Monarch Invasion !!!

After many years of only seeing a few, and sometimes only one Monarch Butterfly pass through the Gardens at Waters East– WOW!!!

What a difference this year has been.  The migration is not yet totally over, but over the last weeks there have been dozens and dozens, hundreds and hundreds of Monarch Butterflies stopping here to feed and then move on to their winter home in the western state of Michoacan Mexico.

In addition to those “passing through”, this year as with last year, a number of Monarch eggs were laid on Milkweed plants which then hatched into caterpillars which ate their favorite plant the milkweed and thus grew into fat caterpillars.  After forming a chrysalis, each emerged as a Monarch Butterfly to begin their migration right here at the Gardens at Waters East.

Over the past years there have been other posts on this Blog giving greater details about this most interesting butterfly and the totally unique migration route of thousands of miles taken by the adult butterfly to a land never seen by the very butterflies who pass through this garden.

For the past seventeen years the gardens here have cultivated many essential plants for this special of all butterflies.  More about that in previous postings.

Posted on this Blog -  October 12,2015 (see archive) was written “This past week the national news reported that the Monarch Butterflies had reached Texas on their migration from Canada to central Mexico.”

Posted on this Blog – March 3, 2011 (see archive)  was written “Each generation lives only two to six weeks as adults, though the fourth generation reaches the Canadian border.  That generation lives up to eight months.  It is that one that travels the return journey of up to three-thousand miles back to Mexico.  There it reproduces the following Spring. Those young are the ones who start the long journey one again.”

Some of the very butterflies posted here today will hopefully be back in Texas over the next weeks while on their long journey to their winter mountain and forested area of Michoacan Mexico.

Next year hopefully we will see their grandchildren or their great-grandchildren here at the gardens!