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. Read more