Tag: Monarch

  • Helping our Pollinators, Helping our Monarchs

    Helping our Pollinators, Helping our Monarchs

    We have had a few inquiries about what to do in light of the recent freeze. Short answer – we hope those plants have a chance to bounce back before the height of the migration in the coming weeks.

  • More for Monarchs

    More for Monarchs

    by Diane Hall As I perused the list of sessions for the Virtual TMN Annual Conference, I was drawn like a monarch to milkweed when I saw the “Monarch Waystations for Texas” session by Carol Clark, Conservation Specialist for Monarch Watch and fellow Texas Master Naturalist. Having tagged monarchs in Iowa since 1999 and traveled…

  • Save the Monarch Butterfly – build a way-station

    Save the Monarch Butterfly – build a way-station

    by Heidi Linnemann The Monarch butterflies we see in the Valley spend their winters in Mexico’s central mountain range and summers in our northern states. The Rio Grande Valley is an important stop during their journey. But Monarchs are in serious trouble. Their winter resting area is being lost due to deforestation.   In the United…

  • Native Milkweed – Plant is important to more than just butterflies

    Native Milkweed – Plant is important to more than just butterflies

    Recently, much has been written about Monarch butterflies and the importance of planting their host plant milkweed to help Monarchs increase their numbers. Zizotes, our native milkweed, is important to many other insects and spiders as well.

  • Monarchs and Milkweeds: A Dynamic Duo

    Monarchs and Milkweeds: A Dynamic Duo

    by Paula Parson During my youth in Hawaii, monarch butterflies were present year-round spending their entire life-cycle on the crown flower plant, a giant milkweed. Imagine my surprise when I learned that on the mainland, monarchs migrate thousands of miles in the fall, flying south to the mountains of Mexico, then returning north in the…