Community Chat

[monicakm]

How long has it been since you've seen a Monarch butterfly?  Let me preface this by saying I am not a warm weather girly, so maybe there are more butterflies than I realize. I cannot remember the last time I saw a Monarch. In fact I can't remember the last time I've seen 

any butterfly out in the country.  But, we saw one

this morning. So pretty . Habitat loss, pesticides,and climate change are the culprits.

[Puzzle Piece]

I see them in just about all three of the seasons.  I also plent butterfly bushes and the shrub that attracts them to coocoon.  

I live in So. CA.

[chessylady]

Monarch caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed leaves.I bought a milkweed plant last year intending to plant it in the ground. It overwintered here in Northern California and is getting much bigger in the pot. So everyone plant milkweed for the Monarchs.

[jlkz]

@monicakm 

About 4-5 years ago there was a severe cold front in Mexico where they have their migration destination.  The population was devastated.  I remember seeing a very deep death pile of Monarch butterflies.  This was a huge loss of population they said would take years to recover from.

[Kachina624]

@monicakm.  Some years ago when I lived in West Texas, a co-worker went to a funeral in a small town in the area.  It might have been Seminole.  Anyway he reported that during the graveside services, there was a nearby large tree literally covered with Monarch butterflies.  We assumed he'd been lucky enough to see a mass migration

I guess you're in the wrong part of Texas.  Maybe they stick closer to the mountains.

[Nana2158]

Wayne Dyer: Monarch Butterfly Story 🦋 if you haven't watched the video YouTube has the full story. Enjoy! 

[goldensrbest]

Plant butterfly weed, they will lay their eggs on them,and watch them go from larvae,to butterflies.

[monicakm]

@chessylady 

That may be the problem. We have a lawn service that mows our lawn and twice a year puts out Scott's Southern Turf Builder. This is not a weed killer, rather it's strengthens the St Augustine grass and chokes out the weeds. Problem identified.

[monicakm]

Wow @jlkz, that sounds like the timeline when the entire state of Texas was in a deep freeze. Thanks for the information.

[monicakm]

@Kachina624 

I'd have to leave Texas to be in the mountains. If I had a billion dollars, I would have a penthouse on the Las Vegas Strip and a horse ranch in the mountains of Montana.