~9-7-17~ Corn Moon ~ Jellyfish ~ Monarchs ~ Caspian Terns ~ Blue-winged Teal ~!

The monarch butterfly or simply monarch is a milkweed butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names depending on region include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black veined brown.

Scientific name: Danaus plexippus

Rank: Species

Symbol of: Alabama, Minnesota, Texas, Illinois, Vermont, West Virginia, Idaho

Create Habitat for Monarchs

Monarchs cannot survive without milkweed; their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants (Asclepias spp.), and monarch butterflies need milkweed to lay their eggs. With shifting land management practices, we have lost much milkweed from the landscape.

Please plant milkweed to support monarch populations, and their incredible migration! Planting milkweed is a great way to help other pollinators too, as they provide valuable nectar resources to a diverse suite of bees and butterflies.

• Habitat can be created in any open space protected from untimely mowing or pesticide application.
• Native milkweeds provide food for monarch caterpillars.
• Native flowers provide food for adult butterflies. A combination of early, middle and late blooming species, with overlap in flowering times, will fuel butterfly breeding and migration and provide beautiful blooms season-long.
• Insecticides should never be used in or surrounding pollinator habitat. Limit use of herbicides within and surrounding the habitat only to control invasive or noxious weeds.

www.monarchwatch.org

www.monarch-butterfly.com