Annual Meeting

Thursday, June 7, 2012

“Raising Monarch Butterflies”

Photo by Brenda J. Jones

Kate and Katherine Dresdner have raised and released over 200 wild Monarch butterflies during summer seasons. They talked about this mysterious and magical species, its amazing migration for thousands of miles to its winter home on forested mountaintops in Mexico, and its developmental life-cycle from egg to caterpillar and caterpillar to butterfly.

They described their efforts to increase the survival rate of local Monarchs by harvesting eggs and incubating them under carefully controlled conditions in their home.  Their breathtaking closeups of  Monarchs at various stages of development illustrated their discussion of Monarch raising techniques, health issues, and protection from predators.  They recommended planting milkweed, the sole host plant for Monarchs; an area as small as a square foot is enough to grow a good food supply for the caterpillars. Their interest and passion for this species developed from gardening with native plants and creating habitat for birds, butterflies, and pollinators.