Monarch Butterflies

I caught this monarch butterfly casually flying by back by the chicken coop a few weeks ago. It looks amazing.I caught this monarch butterfly casually flying by back by the chicken coop a few weeks ago. It looks amazing. There are hundreds of monarch butterflies all over the place here.

Everyone wants monarch butterflies to come to their yard. When I was a little girl in New York State, it seems monarchs were all over the yard. Here in Texas, we hardly ever see them. We briefly glimpse them sometime during September through November as they make their way through Texas into Mexico. Then again in March, they come back through Texas from Mexico and on up into the Northern United States.

Here is a monarch butterfly in a San Antonio yard. During the spring and summer for the most part, the butterflies we have here are white or yellow.Here is a monarch butterfly in a San Antonio yard. During the spring and summer for the most part, the butterflies we have here are white or yellow.

What is so special about the monarch butterfly? The monarch is an important pollinator across much of the United States. Monarchs cannot stay up north in the cold during the winter. Unlike other butterflies, they do not hibernate and wait until spring to come out. Instead, they travel south to Texas and in down into Mexico. They overwinter in the high mountains of Sierra Madre, Mexico. Then, in the spring, on their way up north to the Northern USA and Canada, they stop by Texas again around March to lay eggs on newly sprouted milkweed plants. It is important to have milkweed ready in your yard for food for them as well as a nesting ground.

David's Garden Seeds® sells milkweed seeds and you can find them here.

This is what a monarch butterfly looks like. There are other butterflies that look similar but they are not the same.This is what a monarch butterfly looks like. There are other butterflies that look similar but they are not the same.

Adult monarch butterflies also enjoy zinnias as food so you will want to have plenty of them growing in your yard along with the milkweed plants and herbs and vegetable plants. Yes, we carry a lot of zinnia seeds and have them growing all over our property.

Here are some pretty purple zinnias I have growing in my veggie bed. Mix them in because the monarchs love them.Here are some pretty purple zinnias I have growing in my veggie bed. Mix them in because the monarchs love them.

Monarch Butterflies

Monarchs travel in colonies for warmth. They will all stick close together when flying and when roosting.

The monarch has four stages. You probably learned about them in grade school as I did. First, the eggs are laid on milkweed. After three to five days, the eggs hatch and they are growing  caterpillars for between nine and 15 days. After that, they go into a cocoon or chrysalis for nine to 14 days and finally emerge as a butterfly. Remember?

Here is another monarch caterpillar on my parsley, eating off all of the leaves. So there is proof that the only thing they eat is milkweed. I have a bunch of bare parsley plants.Here is another monarch caterpillar on my parsley, eating off all of the leaves. So there is proof that the only thing they eat is milkweed. I have a bunch of bare parsley plants.

Females lay their eggs on milkweed because monarch caterpillars will only eat milkweed plants once their own eggshells have been eaten.(Not true. Keep reading and see the photo above.)

Now, in my research, I read that monarchs will lay their eggs only on milkweed but I can tell you from personal experience that this is not true. We do not have any milkweed whatsoever on our property here in Poteet, Texas. This morning, October 5, 2022, I found five monarch caterpillars eating three of my parsley plants, munching all of the leaves off overnight. We have also found them eating tomato leaves and the leaves on other vegetable plants around the area. 

Monarch butterflies can grow from three and a half to four inches across.

Monarch butterflies typically live from just two weeks to six weeks if they are born in the spring and summer. Most don't last long because of their natural predators who love to eat them like beetles, spiders, and ants. The butterflies that actually migrate into Mexico live for around nine months and die on their way back up North after they lay their eggs in Texas.

Butterflies will travel 25 to 30 miles per day when they are on their way to overwinter. It is very interesting to see how much work these beautiful butterflies have to do by way of 3,000 mile one way trips to stay alive and keep them from going extinct.

You can do your part and help the monarch butterflies along the way by planting lots of milkweed all around your property. Remember, milkweed, as well as all other wildflower plants should be in the ground in Texas by October for early spring blooms.

It seems that everyone wants to help save the monarchs. Literally thousands are killed during butterfly season by flying directly into the windshields and grills of vehicles all over South Central Texas. The windshield wipers and fluid are not enough to get them off. Big automated car washes do not remove all of the nastiness. You have to scrub them hard by hand to get them off.

You do have to keep an eye on your vegetable and herb plants for caterpillars because if you don't they will kill the plants while they are in the caterpillar stage. It is upsetting when you are growing plants to eat and/or to sell and they are stripped of all leaves overnight.

Return from Monarch Butterflies to Garden Ideas

Anything To Share On This Topic?

Would you like to share additional information about this topic with all of us?

[ ? ]

Upload 1-4 Pictures or Graphics (optional)[ ? ]

 

Click here to upload more images (optional)

Author Information (optional)

To receive credit as the author, enter your information below.

(first or full name)

(e.g., City, State, Country)

Submit Your Contribution

  •  submission guidelines.


(You can preview and edit on the next page)

Since 2009, over 1,500,000 home gardeners, all across the USA, have relied on David's Garden Seeds® to grow beautiful gardens. Trust is at the heart of it. Our customers know David's Garden Seeds® stocks only the highest quality seeds available. Our mission is to become your lifetime supplier of quality seeds. It isn't just to serve you once; we want to earn your trust as your primary supplier.

Watch Our 2022 TV Commercial!

Sing Along To Our Jingle

Matt with one of our Barred Rock chickens. The chickens adore him. ♪♫♪♪♫♫Matt with one of our Barred Rock chickens. The chickens adore him. ♪♫♪♪♫♫

 ♪♫♪♪ ♫ ♪ ♫♪♫♫

 ♪♫♪♪♫♫

Peppers and peas

And lots of yummy greens

You can't go wrong

With Squash This Long

At David's Garden Seeds

♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

Our New 2024 TV Ad

Please like and subscribe on YouTube and come visit us at our Farm Store! The music on our TV ad was written, played, and sung by our son, Matthew Schulze. You can meet him when you come to the farm. He just might give you a tour. Ask him to grab a guitar and sing our jingle that he wrote.

David's Garden Seeds BBB Business Review
David of David's Garden Seeds® zipping along on his little tractor across the farm. He is having a blast!David of David's Garden Seeds® zipping along on his little tractor across the farm. He is having a blast!

We are David's Garden Seeds®. If you need great seeds, we've got over 1,000 varieties to choose from.

Your second block of text...

Subscribe To Mrs. David's Garden Seeds® Newsletter For FREE!

Hi! I am Juanita aka Mrs. DGS. This photo was taken in our commercial kitchen during a potluck.Hi! I am Juanita aka Mrs. DGS. This photo was taken in our commercial kitchen during a potluck.
Mrs. David's Garden Seeds in the greenhouse with Lucy the lap dog.Mrs Davids Garden Seeds in the greenhouse with Lucy the lap dog.

Find out what is going on down on the farm by reading our blog and by subscribing to our free newsletter for all of the information going down at David's Garden Seeds® and on the farm. I love to share helpful information with you. Please let your friends know and y'all come on down for a visit when you get the chance. We would love to meet you!

seeds1
davidmatthives2Our bee hives
fishOur fish pond
chickensyardOur chickens
bunnynewdigsOur bunny rabbits
goats0924Our Nigerian Dwarf goats
gardenbedsgreenA few of our raised garden beds
orchardback40Our orchard and hoop houses
hightunnel2Inside our high tunnel
officialselfiespotTake a selfie at our official selfie spot!
zinniasbutterflies092523Flowers, bees, and butterflies are everywhere!

Watch Our TV Ads!