Creating an Oasis for Pollinators
Did you know that a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope? As I listened to the audiobook Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration by Sara Dykman, the description brought a smile to my face. What an accurate and whimsical way to describe the colorful, fluttering magic that is a group of butterflies!
I heard about this incredible book (and promptly purchased a signed copy) when I visited Zilker Botanical Gardens before the Roots & Wings Festival last year. I was intrigued by the dedication it would take to embark on a 10,201-mile journey just to follow the monarch migration.
While I read this book, I found myself traveling along on the “butterbike” with the monarchs leading the way, beginning in the oyamel fir tree forest in Mexico all the way through the United States and Canada and back again. While pedaling along the Ruta de la Mariposa Monarca, the author spotted a speed limit sign encouraging drivers to drop their speeds when monarchs are present. As I see butterflies fluttering around this time of year, I think we could stand to do the same here in the United States!
“To travel is to live alongside uncontrollable timing.”
-Sara Dykman, author of Bicycling with Butterflies
Multigenerational Monarch Migration
When monarchs overwinter in Mexico, they do so in masses huddled in the oyamel fir trees. The area where monarchs roost in Michoacán, Mexico, is now protected as the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (a UNESCO site), but the surrounding areas went through a tumultuous time when the land was taken for conservation without communication with the landowners. The landowners reacted by cutting down the trees for lumber, as that was their livelihood. The area of trees cut down was essentially the buffer for the oyamel firs, which is why the monarchs are more vulnerable now to cold, especially when rain and cold temperatures collide. The trees also prevent landslides in the area. The Monarch Butterfly Fundhelps to ensure the landowners (ejidatarios and indigenous communities) are paid for the use of their land, even when their land is used for conservation.
“Recognizing that conservation efforts in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve were better served by a united effort, the MBSF and MRF decided to merge organizations, establishing a new entity - the Monarch Butterfly Fund (MBF). Like its predecessors, MBFs mission continued to foster conservation of North American monarch butterflies and their migration through habitat conservation, research, monitoring, education and support for sustainable community development in and near monarch habitats in Mexico.”
-Monarch Butterfly Fund website
From the book, I learned that monarchs are ectothermic and can only crawl if the temperatures are above 41 degrees Fahrenheit and can only fly if the temperatures are above 55 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes their migration timing crucial. Cold temperatures mixed with rain along the migration route and even during the time they overwinter in Mexico can be catastrophic to the monarch populations.
When monarchs leave the oyamel fir forest in the spring, the overwintering generation of monarchs will have one final flight to find milkweed in Texas to lay their eggs (300-500 eggs at a time!) before the next generation continues the journey. After spending the late spring and summer in their northern habitat, monarchs use the angle of the sun as their indicator to head south, 57 degrees to be exact, according to the book. Monarchs use UV polarization patterns to navigate their journey if the sky is overcast and there isn’t a blue sky to guide them, but light pollution can pose a problem for migrating monarchs.
Like hungry bears preparing for hibernation, monarchs leave their northern homes in early fall to travel to their winter home in Mexico, all the while searching for nectar-rich flowers to fatten themselves up before winter creeps in. Some monarchs begin the journey too early in midsummer and arrive without the necessary fat reserves to survive the winter.
Curious about the monarch's life cycle? Check out this helpful Monarch Migration Annual Cycle Wheel!
Learn more about Sara Dykman’s journey with the monarchs on this Central Texas Gardener episode.
Monarch Migration Resources
The intersection of Dia de Los Muertos and the arrival of monarch butterflies is breathtaking. Learn more by watching Dia de Los Muertos - Wonders of Mexico on PBS.
I watched the Flight of the Butterflies documentary many years ago at the IMAX here in Austin and was in awe of the roosting butterflies as the 3D versions of the butterflies fluttered around the theater.
How can you tell the gender of a monarch butterfly?
Did you know that milkweed seeds were used to make life jackets in World War II? (A fun fact I learned from Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration by Sara Dykman)
Watch the monarch migration in real-time by visiting the Journey North website. Click on “View Maps” to view the monarch peak migration data, and then press play on the peak migration map to see the progression from north to south. The most recent updates on the website show that the leading edge of the monarchs arrived on October 11, 2023. Be a citizen scientist and submit your sightings in the fall and spring, as well as locations of milkweed in the spring!
Screenshot from Journey North website in mid-October 2023
“Like tucking children into beds, monarchs choose the milkweed plants that will become the best possible nurseries and buffets.”
“As long as there (is) milkweed, the monarchs (stand) a chance,”
-Sara Dykman, author of Bicycling with Butterflies
Creating an Oasis for Pollinators - My curated booklist on Bookshop.org celebrates pollinators and includes guidebooks for creating an oasis for them in your yard or community space.
What can you do to help?
If you have native milkweed in your yard, park, farm, or ranch, leave it there for butterflies migrating through in the spring, and do not apply pesticides or insecticides. Milkweed is the only plant that monarch caterpillars can use for food once they’ve hatched from their eggs. Certain types of milkweed are best for certain regions, but any milkweed is better than no milkweed, except for tropical milkweed. In warm areas, tropical milkweed should avoided or cut back in the fall due to OE load. What is the OE (ophryocystis elekroscirrha) parasite in monarchs?
