Preparing for Guests

When you prepare to have guests stay for the holidays you probably straighten out your house, make up the beds, and wash your dishes. Of course, you shop and stock your fridge with delicious supplies.

In a sense, these processes are also part of preparing your gardens for Monarchs. They need a food source, shelter, proper “bedding” for laying eggs, safety from pesticides and other harms, and a place to rest and warm in the sun. While you are never quite sure if your house is ready or not for company, there is a way to evaluate your garden to be sure that you are ready to welcome Monarchs!

The Monarch Watch website [http://www.monarchwatch.org/] is a great resource to find information about everything Monarch… Monarch biology, migration, tagging, conservation, butterfly gardening, and more.

The website lists a national registry of all the Monarch-ready gardens, called Monarch Waystations. In order to be listed on the registry, and be called a certified Monarch Waystation, there is a list of criteria that must be followed. Even if you do not want to register your space, using this criteria is an excellent way to create a successful butterfly garden.

Here is the link that brings you directly to the waystation requirements…

http://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/waystation_requirements.pdf

This year as part of my Girl Scout Gold Award project, I constructed a certified Monarch Waystation and outdoor classroom at my school. This space can be used by students and faculty, and is open to the community.

The garden provides necessary nectar and host plants for Monarchs, and we have expanded it to support and welcome pollinators of all kinds… but more about that later.                                          

The important part is that it was fun and easy, and so important! You can scale it to fit your location, size, skill set, and time. In the next few posts, I will share tips on how to create your own butterfly garden and maybe even get it certified.

The End of One Migration- and the Time Before the Next One

It seems that just like Monarchs, I too migrated somewhere else for the winter. Now after a little hibernation (ie, busy constructing a very special project that I will tell you about soon) I have returned to this blog. Even though this year’s Monarch migration to over-wintering sites in Mexico has passed, now is the time to prepare for their journey back.

What exactly do I mean by preparation? It may seem like it’s the Monarchs who do all the work, but they are now in need of our help. All around the world, people, places, and animals are beginning to feel the pressures of a changing environment, and Monarchs are no exception. Monarch butterfly populations have dropped drastically (more than 80% reduced since 1997 Xerces Foundation) and their migration, which is a biological phenomena, is at risk of extinction. Monarchs are being threatened by the effects of climate change, habitat loss from deforestation and urbanization, and wide-scale pesticide use. This amazing species needs to be preserved for many reasons—they are important pollinators, serve as environmental indicators, are the only migrating butterfly, support biodiversity, inspire art and poetry, and are generally admired by people everywhere.

But how does this concern the average citizen? Obviously,one person can't single handedly save a whole species, but there is a way to help. Due to a variety of factors, migration routes have shifted and now Monarchs are beginning to migrate more frequently through Arizona. In order to preserve the species, Monarchs need nectar sources to fuel them through the migration, as well as a supply of milkweed on which to lay their eggs. Milkweed is the only plant that can raise Monarch caterpillars, and much of the supply is being removed as many people consider it a “weed”or being treated with pesticides that kill the caterpillars. Viable milkweed sources are limited but are essential for monarch survival. Milkweed and nectar sources combined form the ideal habitat for the Monarch butterfly, and these types of habitats are needed all along their migration pathway. And that's where you come in. Our way of preparing for the monarch migration is by preparing our gardens to receive them.

My Monarch Tagging Tale

Monarch Caterpillar Munching on Milkweed

Although it's almost a month into the migration along the east coast, here in Arizona we are about two to three weeks behind season. There are signs of caterpillars snacking on milkweed, their only food source. Soon butterflies will be gliding frequently through the air.

Me With My Butterfly Net

 You are invited to join me in experiencing the signs of butterflies through the tale of my first monarch tagging  adventure...

Who?

Adriane Grimaldi, a.k.a. the Monarch Ninja, is the Director of Education at Butterfly Wonderland, A Rainforest Experience in Scottsdale, Arizona. She was an awesome guide for this adventure, and led our group of monarch (and butterflies in general) enthusiasts.

A Monarch and its Corresponding Tag
http://monarchwatch.org/tagmig/tag.htm

What?

Monarch butterfly tagging! A planned event through Southwest Monarch Study, who conducts research about the migration and breeding habits of monarch butterflies in Arizona and throughout the Southwest. 

The Street-side Sunflower Wall

Where?

After meeting up at Milepost 14 (on Highway 83 in southern Arizona), which was conveniently hidden behind some plants…most of the road signs were conquered by the wall of sunflowers that grew along the side of the road... we trekked deep into the heart of the monarch's meadowland in Canelo. We got to cross a creek, explore the meadow, and ended our day with a group circle around the monarch mating tree, where the butterflies are known to return every year!

The Trek Through Monarch Territory

https://www.facebook.com/SouthwestMonarchStudy

When?

9-20-15…  a lovely but slightly warm day, a little too early in the morning (even the butterflies were still asleep!) The Southwest Monarch Study website that… “as the length of daylight shortens in mid August and September, monarchs in northern latitudes, i.e. near the Canadian border, begin to migrate. Monarchs farther south will begin their journey a few weeks later. Tagging and monitoring should begin in late August in all regions, with a concentrated effort made in September and early October.” Here is a table showing migration patterns in Arizona.

Why?

Why not! But seriously, tagging the butterflies is a way to collect data about their numbers, locations, and migration pathways, adding to what we know and understand about the monarchs.

How?

http://www.swmonarchs.org/tagging.php

My First Tagged Monarch!!!

* All Photos Taken By My Dad*

The Monarch Migration

In hindsight, I should have started this blog to coordinate with the beginning of the monarch migration. I am a little late so let's catch up. Every year, monarch butterflies complete a two-way migration over the course of multiple generations. At the end of summer, they fly from the northern US and Canada travelling mostly along the US East coast,overwinter in Mexico, and then head back north in the spring. There are also western migration routes, including ones that pass through Arizona, and some monarchs overwinter in southern California. Check out their migration on the map from a conservation status by Nature Serve and The Xerces Society.

  Jepsen, S., D. F. Schweitzer, B. Young, N. Sears, M. Ormes, and S. H. Black. 2015. Conservation Status and Ecology 

     of Monarchs in the United States. 36 pp. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia, and the Xerces Society for

 Invertebrate Conservation, Portland, Oregon. 

Each year around mid-August a new generation of monarch butterflies is born and prepares for the trip. Although it may not seem like it here in Arizona, temperatures are dropping around the country. This environmental cue is saying one very important thing to the monarchs, "MIGRATE!" Earlier this month, the first monarch sightings were reported meaning that the migration has begun. Now monarchs will perform a task that no other known butterfly undergoes: making the long trip to Mexico. There are many road bumps they may hit along the way, and many landmarks ahead. With this blog, I will help you to experience the migration of the monarchs,and in the process share information about monarchs and ways to get involved in their conservation. Thank you for stopping by- more to come soon!