A
stunningly beautiful shock of bright orange suddenly showed up on my hiking
companion’s hat. The gorgeous butterfly landed a wee bit to the left and at a
jaunty angle, and spread its bright orange and black speckled wings open wide.
It was the perfect decoration, and it was almost as if it knew that.
Slowly,
I lifted my camera. But it was too late. Before I could even get the camera
anywhere near my eye, the butterfly fluttered away and vanished into the deep
woods.
They
just don’t sit still for two seconds!
The
Monarch Butterfly is one of the most beautiful creations Mother Nature ever
thought to put on this planet with its brightly ornamented wings and slick,
shiny little body. Summer simply wouldn’t be the same without it, in many
places.
Yet it
may be about to pull of its most serious disappearing trick to date. Recent
research has shown that the Monarch Butterfly population is down, this year, by
as much as 82%. That’s the worst drop the butterflies have seen in 30 years!
The Monarch butterfly could be in serious trouble. It’s a tragic thought that
the day could come when the only glimpses we ever get of this stunning little
creature will be in old pictures and human memory.
As it
turns out, their very life source is also their own downfall. The common
milkweed. This is a tall, green leafy plant with a sometimes brightly colored
flower cluster. You may have overlooked it many times before, but a Monarch
butterfly never would. It’s the only plant on which they can lay their eggs,
and the soul food source for the larvae. The plants are bed and breakfast to
the butterflies, but to many other creatures, they’re deadly poisonous. It’s
because of their milkweed diet that the Monarchs are, themselves, poisonous to
many would-be predators. Mother Nature knows how to protect her creatures.
Now, here’s where Mother Nature and
humankind always seem to be butting heads. It may be a pretty little weed, but
a weed it is, and as such, people have been using herbicides to wipe them out
so farmers and gardeners can make their living. But without the milkweed, the
Monarchs have no place to raise their babies, and their babies have no food. And
without babies … there are no butterflies.
What to do?
Well, the good news is, there are a
great many people out there who aren’t willing to let the Monarch butterflies
flutter by for good. An internet search produces articles about all sorts of
people from bird sanctuary staff to elementary school kids, Native people and
just plain old volunteers planting gardens of milkweed and other Monarch
friendly plant-life in a terrific effort to provide these little creatures with
food and breeding grounds without disrupting much needed agricultural
operations. Isn’t that a great idea?
You might be able to help, too.
Right now, homeowners, and whomever else has the option, are being encouraged
to help by filling up their yards and gardens with milkweed and other stuff
Monarchs like in order to help bring them back to their once incredible
numbers. But be sure to do your research first and make sure you’re planting
the correct kind of milkweed and flowers. The butterflies will be eternally
grateful.
Let’s never forget that we’ve
proven before that we can do this. We, as a species, possess the strength,
determination and willpower to reverse what we’ve nearly done and fill the sky,
once again, with those stunning little specks of orange.
And while we’re doing that, here
are a few more reasons to appreciate these beautiful creatures that we’re going
to save.
·
Monarch Butterflies taste with their feet and
smell with their antennae.
·
They go through three generations every season,
with each of the first two generations living only 2 to 6 weeks before laying
the next generation of eggs and dying.
·
It’s the third generation that makes the
monumental migration from the Northern States and Southern Canada to California
and Mexico. That can amount to up to 2200 miles (3500 kilometers!) They have
yet another generation of babies down there that make the journey back. None
ever make the full round-trip.
·
They make the longest migration
·
During this great journey, they save energy by
riding winds and slipstreams. Once they get there, they conserve energy again
by cuddling together in great swarms on the Oyamel Fir Trees, which produce
enough heat to keep the butterflies alive.
·
They hatch from their eggs as little striped
caterpillars. When they’re ready they spin their cocoons, or chrysalis, and
curl up inside. In the last twenty-four hours, the chrysalis becomes
transparent and the brightly colored butterfly is fully visible inside.
·
When it breaks out of the cocoon, the butterfly
can’t fly. He has a swollen belly full of liquid and limp, weak, wrinkled
wings. Once the water slowly fills up the wings, hydrating them into their full
and beautiful glory, they become fully functional and the butterfly flies away.
·
Male monarchs have little black dots in the
lower hind wings. These dots do not occur in females. That’s how you can tell
them apart.
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