NOVEMBER 2015

Disappearing Monarchs

We've probably all read articles about the decline of honey bees and butterfly populations in the USA. I've been much more attuned, as a hobbyist beekeeper, to information on bees, mite issues, and colony collapse than to news reports on butterfly concerns. A friend of mind, however, is a master naturalist in Georgia, and he has been sending me information on efforts to reduce the alarming declines of a widely-recognized butterfly, the orange and black Monarchs. Property owners can help with Monarch restoration efforts by growing "way stations" that have plenty of milkweed and nectar-rich plants.

Studies undertaken since the mid-nineties claim that numbers of Monarch butterflies in their annual migrations have declined by more than 80 percent. These Monarch migrations cover many thousands of miles from central Mexico to locations in Canada and the northern parts of the USA. Types of milkweed are the only plant on which the Monarchs lay their eggs and on which their larvae feed, so milkweed is critically needed at stops along their long migration paths. A plant that has "weed" in its name can get a bad rep, and some exotic and tropical types of milkweed that were introduced long ago for landscaping purposes were invasive and disrupted natural ecosystems in the Deep South. Milkweed has a milky, latex sap, contains complex chemicals, and is unpalatable for most animals.

Human development along Monarch migration routes and herbicide usage on crops have had devastating effects on native forms of milkweed. Also frequent mowing along our highways has adversely affected much of the habitat traditionally used by Monarchs for food and shelter. States are beginning to practice more diversity of butterfly-friendly roadside planting, but this trend has not yet made that much difference.

Monarch Watch is one of several web sites and organized efforts for research, education, and citizen activities to stem the decline of the Monarchs. There are now thousands of registered way stations where citizens are growing milkweed and other Monarch-friendly plants, but more are definitely needed to bring back these butterfly numbers. You can order seed packages including native milkweed varietals and other key nutrient flowers for butterflies at the Monarch Watch website or contact local nurseries for certain types of milkweed and wildflower seed packages. Be careful to choose native milkweed varietals, and ones that seem better suited to local or regional habitats. Common and swamp milkweeds are often safe choices, and these can also help other types of butterflies, and even attract hummingbirds. The Monarch Watch website offers advice on how to plant and save milkweed seeds, as well as information on the process to register and certify your location, if you would wish to do so, as an official Monarch way station.
 
In choosing locations for milkweed and supporting wildflowers for butterflies, areas that are larger than 100 square feet and that get many hours of direct sunlight are recommended. This summer my own efforts to devote about a third of an acre to wildflowers conducive to bee and butterfly populations met with mixed results. The seed packages that I purchased for that purpose included some flowers, such as Indian Blankets and a few others, that did well in the northeast Winn Parish soil. By late July, though, these were largely destroyed by a marauding bunch of feral hogs who dug holes and made a mess of almost all of my area devoted to wildflowers. The negative impact of our growing feral hog populations in this state is another topic, though, and one that has received a lot of recent attention.

Hope springs eternal, and for next spring and summer I'm planning to include common and swamp milkweed, along with Indian Blankets and other wildflowers in my same location. I can only hope that feral hogs in that area find other places to scavenge, or that I get in some months of bloom before the location attracts those hoofed invaders.


This blog includes articles on the outdoors and environment submitted by Steve Payne to The Piney Woods Journal. Appointed as a correspondent on the outdoors and environment for this monthly journal based in Dodson/Winnfield, Louisiana, his articles started appearing in May of 2015.