The monarch butterfly population has been in decline for several decades. The numbers today are less than 10% of what they were in 1960. There are two main reasons for this decline. First, is the use of herbicides and pesticides along with decreasing area of natural habitat. Like all butterflies, monarchs require a particular kind of plant on which to lay eggs. This is called a host plant, and for the monarch it is milkweed. If milkweed is not present, they have nowhere to lay eggs and therefore will not reproduce. They will not lay eggs on any plant other than milkweed. There are several types of milkweed. Two I am familiar with are common milkweed which is prevalent throughout the Midwest, and swamp milkweed, which I believe is more native to southern states. Either will will work for reproduction, as well as others. My belief is that it is better to stick with a native milkweed that is found in your geographic region. Although they are referred to as "weeds," both types flower, and neither is difficult to keep from spreading. I have grown milkweed for four years, and it continues to be confined to the areas in which I planted it.

The second reason for the decline is a direct result of the uniqueness of the monarch. It is the only North American butterfly that migrates. Each fall, monarchs travel from Canada and the US to an area in Mexico to "hibernate" in oyamel fir trees in a preserve outside of Angangueo, Michoacan, Mexico. In just the last 20 years, the forested area in which the monarchs over-winter has been reduced from 44 acres to less than 2 acres. The vast majority of the inhabitants of Angangueo live in poverty. At an altitude of 8400 feet, a source of heat is needed. In order to survive, many people illegally log the oyamel fir trees for themselves or to sell. Because of the extreme reduction of the forest acreage, fewer butterflies can be accommodated, thus contributing a further reason that monarchs are a threatened species.

What each of us can do locally is plant milkweed, establish a monarch population, harvest eggs and/or caterpillars and provide an environment for them to metamorphosize to adulthood to be released to increase your local monarch population. In a small way, we can also help reduce the poverty in Angangueo by purchasing "Mexi Rocks" through the Save Our Monarchs organization. As explained on the website, these rocks are painted by schoolchildren and sold to raise money for their own households.

So where do you get milkweed? Fortunately, many local nurseries have begun selling milkweed. If you would rather start your milkweed from seed or you are not sure if milkweed is sold locally, there are several websites from which you can purchase milkweed seeds.

What if there is no established monarch population in my area? I live in a city of 125,000 and although I live in an older neighborhood where almost everyone maintains flowerbeds, monarchs were few and far between four years ago when I started raising. There are websites which sell monarch eggs and/or caterpillars. The first two years that I did this, I purchased caterpillars. Starting in the third year, because of the milkweed that has been established, I began to see a sufficient number of wild butterflies to be able to harvest eggs and caterpillars from my own milkweed. Unfortunately, some states have laws preventing the shipment of insect larva, including monarchs into the state. If you live in one of those states, I am not sure what your options are. I hope we have members in those states who are aware of other options.

There are a tremendous number of websites about the plight of monarch butterflies. So as not to overwhelm you with information, I am only going to recommend two websites which I hope you will explore, and possibly to further research from there.

Saveourmonarchs.org In addition to a wealth of information about monarchs, you can also purchase milkweed and Mexi rocks from the site.
Rose Franklin has two websites: butterflybushes.com and monarchs-and-milkweed.com. This is where I purchased caterpillars for the first two years. She has also written a book "Fast Track to Butterfly Gardening" which I purchased and recommend. If you live near Spring Mills, PA, you may want to consider attending the open house this Memorial Day weekend.

In my next post, I will explain the stages of monarch metamorphosis and recommend containers for raising them. In the meantime, if you have experience raising butterflies and would like to add to the above, please do so.