In past years, I could go out into the field this time of year and, within minutes, find either larvae or eggs from Monarchs, as well as see the females fluttering from plant to plant laying more eggs. This year, zilch, zero, nada. I wanted to find some eggs and/or caterpillars to raise so my little grandson could watch them grow and pupate. A few years ago his older brother, at around age three, was amazed to see an adult Monarch emerge from the pupa. "Butterfly in there!" he exclaimed in delighted surprise. He also delighted in releasing the butterflies. Now his brother is about the same age and spending daycare time with us, so I wanted to do this project again. I went in search of larvae or eggs, but found not a single one. I must have looked under the leaves of a hundred plants or more, with no luck. So what happened?
It's hard to say. Did all those fires in the Southwest kill the Monarchs as they migrated from Mexico or the Gulf states? Was the long cold spell here in Minnesota this spring too much for those who did arrive? Are they being killed off by genetically-modified corn pollen from plants with BT (Bacillus thuringensis) built in to kill corn earworms -- and any other caterpillars it comes in contact with? Is climate change upsetting the migration cycle? Is it a combination of all these things? We do know that their wintering habitat in Mexico is shrinking, due to illegal logging of the areas where they normally go. In addition, there are fewer and fewer places for Monarchs to stop along the way.
Female Monarch (Photo by Kenneth Dwain Harrelson Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) |
Only once in my life have I seen a migrating flock passing through Minnesota. It was many years ago, when I was still in college. A fellow student and I were driving along a back country road when the call of nature came, so we pulled over and I went into the woods to pee. Suddenly I was surrounded by fluttering Monarchs. There must have been three or four hundred of them. It was a magical moment I will never forget. I called to my buddy to come see, and he was amazed, too. Of course, I didn't have a camera with me (I never seem to at these moments) so the only record of this event is in my memory - and I don't even remember exactly where it was. But I'll never forget the wonder of it!