Category Archives: Monarch butterfly

Slow down, and enjoy

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My garden has taught me to slow down and really look at what is happening in nature.

It’s one of my most favorite routines, a walk through the garden before 8:30 in the morning.

You ask, why?

The garden is usually fluttering and buzzing with activity in the morning hours as the sun casts a warmth across the plants.

This morning the monarch butterfly caught my eye and kept my attention for a long time.

She was not bothered by my proximity to her, as her focus was solely on the nectar she was seeking from the purple porterweed. 

I honestly lost count on how many flowers she visited.

She did however take a short break and landed on the goldenrod where she soaked up the sun while opening and closing her wings.

Did you know their feet and head have sensory organs, which help them identify different plants?

Another interesting fact – monarchs can store enough fat, so they do not have to stop and eat while they are overwintering.

A busy monarch

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A few months ago, I added three asclepias tuberosa, orange butterfly milkweed, to my garden for the first time. I have three varieties in the garden now, which also include balloon milkweed, and giant milkweed. I will definitely be adding additional native milkweed to the garden to help the monarch butterfly population thrive in Southwest Florida.

The monarch butterflies are beautiful to watch as they flutter about the garden. This female spent a lot of time going from the milkweed to various nectar sources before returning to lay eggs.

The monarch butterfly’s scientific name is Danaus Plexippus, which means “sleepy transformation” in Greek. The male has two black spots in the center of its lower wings and are larger in size than the female. According to the National Wildlife Federation, the spots are scent glands, which help the males attract females.

She left quite a few eggs on the milkweed plant.

The monarch caterpillars feed solely on milkweed leaves, which produces glycoside toxins, according to the National Wildlife Federation, which deters other animals from eating the caterpillars. The toxins are stored making them taste bad and remains after they emerge into a butterfly, continuing to protect them.

There are four stages in the life cycle of a monarch butterfly: the egg, the larvae (caterpillar) the pupa (chrysalis) and the butterfly.

After the butterfly lays a cream colored egg on the bottom of a milkweed leaf, it takes anywhere from three to five days to hatch. The larvae chews a small hole in the egg to wiggle free. Once it emerges it consumes the rest of the egg before moving onto the leaf.

Once she finished laying eggs, she rested on a tree nearby, an orange jasmine.

Great activity

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Mornings are a great part of the day to walk through the garden and admire all the butterflies fluttering about.

The monarch butterfly could not get enough of nectar from one of the fire bush plants. It was awsome to watch its head disappear into the opening of the flower grabbing as much nectar as possible through its proboscis.

The polydamas swallowtails were also active, with three of them fluttering about. They were finding both its host plants, birthwort pucgured below, and stops on nectar plants throughout the entire length of the garden.

And of course it would not be complete without the active gulf fritillaries.

These guys are fun to watch, as they chase off many other species of butterflies while stopping on its favorite plants, porterweed.

Butterfly gardening has become such an amazing passion of mine. Who would have thought the saying “plant them and they will come” would continue to draw my excitement and attention almost 7 years later?

Never gets old

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The emergence of a new butterfly will never grow old. It’s truly fascinating the transformation that takes place in a few short weeks from caterpillar to butterfly once a chrysalis is formed.

I have begun to work in the garden as often as I can early in the morning – from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. for a few reasons – the Southwest Florida sun is not unbearable yet and the activity that takes place is literally a breath of fresh air. It is a calming, and relaxing way to start a new day and great way to keep weeds under control and paths walkable.

Over the last week, or so, I have witnessed quite a few monarch butterflies emerge, something you never take for granted. It always makes me slow down and watch, grateful that I was granted with the opportunity to witness it once again.

There are a slew of photos of the monarch butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, as well as a video showing the entire experience I witnessed below.

The monarch

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The monarch’s are having a pretty incredible year in the garden so far. As soon as the temperatures became warm a few months ago, they are spotted in the garden every day.

The one pictured below may be a newly emerged male butterfly. It has been in the gsrden for quite some time now, enjoying the many blanket flowers that have surrounded him.

The caterpillars, of every instar, are continuously chowing down on the giant milkweed and the balloon milkweed that are spread throughout the garden.

When I truly take the time to slow down and really look at the leaves, and bark of the giant milkweed, as well as neighboring plants, I spot a plethora of caterpillars everywhere.

Below are just a few of the many in the garden.