Family Friday: You Can Raise Monarch Butterflies

This month Lucas Miller shares how you can raise monarch butterflies in your own yard easily and inexpensively. Since milkweeds are the host plant for monarchs caterpillars, you’ll be helping to preserve these beautiful creatures for future generations as well as creating a fun family activity. As you can see from the picture, milkweed flowers are beautiful. They also have a lovely sweet smell (hard to tell that from the picture!). Be sure to check out his song about the monarch – it is one of our girls’ favorites!

Beginning about the middle of March, millions upon millions of monarch butterflies make their ways back to the USA as they return from the forested mountainsides in south central Mexico where they spend their winters. Monarch scientists and enthusiasts had feared lower numbers this year but, I’m pleased to report, the estimates are actually up slightly over 2007-08.

A common question about these tiny travelers is whether they are the same individuals who made the two- to three-thousand mile migrations in the fall. I asked entomology guru Dr. Mike Quinn this question a couple of years ago and was assured that, yes, they are. That’s actually the unique thing about monarchs.  There are insects that migrate farther (some dragonflies have been shown to cross the Pacific Ocean!) but we know of no other insect that makes the return migration as well.

The monarchs who return, by then about seven months old, won’t have much time left. They’ll mate and survey the terrain below for the milkweed plants upon which they must lay their eggs. A great way to help is to pick up a milkweed plant at your local nursery and put it in your garden. Actually, you can just leave it in the pot on your patio or balcony. If there are monarchs passing through your area, they’ll find that plant, lay some tiny white eggs on the leaves and, in 4-5 days, you’ll have some itty-bitty caterpillars (they’re striped black, white and yellow like the one below) within a couple of days.

There are actually over a hundred species of “milkweeds” in the genus Asclepias and monarchs only utilize about half of them. There are two species in particular they seem to favor. The “tropical milkweed,” scientifically known as Asclepias curassivica, is probably the best loved by monarchs. We had to buy three rounds of these last year because we had so many caterpillars and those gluttonous little fatties defoliated the first two all the way down to the stems!

Tropical milkweed is non-native to the US, however. If you want to go with a native route, swamp milkweed, Asclepias incarnate, is another great option (you can confirm that it’s native to your state at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s Native Plant Database). I haven’t used these myself yet but I’ll be trying them this spring.   (The Wildflower Center has lots of great information about milkweeds and gardening with native plants).

Be prepared, however, to see whole “cycle of life” in action. We had some caterpillars killed most gruesomely by hornets and another poor fellow who emerged from his chrysalis only to fall to the ground before its wings had hardened. It made us realize just what an endeavor a metamorphosis is. Each clear, opened chrysalis became a sign of victory—another monarch that made it!

We also learned about aphids and potato beetles that also turned up feasting on our milkweeds. We discussed and practiced organic gardening methods but, as it really turned out, those milkweeds are quite hardy. They leafed out again after every infestation (that includes monarchs from the milkweeds’ perspective).

Overall, I highly recommend giving it a try.  My family found real joy and excitement in watching the growth, transformation, and drama right off our front porch.

Learn pretty much all you could care to know about monarch butterflies at Journey North: Monarch Butterfly.  It’s geared for students as well as scientists and laymen alike and it’s the absolute best science-oriented website I’ve come across. I also have a song about monarchs – you can see the video free right there on my homepage.

Lucas is a professional children’s author and songwriter from Austin, Texas. Check him out at www.lucasmiller.net.

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