WONDERFUL CHILDREN'S BOOK ABOUT MONARCH BUTTERFLIES!

Click to learn more

The ingenious children's book, "With Airplanes in the Garden: Monarch Butterflies Take Flight" by Joan Calder is a delightful story with splendid illustrations, sure to delight and intrigue all young monarch lovers. It's  a story that entertains and educates children about the magic and mysterious world of monarch butterflies. 

The discovery of a monarch butterfly egg on a milkweed plant teaches a young girl about metamorphosis. Then, "With Airplanes in the Garden: Monarch Butterflies Take Flight" takes readers on a journey of discover the life of the Monarch, with vibrant watercolor not typically found in a children's book. Correct terminology explains metamorphosis (egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly) in a fun to read story. The book includes an informative section with migration maps, helpful tips to grow your own butterfly-friendly garden, and a butterfly song, which can be downloaded from the web. The book also contains web addresses to learn more about monarch butterflies.

A passion for Monarch butterflies led Joan Calder to write this nonfiction children's picture book to educate and excite children about the wonders of nature. She grew up learning about gardening on a dairy farm in Cato, Wisconsin. After receiving a B.A. in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin, she held a variety of jobs, from recreation director for the U.S. Dept of the Army in Vietnam, to travel agent, to marketing assistant in a high tech company. In 1997 she returned to school to follow her passion; earning an A.S. degree in Ornamental Horticulture from Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California.

Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S believes urban sprawl can be offset by creating wildlife-friendly spaces in America's 25,000,000 lawns, one yard at a time! Click HERE to learn why. A portion of Ad sale revenues will be donated to Monarch Watch. Do you have a wildlife-friendly space? Please share it! Contact us on the secure Bpath Mail Form.

MONARCH WAYSTATION NO. 613- THE KATYDID IS A MASTER OF DISGUISE

While checking the milkweed plants in the side yard at Monarch Waystation No. 613 in NW Ohio, I actually took hold of this leaf and examined the underside for Monarch eggs, unaware of the large katydid on the leaf surface, only 1/4-inch from my fingers!

It wasn't until I released the leaf that I noticed this katydid on it...talk about nature's camouflage! Katydids rely quite well on their excellent camouflage for protection. I was amazed at how the markings resemble the veins in the milkweed leaf. These rarely seen but often heard at night insects have incomplete metamorphosis. The nymph that hatches from an egg looks a lot like an adult, except that it doesn't have wings. As they grow, katydids shed their exoskeletons (molt) and, in their last molt, they get wings and become adults. After that they stop growing and don't molt any more.

Click to learn more!

Katydids are truly the masters of disguise. This creature fooled me as I checked my milkweeds for Monarch eggs. I'll wager it fooled countless birds, spiders, snakes, and toads that also mistook it for a leaf. Is that why it chose to remain still when my fingers were almost touching it? Why didn't it fly or jump away? Is it aware of how deft it is at fooling its predators...and me?

What a fascinating creature, a disguise genious that's mostly nocturnal, a good jumper, has ears on its legs, and flies. It also lulls me to sleep at night with its mysterious musical song. A backyard entomologist I am, but I assume this is a false katydid (Amblycorypha oblongifolia), different from the true katydid (Pseudophyllinae). North America has 8 types of katydids, including the true, false, meadow, coneheaded, shield-backed, hump-winged grigs, quiet-calling and stick katydids. After discovering this deftly-camouflaged visitor to my Monarch Waystation No. 613 in NW Ohio, I ran into the house and retrieved my camera. It was still there upon return, and I'm glad I got this photo to share.


Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S believes urban sprawl can be offset by creating wildlife-friendly spaces in America's 25,000,000 lawns, one yard at a time! Click HERE to learn why. A portion of Ad revenues (10%) will be donated to Monarch Watch, earmarked for their Monarch Waystation program. Do you have a wildlife-friendly space? Please share it! Contact us on the secure Bpath Mail Form.

ENDANGERED MONARCH BUTTER IS CANARY IN THE COAL MINE

Note: For free videos & articles on this topic, scroll down right-hand margin to "(A-60) Monarch in decline"

Click to learn more!

The Toronto Star published a fascinating article about the Monarch butterfly, which is in sharp decline. It describes how environmental groups across Canada and the world are stepping up efforts to increase the Monarch's population. The article coincides with the philosophy of Create A Wildlife Friendly Yard (CWFY), in that we can all create wildlife spaces in our 25,000,000 U.S. yards. CWFY believes that suburban and urban wildlife-friendly habitats can be created in city parks, school yards, hospital grounds, cemeteries, individual residences, and vacant lots. Our next generation can still enjoy a healthy interaction with nature.

