Discovering Monarchs
My sons and I have spent the last several summers raising Monarch butterflies. The catalyst was a sad experience we had back in October of 2016. Of course, we had heard about the plight of Monarchs and their population decline years earlier, so we were sure to allow some milkweed to grow in our garden each year, but we had never spotted any takers on it. Then, finally, one mid-summer day in 2016 we found a young caterpillar munching away on a milkweed. Boy, were we excited! We watched it for a day or two, and then suddenly it was gone. Hopefully it just crawled off to another plant. At that point we started inspecting our plants regularly, hoping to find another caterpillar.
A Chrysalis!
We didn’t find another caterpillar that year, but in October, my youngest son found a Monarch chrysalis hanging from a blade of maiden hair grass right by our deck. If you have never seen a monarch crysalis, they are amazingly beautiful. They’re a lovely jade green, with gold (and it really looks like gold!) details. My son would go out and examine it several times each day hoping to witness its transformation into a butterfly. As the days passed, and the nights became quite cool, he began to worry that the chrysalis would freeze. He asked to bring it inside. At the time, I thought it would be best to leave it as it was; that nature was better off without human interference.
The Horrible Discovery
One day we returned home after being away most of the day, and my son charged straight out to check on the chrysalis. He was horrified with what he saw. A big green bug was eating the chrysalis! It had already consumed well over half of it. It was heartbreaking! If only I had listened to my son and brought the chrysalis in! Talk about mother’s guilt! We decided right then, that if we ever found another caterpillar or chrysalis, we would take it in to keep it safe.
Time to Try to Help
The following summer, we spotted a monarch fluttering around our garden in early July. My older son followed its path and examined the milkweed plants it had landed on. He found eggs deposited on the underside of leaves on around a half dozen plants! This time we did a little research and quickly learned that outside, the survival rate of Monarchs from egg to butterfly is less than 10 percent! We found several websites that gave details on how you can raise Monarchs from eggs, and we decided to give it a shot.
It turns out that raising Monarch butterflies is pretty easy. Really, they just need to eat! Boy, do they eat! If you plan to raise Monarchs, stop pulling milkweed out of your garden! If you have many caterpillars, you’ll be depleting your milkweed supply soon enough!
Hooray! Success!
The survival rate from egg to butterfly for our raised Monarchs is around 95%, blowing the outdoor survival rate out of the water. By the end of the summer of 2017, we had raised over 50 monarchs. This year, I bet that number will be closer to 100! It is such a beautiful and gratifying sight to watch the Monarchs that you have raised from an egg finally take their first flight and sail around the garden, or fly over the house and head off high into the sky!
Then, the doubt set in..
By the end of the first Monarch raising season, I began to wonder: are we really helping this species, or could we actually be hurting it in the long term? It might seem like it is obviously helping the Monarch population if you are collecting eggs and raising almost every one to become a seemingly healthy adult butterfly, to be released and go on to produce more butterflies.
But when we raise our monarchs, they have no predators to beware of. They never have to figure out how to find more food, or need the endurance and strength to survive days searching for food. Our caterpillars never have to go look for food because before they run out, a fresh, new stalk of leaves magically appears right next to the stalk that they are already on. And if a caterpillar decides to eat away the portion of leaf connecting the part they’re on with the stem, causing them to come crashing down to the cage floor, they won’t get killed or even injured. Rather they land on a nice, cushioned floor of towels to gently break their fall (it may not sound too bright, but I have seen it happen a number of times.)
So, when we raise Monarchs, are we removing the important survival of the fittest factor that keeps a species strong? Are we allowing the physically and mentally weak members of the population, that should probably be eliminated from the gene pool, to survive and breed and possibly weaken the species overall? Or do we raise so few that it doesn’t really make a difference, and if that is the case, then why are we thinking that we are doing the species any good by raising caterpillars?
The Rewards of Raising Monarch Butterflies
I don’t know the answers to these questions. And my opinions waiver from season to season, and even throughout each season. We have continued to raise Monarchs, as it gives us a front row seat to the seriously fascinating life cycle of these butterflies. We really enjoy watching the caterpillars grow (they grow unbelievably quickly.) But watching them transform from caterpillar to chrysalis, I believe, is the most mind boggling biological metamorphosis available for an average Joe citizen to witness. And then watching a Monarch finally emerge from a chrysalis, pump out its wings and take its first flight to freedom just hours later is truly a gratifying sight.
We released the first of this year’s fully developed Monarchs a couple of weeks ago. Right now, we have over 20 chrysalis, 18 medium to large caterpillars, 8 baby caterpillars, and a number of eggs – and the season is just getting into full swing! But each year, I do wonder if I am doing more harm than good to this beautiful, struggling species. What do you think? Do you believe that raising Monarch butterflies is helping the species, or are Monarch farmers weakening the species? I would love to hear my readers’ opinions and perspectives!
— Want ideas on what to plant to attract pollinators to your garden? Read about some of my favorites!