Build It and They Will Come!

Someone asked where I get the monarch eggs from. From Milkweed plants!

Milkweed in my aquarium

All butterflies need both nectar plants—flowers that provide food—and host plants. A host plant is the only place that a specific butterfly will lay her eggs on and the only food that the caterpillar will eat. For example: for the swallowtail, the carrot family, including parsley, is the host. I know many of you might have found a big caterpillar eating your parsley! For the monarch, the host plant is Asclepius, commonly known as milkweed. There are many varieties, but I plant only tropical milkweed here in SC. It is not invasive, as the “weed” name implies. It’s actually a pretty, tall plant with lovely orange and yellow flowers.

This year I planted a butterfly garden and I’ve had so many monarchs come by! They flutter around my milkweed, delighted to find a place to lay eggs. Then they go to my butterfly garden flowers to eat. It makes me happy to watch them and I forget my stress for that glorious moment. I encourage you to plant milkweed in your garden. And please do not spray pesticides! Remember, pesticides kill all insects, including the butterflies!


Checking my milkweed leaves for monarch eggs

I go to the garden each day and hunt for the small, pearly white monarch eggs found on the underside of the leaves. I bring them into my aquarium to raise, because wasps, spiders, and other insects prey upon the eggs. In nature, as low as 1% of eggs will survive to butterfly. So I bring them in to raise. It is critical to have enough milkweed to raise the caterpillars. They eat more than you will anticipate. I suggest one milkweed plant per caterpillar as a good rule of thumb. Next year I’m already planning on doubling my milkweed plants!

It’s a joy to see so many different butterflies visiting my garden this year. I promise—build it and they will come!