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6 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | AUGUST 2015 By Laurie Larson My Four Seasons backyard is a maternity ward for monarch butterflies. Milkweed – essential to monarchs - has long been part of my garden. It is the only plant the females lay eggs on and the sole food source for the larvae, or caterpillars. Without milkweed the monarchs would disappear. There are over 100 varieties of milkweed and it is easy to grow almost anywhere. But it has become hugely evident to me that growing plants near the ocean where I'd lived for decades and growing plants in Beaumont is sometimes like gardening on two different planets. Used to occasional small seedpods on my milkweeds, I was both astounded and intrigued by the Beaumont version: huge cottony puffs of burst seedpods flaunting themselves up and down the plant stems, below the vibrant flowers. This was something to pay attention to. And I did, which led to a most fun and rewarding summer activity: observing the life cycle of monarch butterflies. I was lucky to be able to follow the entire cycle my first summer here. Monarchs are the only butterfly population that makes a two- way migration, similar to birds. They start in the cold regions of Canada and the northern U.S. and fly south. Butterflies east of the Rockies spend the winter mostly in Mexico, while those west of the Rockies in California. When they somehow sense that temperatures up north are climbing, they start their migration back. And this is where my garden and I come in. By growing milkweed without the use of pesticides or herbicides, my garden provides safe food and an enticing environment for monarchs. Female monarchs lay hundreds of tiny eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves. It is estimated that only one to two percent of the eggs make it all the way to adulthood. Tiny little caterpillars hatch from the eggs and immediately begin to devour every bit of milkweed leaf they can find. They grow unbelievably fast. And they eat an unbelievable amount of milkweed. If the leaf supply grows short, they even manage to eat the tough stems, and if that supply runs short they'll eat each other. Fortunately, I've never witnessed that gruesome act; I have managed to keep them supplied with their plant source. Before they reach full size they will molt four times. They grow appreciably larger at each of these stages, called instars. If and when they reach their fifth instar or full larval body, they navigate off the milkweed and travel amazingly quickly to a place they deem safe or appealing enough to pupate. They travel 100 feet sometimes. They attach to a surface, curl into a "J" shape where they remain for about 24 hours, then spin a most attractive opaque green chrysalis where they reside until they deem it time to hatch. Right before hatching, the chrysalis becomes almost clear, so the curled butterfly can easily be seen inside. Suddenly the chrysalis breaks open and a magnificent orange and black monarch butterfly emerges. Wow! I have spent countless hours over progressive summers watching caterpillars grow, eat, molt, eat more, grow more and finally burst forth in all their winged glory. The caterpillars eat Monarchs & Milkweed Continued on following page

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