Saving the Monarch Butterfly

Monarch Butterfly on Blazing Star. Photo by Jerry Apps
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The Monarch Butterfly depends on the milkweed for reproduction. With ample rains and warm sunny days, the prairie at Roshara is flourishing. Wildflowers are everywhere and milkweeds are abundant. Along with all the milkweeds in the prairie, the Blazing Star wildflower (Liatris) is also outdoing itself this year. Never have I seen such a display of this beautiful plant. And guess what? Monarch Butterflies feed on the nectar of Blazing Star wildflower.

With several acres of milkweeds and Blazing Star wildflowers, we have, dozens, maybe hundreds of Monarchs flitting about, enjoying the sunshine and feeding on their favorite wildflower. And preparing for their winter migration. On a sunny day, I stood on the prairie and just watched the Monarchs. They would feed on a Blazing Star for a time, fly a few feet, and then feed on another.

Monarch butterflies spend their winters in Mexico. Hard to believe, but these rather fragile butterflies fly many hundreds of miles to escape Wisconsin winters. Why don’t they remain in Mexico, one might ask? Well, they can’t survive the freezing temperatures of the north, but, alas, the plants they need for reproduction don’t grow in Mexico, so the spring generation of Monarchs flies north where the plants are plentiful.

One way we can help Monarchs survive is to plant some milkweeds—a plant that, when I was a kid, was considered a weed and we cultivated and hoed it out of our garden, the potato patch, the cucumber patch, wherever they grew. Now, we should let them grow.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Plant some milkweed seeds, save a Monarch butterfly.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

September 18, 9-4 Writing Workshop, Wyocena Public Library, Wyocena.

September 20, 12:30 p.m. UW-Platteville, Baraboo Campus, 1006 Connie Rd., Baraboo, WI. “History of WI Agriculture”

October 5, 10-2:00 p.m. Dregne’s, Westby. Book signing.

October 12 1:00 p.m., Fox Cities Book Festival, Menasha Public Library

October 22, 6;30 Sun Prairie Public Library, Sun Prairie, WI

October 24, 1:00 p.m. Friends of Muehl Public Library and Outagamie County Home and Community Education Assoc. Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 349 N. Main St. , Seymour, WI “Rural Wit and Wisdom”

November 9, 9:00 a.m. 2nd Sat. Plymouth Art Center, Plymouth, WI. Sheboygan County Historical Research Center. “Farm Winter With Jerry Apps”

November 18, 1:00 p.m. Kiel Public Library, Kiel, WI. “Wisconsin. CCC”


To learn more about the prairie at Roshara, pick up a copy of my book, OLD FARM: A HISTORY.
Available for purchase from your local bookstore or buy them from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org