The gorillas and bonobos are in deep trouble. The great cats are soon to
be gone from the wilds. But I never thought that monarch
butterflies would ever be endangered. The combination of
deforestation and winter storms has devastated their population.
I grew up in Michigan, surrounded by plenty of the big bright orange
butterflies. We would take black construction paper, cut out holes, and
paste them over colored tissue paper, then tape these onto the windows.
Monarchs are the state insect of Texas, which is on their migration path.
Three years ago, they stopped by as a flock in Austin, turning two green
thirty-foot cottonwood trees completely orange. Felorin and I put drops of
Coca Cola on our fingers. The butterflies climbed on our fingers and hung
upside down to drink it. (I've since learned that Gatorade is better for
them, and they go nuts for it!)
Geocache Monarch Tracking & Release Program"
The monarch is unique in that it doesn't hibernate. It migrates instead,
to get away from the cold. They have dots on their hind wings that are
scent glands. Navigation is a cooperative effort, done with scent patterns
and simple instincts, not unlike the food trails laid down by ants. That
means that there has to be [i]enough[/i] of them to migrate effectively.
* WORLD WILDLIFE FUND REPORT *
*** HOW YOU CAN HELP ***
1. GATHER MILKWEED SEEDS.
Adult butterflies can live on nectar from flowers, but there is only ONE
thing that monarch caterpillars can eat: Milkweed. Milkweed sap is mildly
toxic and concentrating the toxins makes the caterpillars, and later the
butterflies, distasteful to birds.
Eating a monarch makes a bird ill; they may fall over, stunned, gagging.
They throw up, and usually swear to never never never eat another orange
and black butterfly or caterpillar again, so long as they live.
Milkweed is an annual, that is, all milkweed plants die every year. Fuzzy
milkweed pods grow as light-green paisley-shaped pods, which dry, turn
gray, and break open in the fall. The milkweed seeds are released with a
tuft of fluffy silk on top.
If you live in a place where milkweed grows wild, gather up the brown
seeds. Leave the white fluff on them. Stuff them into a ziploc bag. They
need a "winter" before they will grow, so put the bag in a refrigerator for
three weeks.
2. PLANT MILKWEED STANDS
Find ugly little bare spots. Plant milkweed seeds in the spring or summer,
by raking up the ground with a dinner fork, and covering them. Water them.
Milkweed grows to about a meter tall or even two meters, in about two
months. Milkweed stands have delightful flowers and will attract adult
monarchs.
Talzhemir's
mini-greenhouse design using four skewers and clingy plastic wrap.
3. SHARE YOUR SEEDS (AND MAKE A LITTLE MONEY)
Put up a web page. Name the city where you found the seeds. If you can,
include a photo of those milkweed plants when in-flower. Tell them whether
or not your seeds will need "vernalization" or if they are "ready to
plant". (Seeds bought from big seed companies are normally ready-to-plant.)
vernalization
Ask people to send you a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) and a
check for $1, or paper money. (Yes, I *know* sending money in the mail is
risky, but $1 isn't THAT much.)
Take their envelope. Write a thank-you note on a 3X5 index card,
put it in the envelope. Add 1 generous tablespoon of milkweed seeds (leave
out the fluff).
Some (yet not all) of the seeds need a cold spell before they will sprout.
If collected up north, the proportion of seeds that need it will tend to be
higher. Make sure to write "ready to plant" if the seeds were collected in
pods immediately after a winter or if you "vernalized" them by putting them
in the fridge for a few weeks with a pea-sized chunk of apple.
Tape the envelope closed so the seeds don't come back out.
4. RELEASE LIVE MONARCHS
Because the monarch survival strategy is to eat poisonous things and be
poisonous, monarchs are much less skittish than other butterflies. They
tend to hang around at outdoor events and may even climb all over you with
their strong little black feet. Pretty cool, if you like that sort of
thing.
They are adapted for being carried along in the clouds; they have
antifreeze in their blood. So they can easily stand mild refrigeration.
It puts them into torpor. The butterfly farmer pops them into a flat box
or a triangular origami envelope. They get shipped to you by 2-day airmail
or overnight.
Be sure to check the web for a farm near you. You'd be saving at least $25
in postage to go pick them up.
15 monarchs for $125, you pay shipping.
12 monarchs for $65, +$25 for shipping.
Swallowtail Farms, major supplier for "Releases"
Swallowtail Farms
5. GROW YOUR OWN
Ask specifically if your class can raise monarchs from caterpillars. Ask
for a *monarch* butterfly growing kit for your birthday. The caterpillars
eat "lab" food made from (you guessed it) milkweed.
Butterfly Supplies
Farmkits
6. BECOME A BUTTERFLY FARMER
It would help to have 1-2 years as a biology (entomology), botany, or
ecology major at college, but it's not necessary. Start small, with a
meter-high meter-wide mini-garden.
Okay, MUCH easier said than done. There's more to this than just growing a
field full of milkweed. Butterflies are subject to diseases just like
other "livestock", so the eggs laid on milkweed leaves get washed with a
special solution. Because weather has been so erratic, they do best in
greenhouses.
They are so expensive because it's a lot of work to raise them. Then
again... look at how perfect they are for weddings and parties! One could
do much worse than choosing the career of bright striped caterpillars.
--Talzhemir
UPDATE: August 25, 2002. Over 250 pairs of Butterfly Wings and prints have
been sold. That means Furcadia has raised $250 for monarch preservation AND
the betterment of the lives of the indigenous hyoomans of the Oyamel Fir
regions. Thank you, Furcadians!
