretty much stripped of their leaves by all the caterpillars.
I also raised five Swallowtail caterpillars which I found on a fennel plant. All of those survived and the butterflies have been released. I find them even more beautiful and interesting than Monarchs, actually. I wish more people would plant fennel, carrots and parsley to attracts them.
I hand raised over 100 monarch butterflies this summer. I have wild milkweed growing in my garden and at my side yard. I would inspect for monarch eggs and caterpillars daily (sometimes twice daily), and place them inside a netted container where they'd be fed fresh milkweed from the garden. My reason for doing this was because I have watched far too many wasps and big ants eat caterpillars, so every one I saved was one less another predatory insect consumed.
The problem of habitat loss for the Monarchs isn't so great here as compared to Mexico-- those Monarch host mountain forests are being cut down and replaced with avocado groves to supply the needs of American party goers for their avocado dip. ...When you buy an avocado, check for the stamp on it-- only buy the CA grown or the Mexican with the stamp that says it comes form the "old growth" growers association.
BTW- Monarchs may need milkweed as its host plant for laying eggs, but they need other plants for food. Don't forget to protect all those wild flowers that many call weeds- thistle, wild carrot, cone flowers etc.
Thank you for the excellent information about avocados! I did not know this but will be very mindful from now on that I buy only the avocados grown in CA. I will also be more conservative in cutting back "weeds", I always thought they were pretty anyway. I think what are sometimes called "weeds" is called that just based on what a person thinks are "weeds", another person may think they are very pretty and colorful, well I always thought that.
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