Eastern Monarchs – Two Paths through Georgia

Monarchs continue to be an iconic butterfly, and their large size and bright colors make them a favorite of children and nature lovers. The message of planting milkweed for their survival is still so strong that seasonal plant sales almost can’t stock enough of it. Those of us who give pollinator presentations try hard to convince people that a bunch of other native butterflies also need their host plants.

Spring migration monarch 

Fall migration monarch

Last year I represented the Georgia Native Plant Society in a collaboration with Monarchs Across Georgia and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia to update a brochure about using milkweed in Georgia. The goal was to make the brochure easier to use for average gardeners, ensure that it represented all of Georgia’s native species, and to give caution about milkweeds that we should avoid in Georgia. We also added more text about the support that adult monarch butterflies need: 

“A good rule of thumb is that, for every milkweed, you should provide 8-10 nectar plants. Excellent choices for early spring (April-May) include several native species of coreopsis, phlox, salvia, bluestar and butterweed. Plants producing nectar in September and October are critical to fueling the monarchs’ migration to Mexico! These include native asters, goldenrods, ironweeds, bonesets and blue mistflowers.”

If you haven’t seen the brochure or you’d like a digital copy for yourself, you can find it on the GNPS website as part of the Society’s educational resources.

I recently found a single tiny monarch caterpillar on my poke milkweed (Asclepias exaltata); actually I was showing the milkweed to a visitor and she noticed the caterpillar first. I’m sure that the adult must have laid other eggs – there was evidence of light nibbling on foliage – but this was the only one left.

Source

Georgia is fortunate to be a part of both the spring and fall migrations of Eastern monarchs. This map by The Xerces Society illustrates that my area (metro Atlanta) supports the butterflies that come up from Mexico but you’ll notice there is also a Coastal path in Georgia from the presumed Florida resident population (a path that is still being confirmed – report your sightings to help with documenting this population).

We don't have to grow this but we should leave it for them

We’ve got to continue to get the message out about providing nectar plants for butterflies (a message that benefits more than just monarchs) as well as conserving natural habitat and roadside flowers (yes, those huge stands of goldenrod are supporting them!). We’ve also got to get the message out that pesticide use (I’m looking at you, mosquito sprayers) is contributing to the decline of pollinators, including butterflies.

One of the best things we can do in addition to our yard, is to educate others. From the Xerces link: “Help other people learn about monarchs and how they can get involved! Talk to your friends, neighbors, and online communities. Every little bit of awareness and habitat helps, and for monarchs to really recover, they will need a lot of us to pitch in.”