Inspired by my aunt, who is a master gardener and a butterfly whisperer, I started planting milkweed in our yard a few years ago to attract monarch butterflies. To watch these butterflies begin as eggs, then caterpillars, into a chrysalis, and emerge as butterflies has been miraculous. It's been heartbreaking, too, as not every caterpillar or butterfly makes survives.
Something to know about monarch butterflies is that the caterpillars only eat milkweed. So, if you want to have monarch babies, plant yourself some milkweed. I recommend seeking out a local nursery that doesn't use pesticides. Different varieties of milkweed grow best in different regions of the country, so local is key!
In the Houston area, I've found that our busiest butterfly season is fall! We do get our fair share of monarchs in the spring, as they're making their way north from Mexico. (Can you even imagine seeing
THIS in person?!?) You can read more about their
migration here.
Anyhoo...I've had quite a few monarch caterpillars this spring. The caterpillars are funny. Once they get ready to make a chrysalis, they scatter. As in, you'll have 10 fat caterpillars one day, and the next day, they're all gone.
Here's a little story about how THIS happened:
I added a St. Francis statue to my milkweed area of the garden and was thrilled to spy a chrysalis resting there.
St. Francis, patron saint of monarch butterflies.
The chrysalises start out green, but as the butterfly gets ready to emerge, it turns clear or black.
See how the chrysalis is transparent, and you can see the wings? (Also, can we just talk about how incredible that
GOLD is???) I knew we were close, so I set my phone on a tripod in the yard, hoping to catch the action. I'd read that butterflies usually emerge mid-morning, so I set my phone out at 7:30am to be safe. I checked a few times every hour. And checked, and checked, and checked.
In the midday sun, my phone was overheating. I had to make a little canopy for my phone, moving a potted plant over and taping a sheet of paper from it to the phone. And I kept waiting and waiting. [Spoiler: you can see the butterfly emerged, but imagine it's still in the chrysalis.]
Side note: if you want to go cold turkey from looking at your phone all day, stick it on a tripod in your yard. I was missing my Instagram fix.
Finally, I walked out to check AGAIN about 4pm and noticed a butterfly in the grass drying its wings. Then, I looked to the statue, and there was the butterfly I'd been waiting for hanging from the statue drying its wings.
Y'all. I know this sounds crazy, but the one in the grass was positioned to look AT the statue. Look at that photo above! It was almost as if he was waiting on his brother or something.
"C'mon man! Dry your wings, and let's fly!"
I sat near the one in the grass...and he crawled right over and onto my hand!!! What?!? I held him for a bit and then nudged him back onto a blade of grass. He walked right back over to my hand again!
How do I know it was a "he?" Male monarchs have black spots on their wings. See them?
Look at that fuzzy little body!!! So cute!
Anyway, now we were pals, so I walked around the yard, posing with him on my hand. Do you know how hard it is to get an in-focus photo of a butterfly perching on your own hand? Hint: it's not easy.
I love this one because it looks like he's marching.
Eventually, they both flew away. Maybe their offspring will visit our yard on the way south to Mexico in the fall ♥ Godspeed, little ones!
