The Process of Creating The Monarch Tree
On our property we have a very quaint and flourishing garden. We grow milkweed because it is the only plant the Monarch caterpillar (larva) will eat. This is called their Host Plant. This is also the plant on which the Mother Monarch deposits her eggs.
Providing the right plant for the caterpillar to eat is how we attract Monarchs to our garden. We need to collect the eggs daily and raise the caterpillars in our greenhouse.
Hand-raising our caterpillars prevents wasps, pesticides and spores from harming them.
After the caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly it will drink nectar from dozens of plants. Our backyard habitat provides both the host plant and the nectar plants for the Monarch.
Our Garden is a certified Monarch WayStation. Every year Monarch Butterflies embark on an incredible journey across North America to migrate in Mexico. The WayStation provides the plant food needed on their journey South. It is also where Monarch Butterflies can lay the next generation of eggs on their return in the Spring.
After the eggs have been harvested we begin the busy task of raising them in our caterpillar den. They are eating machines. They grow from the size of a pin head to five cm (two inches) in just two weeks. Our caterpillars raised indoors have almost a 100% chance of survival. If left to Nature only 5% make it to the Butterfly stage. In the final stage (instar) of a Caterpillar's life, before entering the pupa stage, they can eat up to one leaf an hour. When raising monarch caterpillars you can never have enough Milkweed.
We have a custom built, metal mesh system for the caterpillars to pupae. We then take the mesh trays and put them onto a special rack where they incubate until they become part of a Monarch Tree.
It takes 10-14 days for the butterfly to emerge (eclose). Once the Chrysalis becomes transparent…. the butterfly will emerge within a day. So keep a close eye on it because it happens very quickly, usually first thing in the morning. Finally the butterfly will emerge as tiny little bursts of orange, white and black.
