Tuesday, February 18, 2014

plant them and they will come

PLANT THEM AND THEY WILL COME

these beautiful monarchs start in mexico where they have
lost a huge amount of their habitat
go up through texas
think of us as a waystation for these guys
then
they travel on north to canada and the northeast

then in the fall they start migrating south again
taking several generations to do this

Fun article explains the Butterfly Life Cycle, has LOTS of life cycle ...
Monarch Emerging from a Chrysalis
transferring its genetic codes genome that is from
caterpillar to chrysalis to the beautiful butterfly

the problem
is that their numbers have decreased by 50%

its breeding ground in mexico has decreased significantly
due to deforestation there
then theres the weather
the cold the heat the drought
thats added to the loss of habitat and just killing those guys

there is a lot of development in the us
we call it progress
which is destroying their habitat

then its the pesticides
these guys are pests are they
that are killing them

then theres the weed killers thats used to spray on crops
those gmo ones that are resistant to the weed killers
all else dies
including the plant the monarchs feed on
the milkweed
the only butterfly that uses the milkweed as its host plant

wipe out the milkweed and you will wipe out the monarchs

so far we us humans are doing a good job of doing that
wiping them all out
we seem to be quite adapt at destroying species
think like the buffalo

so what can we do to help monarchs

plant milkweed
i plan this year to plant several milkweeds in my garden
to provide the host plant for the monarch
 butterfly bush
plant a butterfly bush to help attract them

plant flowers like zinnia dahlia salvias coneflowers indian blankets
to name a few

provide water for them
I have my several water ponds so they
can drink all they want

plant fruit trees
do not use pesticides on your property
you know that stuff you can get at the boxstores and spray
to kill any living thing
maybe even yourself

be careful even when using organic stuff as they can
harm the monarch caterpillars and butterflies

if each of us do this and also plant a few milkweeds
could we save a species from extinction
could we save these insects for our future generations

if you have ever seen a yard full of monarchs
you know why this is all worth the effort

i plan to
please do your part to help these beautiful insects out
plant your milkweed now
then do more to you habitat for them

lets make it easier for them as they are traveling through
our area

you will be glad you did
and
if you have children around
they just love monarchs and butterflies

weve harmed them
now
lets save them for the future generations to enjoy

the organicgreen doctor

2 comments:

  1. Proud to be a pit-stop for the Monarch's... a sure sign of a healthy school and garden:
    http://rroc.roundrockisd.org/

    my-wife-she

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  2. Thanks for supporting this cause. If you are interested in signing a petition circulated by CREDO against pesticide use, go to this link:http://www.butterflywomanpublishing.com/5/category/credo%20action/1.html. It is proposing that the Federal government stop pesticide use that harms all pollinators.
    Cowgurl friend

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