We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. ~Maya Angelou
Funny how things happen sometimes. I was looking through posts on Nextdoor looking for contractor recommendations when I happened upon an interesting post. “I released #119 today!” Pam from East Englewood exclaimed. Looking further into the post to see what was released revealed monarch butterflies. Apparently, this fascinating woman was raising and releasing Monarch butterflies from egg to newly hatched butterfly! I have to look more into what she meant by #119…whether that was a number or if she released that many in one day?
Being in full swing with the new garden plans, I thought, hmm, what the heck? Take on one more project, why not!? I decided to go to a nursery that I had not gone to yet, the next day. Hazeltine Nurseries in Venice, Florida. Interestingly enough, in December 2020, Venice was named a Monarch City! Basically, this means that it is officially a city that has made a commitment to help support the Monarch Butterfly population to recover and grow. What better place to go to get the milkweed that I would need to start this new project?!
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.
So, I started the research that evening and vowed to go to Hazeltine’s the next day. The next day, I went out to the lanai to water the plants there and in the garden. There was a butterfly inside the lanai! It wasn’t a monarch but that didn’t matter, I thought it was a beautiful indication that I was going in the right direction. Then, something even more special happened. I reached out to the butterfly and it walked right up onto my hand! Thankfully I had my phone with me, so I was able to have a quick clip of the butterfly on my hand. It wasn’t focused very well, but that was okay. I was more focused on the butterfly than the phone. Regardless, it was a super special thing. I kept trying to help it get out of the lanai and it didn’t really seem to want to go at first, but after a few minutes, it finally took off.
Following the butterfly encounter, I went off to the nursery to get the milkweed. There is so much construction on River Rd., where the nursery is located. Using the GPS, even though I knew about where it was, helped immensely. The nursery itself is wonderful and I am looking forward to going back. They have a massive selection of plants, flowers, and trees–including Christmas Trees.
I spent time wandering, taking it all in but very intent on finding milkweed. It didn’t take very long. All I had to do was stand back and scan the property. As soon as I was able to see where all the butterflies were, I knew I found the milkweed! So many butterflies, white peacock butterflies, a yellow variety that I am not sure of yet, and of course, the monarchs. I started to inspect the plants to see if there were eggs on any of the leaves, boy was there! I expected to find a few but each plant had several. Then, much to my delight, I found a caterpillar!
Going through the remainder of the plants, I found two more “cats” and many eggs. I was very happy with my selection of six milkweed plants. I also found a bird of paradise that I wanted and was happy to head home with my “babies”. Then a sweet couple looking over plants while I was there asked me about the milkweed. I told them that they were what the monarchs wanted and showed them how to look for eggs. They were pretty excited and decided to choose two plants for themselves–with quite a few eggs.
I was very pleased with the visit and was excited to get them home. I know I have quite a bit to do already but I just had to get them. I really felt compelled to not only plant milkweed but also to attempt to raise some of them myself. Considering the fact that they have such a low rate of making it through all of the cycles, I really wanted to help.
Many gardeners are aware that most things in the garden are considered experiments. This is yet another experiment for what was becoming the new garden. I felt that this was a wonderful way to add another element of transformational beauty to the garden. I already planned to plant a lot more flowers to attract all the pollinators. I just had no idea that I was going to be moved to do this.
After getting the plants home, as I suspected, I found more. I found more eggs. I could hardly believe my good fortune. I set up a couple of enclosures for the two stages that there were and another for some eggs.
By the next morning, there were newly hatched caterpillars. I cleaned out the enclosures and supplied new leaves for them. They all seemed to have grown overnight! I learned that their life cycles are quicker in warmer areas. Soon, we’ll see how quickly they move through each “instar”. So, that’s it for now…I just wanted to share that. I really hope I don’t become the all-new kind of crazy “cat” lady!
(I will put more about this and probably make this part a separate post in the upcoming days but right now there is one in chrysalis! The first picture is eating, the second is the final shedding and the last is the chrysalis it is now in! I was so disappointed that it happened overnight as I slept. I so wanted to get the video…next time.)
Monarch Caterpillar
Fifth Instar Shedding
Chrysalis
I will be making more posts about this exciting new facet of the garden. You can see more regarding Project Monarch here. Meanwhile, here is a great resource if you happen to be interested in learning more about raising monarchs:
