Why I do what I do - Raising Monarchs

Last May, while walking at the back of our property, I stumbled upon this broad leaf weed, that I later determined, was common milkweed. On the underside of the giant leaves I saw five tiny striped caterpillars that were yellow, black and white. They were contently munching their way through the leaves. With a bit more research, I learned these tiny caterpillars, would soon be monarch butterflies!

I was so excited to share my find with my husband and our kids. They too, were excited at the prospect of witnessing this amazing transformation. We went out daily to check on our new tiny friends. However, each day we were saddened, to find fewer and fewer caterpillars, until finally, on only our third day, there were no more caterpillars to be found at all.

Curiosity got the best of me and I had to figure out what had happened to our future butterflies. As it turns out, monarch butterflies and caterpillars, have an alarming number of predators in the wild. Even more disturbing, only 1-5% of eggs will make it to be a butterfly. (so if a mommy monarch lays 100 eggs, only 1 out of the 100, may actually become an adult butterfly) Those odds are terrible!

These 5th instar caterpillars are getting ready to pupate soon - turn into a chrysalis

Living in the country, it wasn't long before I found some more striped caterpillars on milkweed. This time I quickly scooped them up and brought them inside, so they wouldn't fall victim to all the outside world predators. I was determined that these caterpillars were going to become butterflies, and they did! We fed them fresh milkweed daily, kept their enclosures clean, watched them transform into a chrysalis (the cocoon looking thing), waited about 2 weeks, watched them eclose (come out of their chrysalis) and then they flew away on their journey.

After that I was checking often, for new eggs and caterpillars. Last year we released 463 monarchs. This year we are already on pace to exceed that number. It's very exciting! I'm not trying to break a record or out do what we did last year, if we do, we do. If not, that's ok too. I will say, having that many caterpillars, does become similar to a job, of sorts. But, I am happy that we can do what we do, to help.

I collected these eggs from our yard. I try to leave most of the leaf on the milkweed in tact, only taking a small area around the egg.

In addition to the experience of raising and releasing these magnificent creatures, the conservation status of the monarch butterfly has been petitioned to be classified as "threatened" and possibly even "endangered." There has been a recorded 90% decrease in their numbers based on the average population that overwinters in Mexico. This drop in population is mostly caused by humans and our impact on the environment. Obviously, there is much to be done to rectify our impact, but there are also things we can all do, to help in ways we can. This is something I have found, that I can do to help.

All of the butterflies we release, fly off, most will likely mate, create more eggs, and ultimately, more butterflies. The way I see it, the more healthy monarchs we can get into the wild, the better.

There is always some small impact you can make to help, whether it be planting 1 single plant, deciding to not use chemicals that will harm the environment and wildlife, or something else. It may seem insignificant at the time, but if we all do small things, they will add up. Never forget your seemingly tiny effort, is not so tiny, and it really does matter!

I look forward to seeing what we can all do together!

What can you do to make an impact?