Milkweed Flowers

June drawing to a close has always been a special time of year.  Thirty-four times it marked the change from working in the classroom to ten weeks of vacation or a summer job.  For many, Milkweed is little more than a roadside weed.  Its unique connection to the Monarch butterfly makes it an incredibly important native plant.  Our retirement land was purchased more than one quarter of a century ago and its wildly rural nature placed us in close contact with both the butterfly and its food source.  Memory of its powerful scent could not go unnoticed.

The difference in the color of the open flowers remains an unanswered question.  Many are close to white colored while others show a rose pink.  One possible explanation could be the age of the open flower but we see both colors on plants with both open flowers and unopened buds.  Perhaps this issue is similar to the variation in human eye or hair color.  It just happens.

Several years ago we started squash seeds indoors well ahead of the last frost date.  When these plants were moved outside there was a long period when no blossoms were pollinated.  The newly opened flowers on the milkweed were a powerful magnet drawing in all of the bees.  Our squash simply had to wait until these flowers were finished.  Early yesterday morning when I first saw open flowers, a perfect Fritillary butterfly was finding food there.  When I returned in the afternoon with a camera the bees had taken possession of these flowers.  The only butterflies seen then were being chased away by selfish bees.

It comes as no surprise to those people that know us that we meddle in the natural order.  As Fall approaches we see huge numbers of Milkweed plants with no leaves as they die down.  This is at the exact time when the caterpillars need a food source.  These developing creatures eat only Milkweed leaves and they are scarce at that time.  Milkweed is an amazing plant.  When it has a visit from a lawn mower, it simply regrows.  We mow two large fields intending to end mowing in July so that the new growth will have young leaves for the caterpillars.  This sounds like a good plan but some of the plants that we cut down are feeding new caterpillars.  We do have large areas that never see the mower so we are not killing all of them.  This working with nature is never easy.

Fool With Mother Nature Fool

We are located near the northern limits of the Monarch Butterfly's natural range.  They come here to lay the eggs that will create the butterflies that will complete the migration flight to Mexico.  Milkweed is encouraged to grow here as a food source for the caterpillars.  Left to follow its natural cycle, milkweed flowers just after school is out for the summer.  That is about the time that the first Monarchs appear here.  They do feed on the milkweed flowers but they also feed on many other flowers.  It is the milkweed leaves that are critically important to the survival of the butterflies.    They, and their near relatives, are the only source of acceptable food for the caterpillars.  My concern has focused on the fact that the plants are nearly spent when the caterpillars need a food source.

My interference in the natural order is to mow several acres of former farm fields that now grow milkweed.  A mowing or two force the milkweed plants to start growing again.  This creates bright green young leaves suitable for caterpillar food.  We have seen female butterflies depositing their eggs on the underside of these new leaves.  This is a high point in our summer since we feel that we are helping this threatened species survive at least just a little longer.

A recent walk among the insects revealed this robust looking caterpillar feeding on an old tough nearly dead leaf.  It would appear that the normal order is working just fine without our help.  Reality aside, I will likely continue to mow the milkweed fields creating extensive stands of young plant growth.

This egg hatched in our garden.  Despite milkweed's extensive deep root system, we continue to allow far too many plants to claim parts of our garden beds.  Butterflies and their caterpillars add greatly to the events unfolding in our gardens.  Wire fence is hardly a natural site for the transformation from worm to butterfly to occur but that location is commonly used here.  A casual walk in the garden recently revealed a newly emerged butterfly drying its wings while clinging to a section of wire fence.

This chrysalis formed on a grass leaf.  We are working to clear our planting areas before the weeds drop their seed load.  This natural treasure went unnoticed until the leaf had been pulled.  Becky used her weaving skills to attach the leaf to a piece of wire fence.  Orange and black color patterns can be seen on the developing butterfly.  We hope to soon see this new butterfly fly free.  In this instance if the weed had simply been thrown on the compost pile the butterfly would probably have perished.  As far as mowing milkweed is concerned, our interference may not be necessary but we choose to think that the survival rate for caterpillars feeding on new leaves may be higher than those eating nearly dead leaves.

Green Beans Or Monarch Butterflies

I have been feeling a bit under the weather!  When a beautiful sunny day came along a chance for little fresh air and sunshine was more than I could resist.  I thought I would see if there were any more green beans worth picking and clean up that garden bed.   I opened the cage and moved my little garden cart into position.  Sitting that close to the ground the first thing I noticed was not green beans.  Instead I saw two Monarch caterpillars on one milkweed plant.

"Fine!" I though," I'll look elsewhere."  I moved to another area of the green bean bed.  Once again I noticed two Monarch caterpillars on one milkweed plant.

One more time I moved.  This time a single, but large and healthy looking Monarch caterpillar caught my attention.  I still had not seen any green beans worth picking.  In the end I chose the Monarch butterflies.   As I closed up the fence I noticed a few more caterpillars in the green bean bed.   As I pulled my cart back toward the house, a bright orange and black, perhaps newly hatched, Monarch butterfly flew across  my path.  I definitely made the right choice.   Monarch butterflies it is!