The Amazing Monarch Butterfly
The monarch, a most beautiful butterfly
Summer would not be the same without the arrival of the winged beauty the monarch butterfly.
Whether enjoying time by a lake, working in the garden, or just taking a walk, the monarch butterfly has been a mainstay of summer days for years. These butterflies are hard to miss when they fly by because it is one of the largest in North America. With its striking orange framed by black lines on the top of the wing, and pale orange underneath the wings, monarch butterflies are a joy to watch as they soar seamlessly by.
The life cycle of the monarch goes through four stages before morphing into a butterfly.
Whether enjoying time by a lake, working in the garden, or just taking a walk, the monarch butterfly has been a mainstay of summer days for years. These butterflies are hard to miss when they fly by because it is one of the largest in North America. With its striking orange framed by black lines on the top of the wing, and pale orange underneath the wings, monarch butterflies are a joy to watch as they soar seamlessly by.
The life cycle of the monarch goes through four stages before morphing into a butterfly.
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The first stage is the egg, which the female lays on the milkweed plant. Once the eggs hatch, the tiny caterpillars begin to munch their way to their optimal size. It is during this phase they are fairly vulnerable to spiders. As they get larger they will reach maximum size at approximately two inches or six centimeters long. At full size the caterpillar places itself in an upside down position under a leaf and goes into a cocoon. The initial colour of the cocoon is bright green and as the butterfly begins to develop the cocoon soon becomes transparent and the wings can literally be seen developing. The fourth
stage occurs when the butterfly emerges and only needs to stretch and dry out their wings prior to taking to the skies. This is the period it is no longer bound to the milkweed plant as it is free to feed from the nectar from any flower. |
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Monarch caterpillars feeding on milkweed
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A newly emerged monarch butterfly
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The monarch caterpillar is every bit as pretty as the butterfly. It has two large antennae on its head and two smaller antennae on the back of body. The body has a striking yellow, white and black on it and becomes even more brilliant as it gets larger. They are exclusively found on the milkweed plant; to locate them look for leaves which are half eaten or have holes in them. If one gets close enough they can watch them dine meticulously on the leaf
Watching the metamorphosis of this caterpillar to a butterfly is amazing; children are particularly interested in this. Should one come across a caterpillar they should be left in their natural habitat, but if it is in distress they can be raised easily to a butterfly. All that is required is a bug catcher and fresh milk weed leaves. When the caterpillar reaches its peak size, it will crawl to the top of the catcher and form a cocoon. In about one week the cocoon becomes transparent indicating it is time to remove the top of the bug catcher and place it outside. Usually within a day the butterfly will emerge and slowly prepare itself to take off. This is a good experience for kids as it demonstrates the wonders of Mother Nature.
Watching the metamorphosis of this caterpillar to a butterfly is amazing; children are particularly interested in this. Should one come across a caterpillar they should be left in their natural habitat, but if it is in distress they can be raised easily to a butterfly. All that is required is a bug catcher and fresh milk weed leaves. When the caterpillar reaches its peak size, it will crawl to the top of the catcher and form a cocoon. In about one week the cocoon becomes transparent indicating it is time to remove the top of the bug catcher and place it outside. Usually within a day the butterfly will emerge and slowly prepare itself to take off. This is a good experience for kids as it demonstrates the wonders of Mother Nature.
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The milkweed itself is an under-rated plant and has a most beautiful fragrant flower. Not only is it the main stay of the monarch caterpillar diet, but the heavenly scent the flowers produce are amazing. Often when one is walking in a field they will smell an aromatic scent in the air and the last place they will think of looking for this upon a milkweed flower! Who wouldn’t want a great smell and beautiful butterfly in the garden? If one rethinks the milkweed and places them in a garden they will not only attract the monarch butterfly, but have a superb fragrance as well.
Since the monarch caterpillar dines on the milkweed, when it becomes a butterfly, it is less desirable to predators like birds, frogs, lizards and small mammals. The milkweed produces a chemical in the body of the caterpillar - that transfers to the butterfly - which is poisonous to these predators. This can be observed in nature as the monarch butterfly often generally shares the same space as birds. |
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The monarch butterfly migrates to Mexico every year however not all of them make it. There are four generations born during the summer months and the first three generations live about forty to sixty days each. The fourth generation, born in late summer, is the one which makes the trek south and lives up to eight months. This makes this butterfly not only beautiful but smart, as it vibrates towards the warmer climates like the birds do!
There is another butterfly which looks like a mini monarch which is called the viceroy. At about half the size of the monarch butterfly it is perfect little impersonator! The viceroy butterfly larvae do not eat milkweed, but likely gain the reputation of its bigger cousin on looks alone and is thus
avoided by would be predators in the same way.
There is another butterfly which looks like a mini monarch which is called the viceroy. At about half the size of the monarch butterfly it is perfect little impersonator! The viceroy butterfly larvae do not eat milkweed, but likely gain the reputation of its bigger cousin on looks alone and is thus
avoided by would be predators in the same way.
The cone flower is a favourite stop for the monarch butterfly
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To attract the monarch butterfly to the garden include the following plant species in the design; cone flowers, rebecca daisies, cardinal flowers, zinnias, marigolds, milkweed, butterfly weed, butterfly bush and cosmos among others types. It’s also a good idea to set up an area like a meadow in the yard, with some open spaces and flowers, because the monarch butterfly gravitates towards this.
It’s important to integrate the milkweed into the garden because it is being removed through human expansion and other means. If the plant is unsightly it will not let you down with the aroma, and since it is native to North America it likely has other benefits such as being robust through droughts and so on. It would not be hard to “hide” the plant amongst others if on wishes, just place it with taller flowers or flowering shrubs, but make sure they get full sun because that is where they are found.
The monarch butterfly is very valuable to the environment because it is a pollinator of all types of flowers. Ecosystems and food sources rely on this butterfly and other pollinators; thus it is in the best interest for humanity to not only care for the environment but to attract this butterfly to their
region.
The monarch butterfly is truly a natural wonder, and with careful management of the environment it will be part of summer days permanently!
It’s important to integrate the milkweed into the garden because it is being removed through human expansion and other means. If the plant is unsightly it will not let you down with the aroma, and since it is native to North America it likely has other benefits such as being robust through droughts and so on. It would not be hard to “hide” the plant amongst others if on wishes, just place it with taller flowers or flowering shrubs, but make sure they get full sun because that is where they are found.
The monarch butterfly is very valuable to the environment because it is a pollinator of all types of flowers. Ecosystems and food sources rely on this butterfly and other pollinators; thus it is in the best interest for humanity to not only care for the environment but to attract this butterfly to their
region.
The monarch butterfly is truly a natural wonder, and with careful management of the environment it will be part of summer days permanently!
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