Recently the federal government proposed a plan to save the monarch butterflies. I-35 is a major highway that connects Mexico to Minnesota and happens to be a major flyway for monarchs. The project nicknamed the Monarch Highway is a collaboration of six states one of which is Minnesota. The other five states include Iowa, Missouri, Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Over the past few years the monarch population has been declining due to pollution, pesticides, and lack of milkweeds.
Milkweeds are essential to the monarch butterfly. The young caterpillars eat only the milkweed plant, and they are also used for the monarch’s to lay their eggs on. The rapidly decreasing amounts of milkweeds has affected the monarch population. With less milkweeds the fewer eggs are laid meaning fewer monarch butterflies.
This is all trying to be changed. The Monarch Highway project is promoting the planting/growing of milkweeds. Now you might be thinking ‘I am not voluntarily planting a pesky weed in my garden?’ Well if you want monarch butterflies around give it some thought. Milkweed seeds can be found online some sites are even offering it for free. Some milkweeds are also grown in the ditches in our surrounding area. You can gather milkweed seeds from the pods once they have split open. Once you have attained some seeds wait for a killing frost in the fall, and sprinkle the seeds on the ground. Milkweeds will grow almost anywhere, but it will be easier to attract butterflies if they are planted in groups. This allows the plants to be protected from pests and predators.
The more milkweeds, the more butterflies. With the rapidly declining population of monarch butterflies, it’s time to reintroduce the milkweed and save the butterflies.