The Star article describes, in detail, this  international species of concern. The monarch butterfly is like the canary in the coal mine of climate change and conservation, according to Maxim Larrivée, a University of Ottawa professor who developed an online database of butterfly observation. “The monarch is a huge flag bearer for conservation, education and science. The impact it has on advocating or teaching aspects of science to young kids is enormous,” he said. But they also have an important role in nature.


It is normally a sign of bad things to come for the rest of biodiversity when their numbers are affected, Larrivée said. From a climate and habitat perspective they are tied to, and respond much faster than other groups of organisms to changes in their habitats. Damage to ecosystems are reflected faster in insects like butterflies in general.

The migrating Monarchs face decreased habitats in the Michoacan Mountains, a small mountainous area of central Mexico where they spend their winters. The mountainous habitats are decreasing due to deforestation caused by climate change. “They’re not getting the amount of butterflies they should each year in Mexico,” said Jorge Rickards, conservation director with the World Wildlife Fund. He runs a program that has successfully curbed deforestation by local owners through programs that pay them for maintaining the land. But bad weather conditions caused by climate change are also taking their toll on the region. He says conservation efforts focused on providing habitats is necessary.

Click to learn more!

“I think there’s lots to do in terms of working in Canada and in the U.S. and also in Northern Mexico to ensure there is habitat for them as they migrate,” said Rickards. “It’s a phenomenon that has been recognized and valued for a long time by the three countries,” he said, but cross border efforts are mostly being carried out by civil society non-governmental organizations and scientists.

Larivee said community conservation efforts can only have a positive effect on their numbers. “It can’t hurt,” he said, because the popular monarch gardens popping up provide nectar and host plants that increase the likelihood of better survival rates for the butterflies throughout their life cycle.
The migrating patterns of the butterflies are also changing. Monarchs made it to Edmonton this year, which is the furthest North West they’ve been in recorded history. Efforts in the city are a little more ad hoc. Local butterfly enthusiasts are planting milkweed and flowers to help them move through their life cycle, and prepare to head south again in the fall.

“The flower part is easy,” said John Acorn, University of Alberta professor and butterfly expert. “The real trick for the ones that come this far north and west is for them to find milkweed plants for the larvae to develop on.” Alberta has some native milkweed, but not as much as in Ontario.

“This is all new to us,” said Acorn. There will be a concerted effort to help conserve them if they continue to return, but there wasn’t a plan in place before the butterflies arrived because no one knew they were coming. On Prince Edward Island, the Bedeque Bay Environmental Management Association has launched a community project to begin this effort. They blame the decrease in population on fewer habitats and are encouraging community members to grow gardens that will help feed the butterflies. They’re called pollinator gardens and help not just butterflies, but bees and other pollinating insects.

They’re encouraging gardeners to plant milkweed, which is a poisonous plant that the monarchs need to lay eggs, and feed young caterpillars before they grow into the orange and black winged insect so many North Americans are familiar with. Plants that flower throughout the growing season are also recommended. Or planning a garden so there are plants growing in succession throughout the summer and into the fall.

Click to learn more!

“It does envelop the whole conservation of all species. They were just a very good poster child to give it all a face,” said Samantha Doucette with the BBEMA. Doucette said it would be very hard for the monarch to become extinct without it hurting other species.

The BBEMA also plans to start a branch of the Monarch Teachers Network in August. The organization works with teachers and students to tag migrating monarchs.

Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S believes urban sprawl can be offset by creating wildlife-friendly spaces in America's 25,000,000 lawns, one yard at a time! Click HERE to learn why. A portion of Ad revenues (10%) will be donated to Monarch Watch, earmarked for their Monarch Waystation program. Do you have a wildlife-friendly space? Please share it! Contact us on the secure Bpath Mail Form.

CATERPILLARS AND THEIR HOST PLANTS

Herbs
Fennel – Both the green and bronze are hosts for Black Swallowtails.
Parsley – A host for Black Swallowtails.
Basil – Provides nectar.
Dill – Is both a host plant and a source of nectar.

Click to learn more!

Annuals
Cosmos – A nectar source for the Painted Lady.
Hollyhock – A nectar source for the American Painted Lady.
Pansies – A nectar source for the Yellow Sulfur.
Salvia species – A host plant for many different butterflies.
Sunflowers – A larval source for the Painted Lady.
Verbena species – A nectar source for the Checkered Skipper.
Zinnia species – A nectar source for the Western Tiger Swallowtail.

