Archive for the ‘Monarch Butterfy’ Category
Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Site Review — go visit
Dot’s Thot: When you see something great, emulate. Oh, and by the way, acknowledge.
Since first just doing my own little observations, I decided to learn more about my Monarch butterflies. In Hawaii, the butterflies had become rather captive on the islands and since the rhythm of the seasons is so gentle, the thought of migration never occurred to me.
The Monarch Life Cycle and Migration are Fascinating
Now, living in Southern California, I have discovered the great Monarch Butterfly migrations. There is a marvelous site we can all learn from. The photo at left is from the site and shows off a magnificent Monarch atop a pretty pink coneflower.
Please do visit the site for more information on Monarchs as we track them in my yard.
According to the site, called MonarchButterfliesUSA.com, my butterflies are part of the 2nd generation which cycles May/June. That correlates perfectly with my experience with my butterflies. So far, I have not found those pretty little white, black, and yellow striped caterpillars. You can see them on the site or wait until I find mine and post their pictures. I just had to tell you about the site, because it is so much fun to visit and very informative and the pictures speak volumes.
I do invite you to track along with me as one of my blogger topics will be to follow the butterfly life cycle in the yard. It’s kind of like being virtual neighbors — Linda next door periodically stops by the check up on our butterfly progress and I do enjoy an excuse to talk to neighbors.
Aloha, Dot
Related Articles and References:
Related Posts:
- Asclepsis and Lantana: Food for Monarch Butterflies
- Scene in Hawaii: Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller in a Supermarket Garden Shop
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Bougainvillea “Dragons”
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Snowflakes, Rainbow Shower Tree Haiku
- A Note on Monarch Butterflies in Hawaii
- Monarch Butterfly Haiku: Camera Madness
- Monarch Butterfly Sightings Haiku — the Asclepsis Gardener’s Reward
- Missed the Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis — Found It Empty
- Monarch Butterflies — Caterpillar Faith
- Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt — First Report
- Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt is On
A Note on Monarch Butterflies in Hawaii
Dot”s Thot: “After all, Hawaii is the best land. (O Hawaii no ka aina maikai) — Hawaiian Proverb [For more quotations see dailycelebrations ]
This is a memory, not a scientific note. I was happy to find the asclepsis I now grow in Orange County, California, because I could attract and then raise monarch butterflies in the yard. However, I yearned a bit for the larger milkweed plants of Hawaii that I knew as crown flower plants that bore either white or purple blossoms. Unsuccessful in locating these in the local nurseries, I was finally able to buy the smaller yelow/red-orange flowered butterfly plants that now peep up here and there in the yard.
Purple Crown Flowers (Calotropis gigantea) -- Image by Forest & Kim Starr
However, I thought I should mention the flowers I grew up knowing as the monarch butterfly caterpillar home. Upon searching on the internet, imagine my delight to find a treasure trove of such pictures. It brought back such memories and gave me happiness. Here are some pictures from “Forest & Kim Starr“. Please visit their site to see more gorgeous pictures.
I am ever so grateful that they made these pictures available for us to share. I sometimes feel homesick even while having lived away from home for a very long time. Born and raised in Hawaii, the islands are always home. Mahalo to the Starrs for having so much aloha.
There is a definite size difference in plants as well. I remember plants that towered over me — I am over 5 feet tall (by an inch). My little butterfly plants now are big when they reach over 3 feet high. Moreover, I am not able to make leis from the blossoms (too small), unlike the crown flowers of Hawaii. Those leis can be made in a variety of styles.
Crown Flower Leis (Image by Forest & Kim Starr)
The crown flower plants were attractive to the Monarch butterflies and the flowers fed the butterflies while the leaves nurtured the caterpillars. I first became attracted to the Monarchs because of the butterflies, but one day, I discovered the gorgeous turquoise-seafoam blue chrysalis with gold dots on them. (Hope I can locate mine and post pictures of those later this year.) It is in those moments that I feel the incredible beauty of nature and the universe. It is good to live on this lovely earth of ours. Let’s enjoy this round of butterflies together.
Aloha, Dot
Mahalo one more time to Forest & Kim Starr for sharing the images and information.
