Monarch Butterflies at the Lake….by Meg Brager

Some of you may be aware of the decline of Monarch butterflies…their long migration, amazing hibernation in the forests of Mexico, and the many obstacles they face.  But that’s not the case at a local nursery near our lake!  On July 30^th I got a call from Bob Siren of Diamond Hill Garden Center who, knowing of my monarch obsession, let me know that he had just observed a number of female monarchs laying eggs on the milkweed there.  Before you could say “metamorphosis” the eggs had hatched, the caterpillars had grown and eaten their way to 3,000x their original body mass (eating only milkweed) and had crawled off to form a chrysalis.  But we were ready for the next wave.  I brought a mesh milkweed enclosure to the nursery and Bob quickly set up a Bed & Breakfast for a batch of caterpillars, complete with milkweed plants and a wooden frame for them to pupate on.  There are now about 10 caterpillars, 2 of which have formed a chrysalis.  I have 3 at my house in a smaller enclosure and it has been fascinating to watch this amazing phenomenon up close!  And, best of all, we know that each of these monarchs will make it through their caterpillar stage.  In the wild they face many dangers, such as predation and being parasitized by other insects, and generally only 1 in 20 survive the egg and larval stage.  Each butterfly will emerge from its’ chrysalis in 10 to 14 days and will have to be released within a day, if weather conditions are good (monarchs don’t fly in the rain or in the cold).   So, hurry if you want to see them, Diamond Hill is located in Moneta, in Bedford County, at 1017 Diamond Hill Road.

by Meg Brager

Monarch

Pupa

Caterpillar or Larva