Recently I shared a post on my endeavor to help the vanishing monarch butterflies. This is not a project for the faint of heart because it is just like raising 17 children. They need almost constant attention feeding and cleaning their temporary home.
Almost a month ago I started out with over 20 monarch eggs and it appears that we will be able to successfully release 17 monarch butterflies back into the wild. To date my husband and I have released four females and if all goes well the remainder of our brood will soon fly off to make their mark in the world.
I was fortunate to catch this caterpillar transforming into its chrysalis and it is quite mesmerizing to say the least.
And then I was excited to be able to catch the very first one emerge from its chrysalis and get that on film as well. It kind of makes all the effort worth it to see such an amazing feat of nature.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity the butterfly’s catastrophic decline has been driven in large part by the widespread planting of genetically engineered crops in the Midwest, where most monarchs hatch. The vast majority of genetically engineered crops are made to be resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, a potent killer of milkweed, the monarch caterpillar’s only food source. The dramatic surge in Roundup use and “Roundup Ready” crops has virtually wiped out milkweed plants in midwestern corn and soybean fields. It is estimated that in the past 20 years these once-common butterflies may have lost more than 165 million acres of habitat — an area about the size of Texas — including nearly a third of their summer breeding grounds.
Even though this project takes up a good chunk of the summer it is a worthwhile venture to help save the Monarch butterfly. In addition to raising them myself, I share the importance of this project and have mentored others so they can help with the effort.
