Summer 2016 Monarch Diary

Year One Raising Monarch Butterflies

The plight of the Monarch Butterfly came front and center for me when I read a report that tracked the decline of their numbers, the loss of habitat, and the loss of the flyway they use to migrate from North America to Mexico.

My father was a Zoology professor and I grew up with a "zoo" in our home. As a child I raised moths and butterflies. Raising Monarch Butterflies was something I could do to make a difference.

I attended an Ecology Fair sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Resources and the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center of Fox Point, Wisconsin.

I met two amazing women who have been raising Monarch Butterflies for years and learned how they take care of the caterpillars and release the butterflies.

At that time, I had one stalk of Milkweed in my garden. I tried to get it started two years before. I learned Milkweed takes time...Then it "escapes cultivation."

How successful was I? I ran into all the joys and heartbreak of anyone who is working to save the Monarch Butterfly. I released 13 butterflies and lost six. Three died vomiting green fluid, which is indicative of pesticides, and three died of the black death. Black death is either the Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus (NPV) or O. elektroscirrha,a protozon paracite.

As part of my program, I kept detailed records. Each year I learned more. Here is my 2016 report.

2016 Monarch Chronicle.pdf

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