If you live nearby in Central Texas (hello, neighbor!), the best types of milkweed are Antelope Horn (Asclepius asperula), Zizotes (Asclepius oenotheroides), and Green Milkweed (Asclepius viridis) milkweed. However, finding pesticide-free native milkweed at your local garden nursery can be tricky in some areas, and starting your own gives you a head start on the season. Starting milkweed seeds can be tricky, but if you follow the correct steps, you’ll have a better chance of success.
The seeds you collect or buy will most likely be covered in natural chemicals that inhibit germination. While this is helpful in nature so that they don’t sprout too early, it means that you’ll need to trick the seeds into thinking that winter has passed. Milkweed seeds need to be cold-stratified. Soaking and rinsing the seeds and storing them in the fridge for a few months before planting in the spring helps them to break their dormancy. To get a head start, I recently ordered the Sustain the Migration kit from Native American Seed to prepare for the spring migration season. This kit includes the instructions and supplies you’ll need to have a successful milkweed seed-starting project. Remember to use gloves when handling milkweed plants, sap, and seeds, wash your hands, and use eye protection if you think there is any chance the sap could get into your eyes.
Create an oasis for butterflies and other pollinators in your yard, urban or rural community space (like planting a pocket prairie!), park, or on your farm or ranch. Ensuring that pollinators have ample nectar sources and native host plants for caterpillars as they emerge from their eggs is essential to future migratory seasons.
Celebrate Native Plant Week by adding a few new plants to your garden, and don’t forget to create a place for butterflies to “puddle” by creating a butterfly puddling station. Soaking sand with water, adding a sprinkle of natural salt and compost in a shallow dish, and placing it somewhere in your landscape will give butterflies a place to hydrate and get the minerals they need to thrive.
Large swaths of color (as they would occur in nature) are best to attract butterflies, and ideally, there should be flowers blooming in fall and spring for both north and south migrations. Flower Power All Year!
Native American Seed is an excellent source of native plants if you live in Texas. No matter where you live, you can check with your local garden nursery (if they don’t carry pesticide-free native plants, encourage them to do so!), gardening club, or even a local master naturalist or gardener organization for plants and native plant guides. Learn more about your ecoregion! Find plants for your ecoregion in Texas.
What is the difference between planting a native host plant and planting nectar-filled flowers for pollinators? A native host plant creates an immediate food source specific to species of butterfly and moth caterpillars as they emerge from the egg stage. Nectar-filled flowers are important for fueling migrating pollinators for their journey and sustaining local pollinators year-round!
Frostweed and Goldenrod are magnets for pollinators!
Speak up! Encourage farmers, golf course owners, landowners, schools, and even cities or towns with large parks to plant milkweed or to let it remain as part of their landscape. Ask how you can help them take the first step towards welcoming pollinators. Donate to the Monarch Butterfly Fund to support conservation efforts and read their Monarch Action List. Join the local chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas or find one in your area!
(Native plant and milkweed planting information sources: The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and Native American Seed)
Caterpillars and Butterflies Spotted in Our Garden
Giant Swallowtail - Did you know Giant Swallowtail caterpillars look like bird droppings to deter birds? Host plants include rue and citrus, as well as wafer ash and torchwood
Eastern Black Swallowtail - Host plants include rue as well as fennel, dill, and parsley
Variegated Fritillary - They fly with “shallow wingbeats”! Host plants include passion vines as well as flax and purslane
Gulf Fritillary - Host plants include passion vines - The Life Cycle of a Gulf Fritillary
I haven’t seen any Pipeline Swallowtails yet, but I planted their host plant, Dutchman’s Pipevine (you’ll want to use gloves when planting this native plant), this fall in hopes that I will!
(There are also many tiny butterflies that I’m always trying to identify with my pocket guide!)
“The state (of Texas), located in the south-central region of the US, is home to about 450 butterfly species, and it tops the list of US states in terms of butterfly diversity. According to a survey, three counties in Texas, Lower Rio Grande Valley, Cameron, Hidalgo, and Starr, support approximately three hundred species. The butterflies are so popular here that festivals are organized in South Texas during the autumn (September – November) every year. The Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) has been designated as the state butterfly of Texas since 1995.”
-Butterfly Identification Website
Native Host Plants for Texas Moths
Native Host Plants for Texas Butterflies
Butterflies of the United States Identification Website
Identification of Milkweeds in Texas
Don’t forget the little guys. Wasps, bees, and other pollinators are equally as important as their more alluring counterparts!
Do you have a favorite pollinator resource or fact about pollinators? Share with us in the comments below this post.
If you happened to be in the path of the annular solar eclipse last weekend, maybe you noticed some interesting crescent moon shapes in the dappled shade beneath the trees. I captured this photo on our walk. Isn’t nature breathtaking?
Annular Solar Eclipse on October 14, 2023 in Austin, Texas
See you next week with a list of cozy books for fall! Enjoy your weekend!