Monarchs Need Our Help: Creating a Butterfly-Friendly Garden

A presentation by Pike County Master Gardener Tarry Truitt highlighted the importance of creating an environment conducive to monarch butterflies. According to Truitt, one in three bites of food we eat daily exists because of pollinators, and if we lose our pollinators, we would lose 84 percent of our crops and over 25 percent of our birds.

Monarchs are a crucial pollinator, and their life cycle is complex. From egg to butterfly, it takes around 30 days, with the butterflies living for two to six weeks. In Northeast PA, there are four or five generations of monarchs from spring into fall.

The last generation, known as the 'super' or 'migration,' travels thousands of miles to Mexico and lives up to nine months. To create an environment conducive to these beautiful creatures, add host plants for caterpillars and flowers that provide nectar. Avoid using pesticides and blowing away leaves, as they help with soil health.

Truitt stressed the importance of learning what native plants support butterflies and how to help their environment. She recommended creating small puddles of water and cover for critters like wood piles and rocks. The monarch butterfly only lays its eggs on milkweed host plants, which are essential for the caterpillars.

There are 11 varieties of milkweed found in Pennsylvania, with common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) being two of the main ones. Favorite flowers for butterflies include baptisia, coneflowers, New England asters, and black-eyed Susans.