Related Articles and References:
Related Posts:
- Asclepsis and Lantana: Food for Monarch Butterflies
- In My Mother’s Garden: Neem Tree; Miracle Herb from India
- In My Mother’s Garden: Pakalana, One of My Favorite Fragrant Vining Flowers
- In My Mother’s Garden: Shell Ginger Hidden Among the Red Ginger
- In My Mother’s Garden: Red Ginger in Hawaii
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Kiawe Tree Revisited
- Scene in Hawaii: Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller in a Supermarket Garden Shop
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Bougainvillea “Dragons”
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Snowflakes, Rainbow Shower Tree Haiku
- Monarch Butterfly Haiku: Camera Madness
- Monarch Butterfly Sightings Haiku — the Asclepsis Gardener’s Reward
- Missed the Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis — Found It Empty
- Monarch Butterflies — Caterpillar Faith
- Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Site Review — go visit
- Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt — First Report
- Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt is On
Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt — First Report
Dot’s Thot: “People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong. Why not try and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?” — Thich Nat Hanh
My Asclepsis or Butterfly Bush in the Front Yard
As best as I can tell, my butterfly plants are of the variety — Asclepsis curassavica Wildfire. I am no expert and just a lover of Monarch butterflies. I went out to the garden about 5 days ago and took the picture you see here. At that time, I saw no caterpillars and the leaves, buds and flowers looked uneaten.
Closeup of the Asclepsis or Butterfly Plant Blossoms
I hunted rather lack-a-daisically for butterfly eggs. Not having had the sense to look up pictures, I was not successful. Too busy to hunt down the chrysalises that I normally could find, I ignored the plants until 3 days ago when I saw a lone butterfly flitting about the plants. It was not particularly strong — being the first of the season and a loner butterfly I felt kind of sorry for it. Last night, before bed, I went on the internet and looked for pictures. I googled images and found some interesting ones. http://tinyurl.com/pjatn6. I did that to learn so I could egg hunt.
This morning I went out determined to find something. I hunted and peered, turning over leaves. I finally saw 3 small individual eggs.
My First Sighting of a Monarch Butterfly Egg for 2009
I took a shot, but I don’t have a macro lens — something to ask Santa for this year, maybe, … so you have to kind of squint … but it is in-real-time amateur living proof that the butterfly comes, then eggs get laid.
Now I wait for more butterflies (from the masterfully hidden chrysalises) and eventually the tiny caterpillars, one of the few creepy-crawlies I look forward to eating my plants.
This Monarch journal is just for fun, because I love to garden and Monarch butterflies have a special place in my heart. Follow along, will you? Butterfly hugs to all.
Fondest Aloha,
Dot
Related Articles and References:
Related Posts
- Asclepsis and Lantana: Food for Monarch Butterflies
- Scene in Hawaii: Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller in a Supermarket Garden Shop
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Bougainvillea “Dragons”
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Snowflakes, Rainbow Shower Tree Haiku
- A Note on Monarch Butterflies in Hawaii
- Monarch Butterfly Haiku: Camera Madness
- Monarch Butterfly Sightings Haiku — the Asclepsis Gardener’s Reward
- Missed the Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis — Found It Empty
- Monarch Butterflies — Caterpillar Faith
- Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Site Review — go visit
- Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt is On
Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt is On
Dot’s Thots: “The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.” –
Rabindranath Tagore
I have looked unsuccessfully for Monarch butterfly eggs in the past and doing it again. I do have very bad eyes, but suspect it was my timing.. Here is a picture from the Wikimedia site that actually shows a butterly laying eggs — wow!! I just got my first Monarch butterfly yesterday from this last batch (fourth generation of butterflies since I planted and nurtured butterfly bushes.
Monarch Butterfly Laying Eggs
Common sense tells me that this is happening when my butterflies flutter around, but I have not seen the eggs — so how big are they and what will I be looking for — so I went looking for some pictures from which to learn and train my eyes. So, another Wikimedia helpful hint:
Monarch Butterfly Eggs on Gomphocarpus physocarpus (Swan Plant)
This does not look like the butterfly bushes I am growing, but I get the idea that the eggs are pretty small. Hence, I plan to look for the eggs over the next few weeks as the butterflies appear. I do admit to being a little lax in the hunting and noticing — I usually only catch on when the caterpillars appear and the leaves look kind of ratty.
This is an effort on my part to learn — I want to be a waypoint (tiny one) in that great migration of monarch butterflies down to Mexico and back. I remember monarch butterflies from girlhood in Hawaii.
Well, enough for today — I will post over the next few weeks and if I fail to find the eggs, we will at least be alert for the caterpillar appearance.
At least, I have learned via the internet what to look for and can be more observant. Next year I plan to track the monarch butterly migration a lot better.
Aloha, DoT
Related Articles and References:
Related Posts:
- Asclepsis and Lantana: Food for Monarch Butterflies
- Scene in Hawaii: Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller in a Supermarket Garden Shop
- A Note on Monarch Butterflies in Hawaii
- Monarch Butterfly Haiku: Camera Madness
- Monarch Butterfly Sightings Haiku — the Asclepsis Gardener’s Reward
- Missed the Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis — Found It Empty
- Monarch Butterflies — Caterpillar Faith
- Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle Site Review — go visit
- Monarch Butterfly Egg Hunt — First Report
