We had a visitor to the Wildlife & Rain Garden yesterday:
A Monarch butterfly! By the looks of her tattered wings and worn scales, she probably was an overwintering butterfly from one of the preserves down in Mexico. Meaning she has flown nearly 1,000 miles in her short 6 – 9 month lifespan. In the photo below (a bit blurry), you can see her depositing a single egg on the underside of the milkweed leaf. Milkweed, the Monarch’s host plant, is the only plant the adult will lay eggs on, and the only plant the caterpillar will eat. Different types of butterflies have different host plants, but the Monarch gets special attention because it is the species that migrates such great distances, and depends on healthy, native milkweed and nectar plants for survival. The more the landscape is changed for human needs, the fewer milkweed plants are available, threatening the migration. We believe this one made that long journey, bred in mexico, and found our milkweed to lay her eggs on! Can you...
