Tag: milkweed
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Monarch Butterflies Overwintering In Mexico
I remember the day in the 1976 that I ripped open the butcher paper wrapper to the National Geographic Magazine to see the cover of the woman covered in Monarch Butterflies. She had just tracked down where they went every winter, and shared that information with researchers in Canada. For me, that moment represented was…
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Monarch Caterpillers!
For years, my husband and I have nurtured milkweed in the lost corners of our yard. “Remember the Monarchs!” we chant, as we carefully work around the tall milk-sap plants. While Monarch butterflies eat nectar from a bunch of different plants, the caterpillars eat only milkweed as they grow. The milky sap of Milkweeds is…
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Monarch on Milkweed
Monarch butterflies are beginning visit our milkweed plants, which always makes us happy. Although milkweeds can be a trap for honeybees (https://amylaw.blog/2016/07/17/bees-and-butterflies/), they are required for Monarchs to feed and lay their eggs. Monarchs are in steep decline due to habitat loss and herbicide use, so we try to help them out when we can,…
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Butterflies Galore
I’m not really an expert on butterflies. But while hiking recently in the Front Range foothills , I saw so many of such varied species that I had to check into them a bit more. All these different butterflies are from just one hike. Females lay single eggs near violets. Caterpillars do not feed, but…
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Swallowtail Butterflies
Several weeks ago, we had orange and black Monarch butterflies migrating through the Front Range. They seem to have moved on. But we’ve still got big butterflies in the area — yellow and black swallowtails. I’ve seen two different types of swallowtails. The western tiger swallowtail is lives along waterways and in woodlands, as well…
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Monarch Butterfly Migration
Thanks to the nice weather, I worked out in the yard for a good bit last weekend. As I worked, I saw and heard our normal back yard wildlife — feisty squirrels, black-capped chickadees, house finches, Northern flickers, dragonflies and big yellow swallow-tail butterflies. Then I saw something unusual — an orange butterfly. I assumed…
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Bees and Butterflies
Our neighbors behind us are turning their backyard into a farm. They have a garden. They have chickens. They have fruit trees. This year, they added honey bees. We, on the other hand, have always had a hummingbird garden that attracts all sorts of pollinators, including bees. One of the plants that planted itself and…
Amy Law, Science Geek 