Perennials
Asclepias species – Butterfly weed is both a host plant and a source of nectar for Monarchs.
Aster species – A nectar source for Black Swallowtails.
Echinacea species and cultivars – Coneflower is a nectar source for the Common Wood Nymph.
Eupatorium purpureum – Joepye weed is a nectar source for Giant Swallowtails.

Click to learn more!

Shrubs and Trees
Asimina triloba – Pawpaw is a host for the Zebra Swallowtail.

Buddleia davidii – The butterfly bush is a nectar source for the Black Swallowtail and Monarchs.
Fraxinus pennsylvanica – The green ash is a larval source for two types of Swallowtails.
Lindera benzoin – The spicebush is a host for Spicebush Swallowtails.
Populus tremuloides – Quaking aspen is a host for Mourning Cloaks.
Prunus serotina – Black cherry is a host for the Tiger Swallowtail.
Salix species – Willow is a host for the Red Spotted Purple.
Prunus virginiana – Chokecherry is a host for the Western Tiger Swallowtail.

Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S believes urban sprawl can be offset by creating wildlife-friendly spaces in America's 25,000,000 lawns, one yard at a time! Click HERE to learn why. A portion of Ad revenues (10%) will be donated to Monarch Watch, earmarked for their Monarch Waystation program. Do you have a wildlife-friendly space? Please share it! Contact us on the secure Bpath Mail Form.

MONARCH CATERPILLARS KILLED BY TACHNID FLY

Alyssa Moyer at Kent State University dissected her dead Monarch caterpillar and took this photo (left) of the  Tachnid Fly larva that killed it. This fly is a deadly creature that wipes out countless Monarch caterpillars; it is a silent and mostly unseen predator... even to experienced Monarch enthusiasts like Alyssa Moyer. The tiny Tachnid Fly lays its eggs on either the caterpillar or the egg.

Click to learn more!

The Monarch goes through its caterpillar and chrysalis stages, unaware that the Tachnid Fly made it its host. The fly uses its eyesight to find the unsuspecting Monarch caterpillar, then uses a piercing ovipositor to inject a fertilized and incubated egg into the Monarch, usually behind the caterpillar's head. The fly egg hatches into a 1st instar of the fly larva and it begins feeding on the hemolymph of the caterpillar. The caterpillar does not die, just yet. In fact, even seasoned Monarch enthusiasts like Alyssa Moyer wouldn't even be aware that their caterpillars are parisitized for they will continue to molt and grow through all their instars with the fly larva inside.

Related posts:
Raising Monarch Butterfly at Waystation No. 613

Click to learn more!

Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S believes urban sprawl can be offset by creating wildlife-friendly spaces in America's 25,000,000 lawns, one yard at a time! Click HERE to learn why. A portion of Ad revenues (10%) will be donated to Monarch Watch, earmarked for their Monarch Waystation program. Do you have a wildlife-friendly space? Please share it! Contact us on the secure Bpath Mail Form.

MONARCH BUTTERFLY WAYSTATION NO. 613- MONARCHS BACK IN NW OHIO!

Monarch butterfly signs have picked up considerably since July 12, 2012 around Fremont, Ohio in NW Ohio. On Thursday, July 12th, I inspected the Common and Swamp milkweed plants in Monarch Waystation No. 613, which is my side and backyard. I collected 21 Monarch eggs off about 25 plants inspected. The next day, Friday 13th, I found 3 more eggs in the side yard milkweeds. A female Monarch visited since the day before. On Saturday, July 14th, I visited Wolf Creek Park, about 5 miles south of Fremont, Ohio off of Rt. 53, and collected 3 monarch eggs. Then, on July 15th, I checked the same plants in my backyard milkweeds in Waystation No. 613 and collected 7 eggs.

Click to learn more!

Wow! So far, I have collected 31 monarch eggs and on Monday, July 16th, 25 of them  hatched. I kept busy washing and storing milkweed leaves for them in the refrigerator. At 4pm that day, I checked the backyard Monarch Waystation No. 613 and collected 2 more eggs. Then on July 17th, I toured Wolf Creek Park again and saw 7 eggs and 8 new caterpillars hatchlings in a Common Milkweed patch I monitor. Six of the tiny hatchlings were grouped together in a  circle underneath one milkweed leaf. I didn't collect the 7 eggs or 8 hatchling cats, because they were in a spot that isn't mowed or sprayed. When I arrived home, I noticed 2 more eggs hatched in my aquarium. Then, to my surprise, I again checked my side yard Monarch Waystation No. 613, and collected 13 additional eggs!

I went out today, Wednesday, July 18th, and collected 4 eggs off the milkweeds by Fremont's water filtration plant. The milkweed patch I monitor at this location had been recently mowed; the 90 Common Milkweed plants were shredded into tiny bits. I wonder how many eggs and cats were destroyed by this latest mowing. Returned home to find 2 more eggs hatched in the aquarium.

