Gardens become monarch magnets

Generations flutter by

The monarch butterflies we see in central and eastern North America migrate from Mexico every spring beginning when the temperature warms enough for the first nectar plants to come into bloom. The butterflies breed as they travel north.

Monarchs live two to six weeks, but between April and August, four successive generations of monarch butterflies will have carried on the journey north. In the fall, the migration is back toward the mild climate of Mexico, where one generation overwinters.

West of the Rocky Mountains, monarchs migrate to locations along the Pacific coast. Hosts for the caterpillars and nectar plants for butterflies are crucial to regional migrations at every stage of the monarchs’ life cycle.

Sources

•  Monarch Joint Venture ( monarchjointventure.org) is a good place to learn more about the importance of monarch butterflies and other pollinators. The site includes links to many monarch and pollinator websites, and it supplies butterfly garden ideas, lists of plants and places to find them.

•  Monarch Lab ( monarchlab.org) is a particularly rich site full of resources for teachers, students and schools.

•  Monarch Watch ( monarchwatch.org) hopes to distribute thousands of milkweed seedlings this year through its Milkweed Market; if you do not know of a source for milkweed in your area, this website will help you find milkweed plants nearby.

• Grow your own butterfly garden and have it certified as a Monarch Waystation through the Monarch Watch program. Almost 8,000 waystations have been registered. The organization also sells a waystation seed kit with tips and ideas, and a monarch waystation sign to display in your garden.

This story was originally published May 16, 2014 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Gardens become monarch magnets."