Doing my part...

 There is a plot of land next to the houses I live in that I think is suitable for a butterfly preserve. I intended it for a native glassland preserve as well. I have already planted some Antelope Horn Milkweed here and plan on planting more as well as Butterfly weed, Frostweed, etc. Even if you don't have a lot of land to work with, you can still plant one or two milkweed plants. I hope to have a milkweed in every Texas yard.

Texas Regional Migration Route

 I live in the Texas regional route of the Monarchs and the Blackland prairie sub-region. One plant native plant that is of utmost importance to the Monarchs is the Antelope Horn Milkweed Asclepias Asperula. This Texas native is not only food for the Monarch caterpillar but also contains a toxic substance that when ingested by the Monarch caterpillar, makes them unpalatable to predators such as birds. A lot of people in Texas along with nurseries plant Tropical Milkweed Asclepias Curassavica. Monarchs seem to love this plant but according to some research, confuses them and causes them to stay longer in some areas when they should be migrating. The tropical Milkweed is actually native to Mexico. I would feel a lot safer for the Monarchs if they only fed on native plants. Native plants should be preferable to non-native plants anyway.

   

                                                                                                                                                                 
Above, is a Monarch caterpillar feeding on Tropical Milkweed.

Below, is the Antelope Horn Milkweed that is native to Texas.

                                                                                    

Go Butterflies!

 I created this blog to connect with people and also encourage people for helping the butterflies, mainly the Monarchs in their migrations. I know there are already many people who help with this but hopefully we can get more to help these wonderful insects.

 I propose an organization that will stretch from Mexico to Canada, helping the the Monarchs by ensuring they have everything they need in their migration such as food, water, nesting grounds etc. This organization will be completely voluntary and be divided into several parts. The members of each part will volunteer to look after specific region and/or sub regions in their vicinity.

 Even if you don't have too much time to dedicate to this undertaking, you can help immensely by planting a few native plants in your yard that butterflies feed on. If everyone does just a little, it will add up to a lot. We should work to ensure that the Monarchs have a clear, safe and well supplied corridor in which to migrate.