I was very excited this week to see Monarch Butterfly caterpillars starting to appear on the swan plants in our gardens here at Struan Farm. You may or may not know that there's a bit of a crisis globally with Monarchs. Butterfly aficionados are seriously concerned about their dropping numbers and ultimate survival. Researchers think this is due to pesticides/herbicides/chemical use and possibly also destruction of habitat. In the Northern Hemisphere Monarch butterflies migrate and spend winter in Mexico and summer in California in the same areas, groves of trees that people are now working to protect. In the Southern Hemisphere researchers are still trying to figure out their movements by tagging the butterflies. They are considered to be a "bellweather" species, rather like frogs, one that mirrors the overall health of the environment.
Here at Struan Farm we're just trying to help them as much as we can. I plant flowers that provide nectar that butterflies (and bees) like, including zinnia, echinacea, dahlias, roses, borage, etc. I've planted swan plants in different parts of the house gardens, away from the fences since the plants are poisonous to stock. (The sap is toxic to humans, it can harm your eyes. Caution is required when cutting them back.) I've got spare plants grown from seed in the glasshouse, covered with a net curtain, to provide back up food for the voracious caterpillars when/if they appear.
The good news is that one and then two Monarchs appeared in the gardens about three weeks ago. I've been keeping an eye on them and registering the sightings on www.monarch.org.nz , the research trust for all things butterfly here in NZ. In Piopio we seem to be much later than other areas, but I'm glad the Monarchs find us. The draw of swan plants perhaps.
And even better news: the caterpillars have started to appear on the swan plants, hooray! Butterfly fanatics call them "cats."
Not in huge numbers at this stage. The butterflies are still around and I'm hoping they're still busy laying more eggs on the swan plants. The "cats" do have predators, both wasps and it seems stink bugs/beetles. Sadly I watched a beetle killing a caterpillar without knowing what was happening on one of our swan plants. Once I realised the situation that stink bug was history, and now I keep an eye out for them lurking on the plants. Here's what they look like so you know too:
Kermit the Frog from Sesame Street used to sing about how it's not easy being green. Well I'll tell you, it's clearly not easy being Monarch either! These butterflies need our help.
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.