Common Treasure

Not one to be driven by standard practice, we on occasion walk a less traveled path.  Some of our garden plants are nothing more than common roadside weeds.  Milkweed is just such a plant.  It was never purchased and we cannot recall intentionally planting it.  It occurs widely in our various gardens and is difficult to remove.  Its deeply placed horizontal root might require power equipment in order to completely dig it out.  It is a tough plant and we intentionally mow large patches of it so that the resulting new shoots and leaves will be available for the butterfly caterpillars that desperately need it to survive in the fall.

Some years Milkweed flowers opened at the same time as the end of the school year.  The appearance of this overpowering scent marked the beginning of yet another summer vacation.  One does not have to get close to the plants to savor the amazingly sweet fragrance but it always draws me close.  After all of these years, I still stop to enjoy the scent while placing my nose in close proximity to feeding bees.  Their mood has always been tranquil while they gather this delicious pollen.  Some find this behavior of me intentionally getting close to bees slightly disturbing.

Our fields also hold many of these plants.  The famed Monarch Butterflies feed on various different flowers but lay their eggs only on milkweed plants.  The difference in flower color is worth noting.  Why that happens remains an unanswered question but I still marvel at it.  This lighter colored blossom clearly shows the unusual complexity of each flowers structure.  The darker petals fall away from the sexual parts making the pollinator's access easy.

We have yet to see the first Monarch Butterfly this year.  That they survive at all with their unusual migratory habit is a wonder.  Still, we will be relieved when they finally make their appearance here.  Some years their numbers are small but they have so far always returned.  Milkweed leaves await their return but for that butterfly any flower will do.

Two days after this post was written, a Monarch butterfly was seen flying in close proximity to a Milkweed blossom.  Becky had twice seen Monarchs earlier but then she is more observant than me.  All is right with the natural world as life continues to provide for the next generation.

In Search Of Monarch Caterpillars

First you need to find milkweed!  Here where we have acres of common milkweed I can find it by following my nose.  The sweet fragrance floats on the air.  It might be possible to track one of the Monarch butterflies that are flying around, but they fly by pretty fast and Mrs. Monarch would rather deposit her eggs in a private unobserved location!

Once you know what milkweed looks like, look for a nice green tender looking plant that has been chewed on the edges.  The black stuff on the leaf is another great clue.  It is frass.  That is just another way of saying caterpillar poop.  Since it is black it is not fresh.  More searching is necessary.

Caterpillars are not as speedy as butterflies though so a closer look at this plant is needed.  There was a caterpillar here before, maybe he hasn't gone far!  I spotted a leaf lower on the plant with what looked like fresh chewing.  I don't see anything on the chewed leaf.  Often the caterpillars are found on the underside of the leaves.  That is where the eggs usually are.  What I need now is a closer look!  Let's set the camera on macro!

Eureka!!!  This is not a big fat Monarch caterpillar, but a tiny instar.  It is actually smaller than it appears in the picture.  In fact I have never found a Monarch in such an early stage of development.  This is exciting!  Notice the frass on this leaf is not black, but green and watery.  Now that is what I call a fresh clue!  If you go back to the previous picture you might be able to notice the caterpillar.  It was tiny, but right there in plain sight all the time.

This is the earliest I have found a Monarch caterpillar here.  Ed follows a careful mowing program so that the milkweed flourishes and so that fresh green plants are available for the Monarchs to use right up until frost in the fall.  Once the first caterpillar has been spotted, no matter how small, the mowing stops!  I will be checking on this caterpillar and searching for more.  Now that you know what to look for, find some milkweed near you and take a closer look.

A Sweet Summer Scent

Milkweed flowers will always be associated with summer vacation in my mind.  This former school teacher lived for summer vacation and the milkweed flowers marked its beginning.  Now we have given over large areas of our ground to milkweed and goldenrod.  These two plants work together to sustain the monarch butterfly during the important fall season.  Goldenrod flowers serve as a late food source for the butterfly while milkweed nourishes the caterpillar.

Fall is a critical period in the survival of the monarch butterfly.  Newly hatched eggs must develop into the butterflies that migrate to Mexico.  These fall caterpillars need milkweed leaves to feed on but the leaves shown in the pictures will have dried out and fallen by then.  Milkweed is a persistent plant and comes back after repeated mowing.  We have a five acre field that is tended so that it is filled with fresh young milkweed growth in September.  These plants do not flower but their tender leaves nourish the developing caterpillars.   The butterfly will feed on any flower so milkweed flowers are not necessary at this time.  Scores of new butterflies rise out of this field just in time to begin their journey south.

Now is the time to enjoy the sweet scent of the flowers.  One need not approach a flower to catch the fragrance as the air is filled with the perfume.  Bees spend long days working the flowers.  One need not fear a sting while surrounded by so many bees since they are focused on gathering food.  It has been reported that a bee cannot assume the stinging posture when it is loaded with pollen.  I think that both the bee and the person are made mellow by the cloud of sweet smell.

If one is interested in helping monarch butterflies survive, I believe that repeatedly cutting milkweed during the summer will insure a fall food source for the caterpillars.  Some plants must be left to develop seed to insure an abundant crop of new plants but there needs to be a generous supply of tender new leaves to support the eggs and caterpillars during September.

We have already  seen a few Monarch butterflies and the milkweed is ready and waiting!