Botanical Wednesday: If the snow is melting, can we start thinking about butterflies?


Needs more milkweed.

By the way, my colleague at UMM, Margaret Kuchenreuther, was recently on our local gardening show,
Prairie Yard and Garden, to talk about the plants and the monarchs. You can watch it here!

Comments

  1. ledasmom says

    With the winter being so warm, it’s probably almost time for mourning cloaks around here. They overwinter and also estivate in the summer heat, and therefore can live an entire year as adults – rare for butterflies. It’s amazing to see butterflies around in March, and I never realized they were there until we began living near a forest with nice long walking trails.

  2. moarscienceplz says

    ledasmom
    I’ve never heard of mourning cloaks before, so that you for mentioning them. Although, I think I prefer the British name, Camberwell Beauty.

  3. nahuati says

    Here is some information on growing milkweed for monarchs. In fall I planted some milkweed seeds which I am hoping will turn into seedlings this spring.

  4. magistramarla says

    Here in miserable hot south Texas, we’re already seeing plenty of butterflies. The high is expected to be 88F today.
    Sadly, by June it will be so hot that even the butterflies will find it too hot to stick around.