Click to learn more!

Yes, they're back! I saw 81 Monarch eggs and tiny cat hatchlings on the Milkweed patches that I routinely check. No second instar or larger cats were found. And, 29 eggs have hatched so far in my aquarium. All this happened in the last six days,  since July 12th! What a turn around since late June and early July, when I saw -0- eggs or cat hatchlings on the milkweeds in these same patches.

Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S believes urban sprawl can be offset by creating wildlife-friendly spaces in America's 25,000,000 lawns, one yard at a time! Click HERE to learn why. A portion of Ad revenues (10%) will be donated to Monarch Watch, earmarked for their Monarch Waystation program. Do you have a wildlife-friendly space? Please share it! Contact us on the secure Bpath Mail Form.

RAISING MONARCH BUTTERFLIES AT WAYSTATION NO. 613

Click to learn more!

I enjoy raising Monarch Butterflies at Monarch Waystation No. 613 here in NW Ohio. In the side yard, roughly 30 Common and Swamp Milkweed plants grow alongside Butterfly Bush and Beebalm, Butterfly Weed, Cardinal and Violet flowers. The backyard grows another 20 Common Milkweed plants. Collecting the eggs are fun. On July 12th, I gathered 11 from the side yard milkweeds and 10 from the backyard milkweeds. In 3 days (tomorrow) they will hatch into tiny caterpillars, then eat milkweed leaves for about 9 days, then form "J's" at the top of the cage. Shortly after forming a "J", each turns into a chrysalis. Then, in about 9 days, a beautiful orange and black Monarch adult butterfly emerges. As the Monarchs emerge, I watch and photo the shriveled, wet wings expand as each one pumps the fluid in its bulging body into the wing veins. In about two hours, when the wings are mostly dried, I allow them to crawl onto my finger, then I place them on the flowering purple Butterfly Bush flowers.

Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S believes urban sprawl can be offset by creating wildlife-friendly spaces in America's 25,000,000 lawns, one yard at a time! Click HERE to learn why. A portion of Ad sale revenues will be donated to Monarch Watch. Do you have a wildlife-friendly space? Please share it! Contact us on the secure Bpath Mail Form.

MONARCH BUTTERFLY POPULATION TOOK A HIT!

Click to learn more!

The Monarch population has taken a hit. I’ve noticed this change at Monarch Waystation No. 613 in NW Ohio. This spring was the warmest we’ve had in over a century and the past 12 months have been the warmest ever recorded in the U.S. Plants and insects were seen early, and I’ve recorded my earliest spotted Monarch at Waystation No. 613, on May 14^th. This led me to believe that it will be a great breeding season for Monarchs, since the milkweed plants popped up several weeks earlier than usual. Between May 14- May 18, I collected 32 Monarch eggs off the roadside milkweed plants that were soon to be sprayed with insecticides or mowed down. 

Monarchs raised and released at
Waystation No. 613

By May 27^th I collected a total of 53 eggs and 29 1^st and 2^nd instar caterpillars off the milkweed plants lining heavily-mowed and sprayed roadways. But, my hopes were diminished. Several late frosts and cold snaps hit NW Ohio. I didn’t see many adult Monarchs flying either. I collected a record low number of Monarch eggs in June and was able to release only 28 adult Monarch butterflies. The OE virus, I assume, had killed half the chrysalis’ and caterpillars I was raising. I was hoping the 28 adult Monarchs I released in my Waystation No. 613 would “hang around” and lay eggs on the 40+ Common and Swamp Milkweeds in my way station, but I never saw them again after release.

Male released at Waystation No. 613

The climate scientists report that the hotter summers, lengthier droughts will not be good for man or beast…or Monarch butterfly. Not surprisingly, on March 17, 2012, the Monarch butterfly population status report was made public. Because of late freezes, historic droughts, raging wildfires, etc. the Monarch butterfly population is down 28%. This document is issued each spring by the World Wildlife Fund, and assesses the overall health of the migrating Monarch butterfly population by calculating the physical space they occupy in the Oyamel fir forests of Michoacan, Mexico. This year, the millions of butterflies occupied a little more than seven acres. The average is almost 18 acres.

 Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S believes urban sprawl can be offset by creating wildlife-friendly spaces in America's 25,000,000 lawns, one yard at a time! Click HERE to learn why. A portion of Ad revenues (10%) will be donated to Monarch Watch, earmarked for their Monarch Waystation Program. 

Do you have a wildlife-friendly space? Please share it! Contact us on the secure Bpath Mail Form.