Monarch Butterfly

Butterflies in Bloom

Posted in: News

Tags: monarch butterfly, pollinator

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Some months back, we here at Safari West started to get really excited about monarch butterflies. The monarch is an easily recognized and charismatic little insect. Fabulously beautiful with broad orange and black wings the important pollinators are famous for the grueling, multi-generational migrations they make up and down much of North America. For the last several decades, monarch populations have been in a state of steep and sustained decline. The situation has grown so critical that state and federal governments (in both the US and Mexico) are now involved.

Monarch butterflies are native to Sonoma County. They pass through our backyards twice a year, once in the spring as they travel north toward the higher latitudes of the United States and into southern Canada, and again in the fall as they head south to their overwintering grounds in the pine and eucalyptus groves surrounding Monterey Bay. This annual migration is completed not by individual butterflies but by several generations throughout the year. This means that the monarchs arriving in Sonoma County in early spring will lay eggs as they pass through. The caterpillars born here will enjoy a brief infancy with us before maturing into butterflies themselves and continuing north. The butterflies that return here later in the year will be the grandchildren or great-grandchildren of those we see each spring.

Merle Reuser, monarch aficionado and long-time friend of Safari West, as well as our resident landscaping genius, Sergio Ramirez, kicked off our monarch mission. For several weeks the two men could be found hard at work on the hillside behind our main office, planting native milkweed to serve as our butterfly nursery. Monarchs lay their eggs exclusively on milkweed, an unassuming little plant that we humans hold in pretty low regard, and their caterpillar babies grow up munching on it. It is suspected that a key factor in the decline of the monarchs has been the steady disappearance of this critical plant; the victim of our heavy use of industrial herbicides and aggressively weeded from our yards and gardens. Butterflies that would otherwise have flown right through Safari West now regularly land and lay eggs on our clusters of healthy milkweed.

It’s important to note that there are many different species of milkweed and if you’re going to undertake some milkweed planting of your own, it’s important to pick a species native to your area and that will actually be utilized by the butterflies. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Petaluma is a great resource for this.

As our milkweed plants were taking root and growing, our Junior Keeper program joined in on the action. These dedicated kids, guided and supported by Corrine Freitas, Ben Crabb, and Kait Nevers went to work in the butterfly garden. Over the course of several weeks, they created a lush landscape of flowers in and among the sprouting milkweed. They planted lavender and sage, rosemary and pipevine, wildflowers of varied color and size. These flowers and the nectar they produce provide a food source for adult butterflies and an additional invitation to stop by our garden. With established food supplies for monarchs in every stage of life, the monarch team moved on to the next phase; building butterfly boxes.

Monarch butterflies and their caterpillars have numerous predators, including ants, spiders, and birds. Lowell and Ryan of the butterfly team constructed wooden-framed screened-in enclosures that could be nestled securely over patches of milkweed, protecting the growing caterpillars within. On a sunny day in early spring, couch sized boxes composed of wooden frames and window screens began arriving on property. As soon as the boxes were in place, the Junior Keepers went back to work, scouring the milkweed plants for little quarter-inch-long, black, white, and green striped caterpillars. Once located, positively identified, and documented, the larvae were relocated to the boxes where they lived free from predation, feasting on milkweed and growing.

As the collected caterpillars grew, the Junior Keepers found a way to make use of old asparagus boxes and half-and-half containers from the Savana Cafe. The monarch crew converted them into butterfly houses; simple shelters from the weather and the wind. Left to their own devices, butterflies typically roost high in the trees at night, counting on the cover of leaves to protect them from the elements. Since any butterfly emerging from a cocoon at Safari West would be restricted to a box at first, it is necessary to provide shelter for the young adults until they can be documented and released.

When monarch butterflies emerge from their cocoons, they rest for an hour or more while their wings unfurl and dry. Once they are ready to take flight it is critical to release them from the butterfly enclosures or risk the determined insects damaging their wings against the screen. Because of this need for regular observation, Merle, Sergio, and the Junior Keepers kept up a steady watch. Each morning Sergio could be found checking the enclosures for adult butterflies and releasing those that were ready to go. Merle made his rounds at noontime and then again around six pm. The Junior Keepers filled in at other times throughout the days and weeks of this project.

On June 9th, Merle released the last three adults from this crop. Of 86 total caterpillars collected and transferred to the enclosures, 42 made it through pupation and were released as adults. A success rate of nearly 50% is incredible for this species (in comparison, a 10% survival rate is typical in the wild). Of the 42 adults we documented, roughly half were female, each one of them carrying some 300 eggs to be deposited along their flight path. At this point, most of the adults released here are likely in Nevada or Idaho, continuing the long journey north. This August, as the butterflies return, we’ll begin scouting our milkweed for eggs and larvae again. The butterfly enclosures will be repopulated with feasting caterpillars and glossy green chrysalids. Utilizing what we’ve learned from this first go-round, Merle expects a success rate closer to 75% with this next breeding cycle. The butterflies resulting from that generation will leave Safari West and head south where they and thousands of others will spend the winter in the eucalyptus groves of Santa Cruz and Pacific Grove.

Not long ago, monarchs could be found in the millions throughout California. Though this important pollinator has declined in number throughout the country, our garden, along with many others, is helping these amazing creatures begin to recover. Safari West invites you to join us in this project. Come visit our garden, check out the Safari West Wildlife Foundation’s Junior Keeper program at www.safariwestwildlifefoundation.org, and think about maybe starting a garden of your own.