Growing up in central Montana, Monarch butterflies were prevalent all summer long. My dad had a large vegetable and fruit garden just a half of a city block from our house. Along the edge of the garden, next to the street, milkweed grew in abundance. I don’t think my dad was particularly happy about the weed, but he must have know that the Monarchs needed it to survive. He left it alone.
When we were growing up, my brother and I would chase the butterflies and sometimes had makeshift butterfly nets that we could actually capture one now and then. If we had know how fragile and amazing they were and are, we would have been more respectful. Those that we caught in our nets rarely lived long. We were curious about their wings and the dust that came off in our fingers when we held them by their wings. They didn’t fly so well after that.
Scott and I have been looking for Monarch butterflies for a few years now. There aren’t so many now as there were when I was growing up. A lot of their habitat is gone. Highway crews mow the roadside grasses and weeds to cut down on the chances of fire and keep deer away from grazing along in the ditches. The milkweed gets mowed right along with the grasses. Farmers and ranchers spray for weed control. The weed sprays kill the milkweed and other necessary vegetation for butterflies plus the sprays are harmful to the fragile species.
When we lived in Hudson, Wisconsin, from 2017 to 2023 with a break in that timeframe to live in Florida from October 2019 to March 2021, we experienced some wonderful and unusual butterflies. In our first living time in Hudson we started a pollinator garden on the slop behind the house. We had many amazing butterflies visit our garden the summer of 2018. Not only Monarchs and Swallowtails but a variety of others including one very large white butterfly that was the size of a saucer. I have yet to identify just what that butterfly was. It was amazing.
Our most intense butterfly nurturing was the time we spent in Clearwater, Florida. If anything were to take us back to Florida, one of those things would be the Monarchs. The two springs that we were there, we experienced the Monarch migration from their little sanctuary in Mexico as they headed north on their way to Canada where they would spend time until the end of the summer.
That first spring in Clearwater, I noticed quite a few Monarchs flitting around. That was exciting. Then I noticed the caterpillars on the milkweed that had been planted along side our home. We bought a mesh butterfly house that was about 2″ x 2″ x 4″, filled it with milkweed that we had purchased at the local nurseries, and started gathering caterpillars to fill the structure. Over the first summer, which was Covid-summer, we assisted in the birthing of nearly 80 Monarch butterflies. Most of them emerged from their chrysalis whole and healthy, ready to make their way north to the mid-section of the country. A few hatched with crumpled wings, of which there is no way for that butterfly to shake out the deep folds. We tried to give them a few moments of joy by putting them on one of the nectar plants that they need to survive. We definitely had a passion and a purpose. In Clearwater, we were certified as a Monarch Flyway Waystation since we had so many Monarchs that stopped by to lay eggs with availability of milkweed where they laid their eggs and nectar plants for feeding.
In March of 2021, we headed north from Florida and back to our Hudson home. We once again worked on our pollinator garden. In that short two years, the number of butterflies had diminished. Even with the addition of more milkweed and other pollinator plants for different varieties of butterflies, we had very few in our garden that year. The next year, we opened up a large area at the front of our property and planted Western Wisconsin native wild flowers and pollinator perennials. Our vision was to eventually every summer have an array of wild flowers in that area that attracted butterflies, bees, birds, other insects including fireflies. I envisioned a winding path through that area with private sitting areas for meditation and peaceful contemplation. We made a good start. Then we sold our home and moved to Montana.
One amazing highlight of our travel between Florida and Wisconsin is traveling through Arkansas. The State manages over 200,000 roadside habitats for the Monarch Flyway. Traveling from Clearwater to Hudson and also Hot Spring, Arkansas we were amazed by the divided highway center strips with an array of wild flowers that were obviously planted to attract and feed butterflies and bees. It would be great if all states did that. Following is a link that gives more information about the Arkansas initiatives to support all pollinator insects and make their freeways more appealing to travelers. https://www.landcan.org/pdfs/Arkansas-Monarch-and-Pollinator-Conservation-Plan.pdf
As we learned and researched information regarding the Monarchs and other pollinator insects, we learned about the lifecycle and travels of the Monarchs. One of their main winter homes is a small acreage in Mexico and to specific areas in California. Monarch butterflies migrate to specific overwintering locations in the fall to escape the cold weather and lack of food in their breeding grounds. It’s a 3,000 mile journey north to Canada and then again back to Mexico. The eastern monarch population migrates to the oyamel fir forests in central Central Mexico, specifically the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. These trees, also known as sacred firs, create a microclimate that protects the insects. Western monarch populations migrate to the California coast, roosting in eucalyptus, Monterey pine, and Monterey cypress trees. In the spring, the butterflies fly north to the southern states, lay eggs and generally die soon after. The butterflies that result from this egg laying event then travel to the mid-section of the country and upper states where this generation of the butterfly lays eggs. This resulting generation flies on to Canada where eggs are lain once again. The butterflies that live and produce in the lower 48 states only live 5 – 7 weeks. However, the generation that emerges from the chrysalises in Canada are the only generation that has the genetic code to know how to fly back to their wintering grounds in Mexico and California. This generation lives up to 8 months. When they are ready to head south to Mexico, they ride the air waves and jet stream back to Mexico or California. This helps them conserve energy and to make the long flight efficiently. Then the cycle starts all over again.
At our new home in the townhouse community in New Richmond, Wisconsin, we have planted milkweed and butterfly-friendly plants in pots and boxes. We’ve seen some activity around the plants but it’s minimal. We’ve seen some nice wild milkweed out and about our walks and driving along the roadsides and fields. There’s a chance that we will see Monarchs this summer.
We’ve had a thought that perhaps working with the city of New Richmond we might be able to turn the field on the street side of the pond into a pollinator garden. We are developing a plan. Time will tell. The Monarchs and pollinator insects will definitely benefit. So will we!
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