Monarchs on the March by Dianne Battle, The Garden Club of Switzerland As you read this article, millions of North American monarchs are beginning an incredible journey: a migration from their overwintering grounds in the mountainous conifer forests of central Mexico to the northern parts of the central and eastern US and into Canada. The butterflies that are leaving Mexico will not survive the entire trip, but with luck, their great grandchildren will. As each generation flies north it will look for nectar to feed on and for milkweed on which to lay their eggs for the next generation. At least four generations are produced along the way. The great grandchildren, having spent a few weeks in their northernmost range, will undertake the entire trip back to Mexico in late August, some flying over 4,800 miles. They will stop only to nectar on flowers en route. Those that survive the winter in Mexico will begin the journey north and the reproductive cycle next March. Scientists have been tagging monarchs to study their migrations for more than fifty years. Today citizen "scientists" tag monarchs to help the study. Websites like The Journey North at www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch enable children and adults to join in the study by tagging monarchs and documenting monarch sightings. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may declare the species endangered. Not all monarchs migrate so far. Florida butterflies below the Panhandle move north and south along the state and into the Caribbean. This year’s winter has been unseasonably warm. The milkweed I cut back in October regrew and has been providing a monarch crèche for months. I have seen monarchs regularly. I can appreciate how special this is thanks to a project I started with my husband a few years ago. Several of my gardener friends have set up monarch habitats, dubbed, "Monarch Waystations." Our garden club has a Monarch Committee to promote them. Here are some ideas for providing habitat for monarchs and enjoying these incredible creatures. Monarch Habitat The one thing you must have if you want to raise monarchs is milkweed. Milkweed is the only plant the caterpillars will eat and is the only plant a monarch will lay her eggs on. The milkweed's sap contains a chemical that is toxic to birds. By the time the caterpillar "morphs" into a butterfly it will be poisonous to most predators. The monarch’s orange wings advertise its nonpalatability; several other butterfly species mimic its coloration to fool predators into avoiding them. If you are concerned about whether to buy native or the red and yellow "tropical" milkweed, buy the native varieties like tuberosa or swamp milkweed if you can. If not, get the tropical and cut it back in October to minimize the transmission of protozoan parasites, nicknamed, "OE." The adult monarch needs to eat too, but it looks for nectar. Almost any blooming flower will do. Scientists and government agencies are still studying the risk of pesticides on monarchs and other wildlife; you can avoid potential risks entirely by: 1) not purchasing plants or seeds for your monarch garden that are treated with pesticides, 2) not using pesticides in the garden, and 3) locating that garden away from areas that do get treated with pesticides. Pesticides can "travel" though the air or water to nearby plants that a monarch might visit.

Sharing the Incredible Journey Here are some ideas that might inspire you to raise monarchs this year. Mickey Fraser, who already had plenty of flowering plants just installed milkweed in her garden. She has both native and non-native milkweed, cutting the tropical variety back in the fall. Woody and Diann Wilson built a monarch cage in their back yard and raised monarchs in them; this approach protected the caterpillars from predators such as wasps, flies, and spiders . They had so many caterpillars they started growing their own milkweed: they grow tropical as well as the native pink swamp milkweed and the white aquatic variety. When the butterflies emerged, they released them Jeanne Powell-Hendricks purchased an indoor monarch cage and raises them with her grandchild. Caterpillars raised indoors will not be disturbed by flies, wasps, ants or spiders. They feed the caterpillars and clean the cage. When the butterflies hatch they tag them so their journeys can be tracked for science purposes. My husband and I kept our milkweed in pots on the front porch. That way we were able to easily photograph and videotape the monarch life cycle, from egg to newly-formed butterfly. In October, we cut the milkweed back. It is now growing in a protected area of our garden. By raising monarchs outside, however, we were able to experience nature more fully. After seeing how many threats face these caterpillars, we were overjoyed for those that managed to survive the larval stage. Our porch was decorated with chrysalises, hanging under door and window frames like jade amulets. After two weeks, some chrysalises became black and we knew something had gone wrong. But the chrysalises that became transparent revealed a butterfly-to-be in a bunting of orange and black wings. Each "birth" took only a few minutes. The newborn emerged plump with fluids. It clung near its chrysalis fanning its wings for a few hours to pump those fluids into its wings and allow them to harden. One month after hatching from its egg the animal had completed its incredible biological journey from caterpillar to pupa to butterfly. It lifted its newly-formed wings, and like every monarch we've raised, headed unerringly south to begin its next incredible journey. Visit the Garden Club of Switzerland's website, www.switzerlandgc.org, to enjoy photos, videos, and learn about monarchs. Photos by John Battle:

Photos by Dianne Battle: