dans le jardin
The faded colors of this adult Monarch may indicate it’s near the end of its life cycle. My guess is that it’s landed here to lay eggs.
Today I’m sharing a neighbor’s garden that I hope will inspire you. He has cultivated a Monarch Butterfly habitat, to help combat the dwindling populations of monarchs due to pollution and reduction in their natural food supply, mainly milkweed. I try to pass by on my dog-walking route periodically to see where the Monarchs are in their life cycle. This group won’t migrate…only the Monarchs that hatch in late summer and early fall will fly south.
If you live in a region where Monarch butterflies are native, it’s very simple to attract them: just plant milkweed. It’s not a pretty plant, especially after those caterpillars have been chowing down, but requires little maintenance aside from cutting back to the ground periodically to encourage new growth. I’m hoping to “refresh” of some of our front yard plantings this spring, and will figure out how to add some milkweed to the mix.
This caterpillar is preparing to create a cocoon. You can see the remains (lower right) of where a butterfly has recently emerged.
The cocoons are beautiful up close.
Do you have Monarch butterflies where you live? Are there any other native habitats that you’ve encouraged in your garden?
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