(WWJ) The most well-known species of butterfly in North America, and easily the most popular, could use your help.
Simple enough to identify thanks to it's gorgeous orange, black and white coloring, the monarch butterfly is staple of Michigan summers ... but in smaller numbers these days.
According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the eastern monarch butterfly population has been declining over the last 20 years, primarily due to habitat loss in its summer range — including Michigan — as well as in Mexico, where they spend their winters.
Want to help keep Michigan's monarchs fluttering?
It's pretty easy to lend a hand simply by making your own backyard or garden a bit more hospitable.
Consider these tips from the DNR:
1. Select Native Plants — Native plants provide variety and beauty to any garden! Native species are resilient and adapted to local soils, climate, and pests reducing the need for supplemental watering and fertilization.
Additionally, blooms produced by native plants offer pollinators higher quality and more beneficial nectar than hybrid plant varieties.
2. Select for Plant Diversity — Monarchs are present in Michigan from late spring through early fall; so, it is important to provide a variety of plants that bloom May through September as consistent food sources.
Gardens should contain 10 or more of the recommended plant species, with at least three species per bloom period. Three to 4% of your garden should be comprised of milkweed. Milkweeds are essential host plants for monarch caterpillars and milkweed nectar supports adult monarchs, as well as other pollinators.
In Michigan, two thirds of the milkweed used should be common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and the remaining third of the milkweed should be butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) for well drained, sandy soil or swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnate) for rich, wetter soils. Gardens should also include a few local grasses, such as little blue stem (Schizachyrium scoparium) or indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans), to provide shelter and safety for feeding monarchs as well as structural support for the flowering plants.
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3. Avoid Pesticides — Insecticides have their place in a garden, but if you are trying to help monarchs and other pollinators, it’s best to avoid them. Many herbicides, and all insecticides, have the potential to poison or kill pollinators, including monarchs. Avoid using plants treated with systemic insecticides, which are absorbed as the plant grows, distributing the chemicals throughout the plant tissue and into the pollen and nectar. These insecticides include imidacloprid, dinotefuran, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam. If you are purchasing plants from nurseries or garden centers, always ask whether the plants have been treated with insecticides.
“The monarch and other pollinators need both early and late-blooming plants as well as plants that flower mid-summer, a diverse mix which can be found in grasslands, agricultural fields and urban backyard habitats,” said Mike Parker, conservation partners program specialist with the DNR, in a news release. "These habitats can also support milkweeds, which are essential for the monarch’s reproductive cycle."
Want more information on selecting the best plants to benefit butterflies? Click here. Those truly committed to the cause can learn how to become a certified monarch waystation at THIS LINK.
Due to the declining population, monarch butterflies are listed as a candidate species under the federal Endangered Species Act, and their population status is under review annually. Learn more at FWS.gov/SaveTheMonarch.
If you see a monarch in Michigan, or anywhere in North America, you can report the sighting HERE.
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