Wet Weather Delays Milkweed Growth, Monarch Butterfly Migration

The milkweed plant's development has been slowed down by the cold and wet weather, which has also slowed the migration of monarch butterflies.

Delay in Migration Due to Cold and Wet Weather

After their journey was postponed owing to the cold and wet winter, Monarch butterfly aficionados are eagerly awaiting their arrival in Utah.

According to Tyler Wilson, a Young Living Essential Oils research scientist, mature butterflies require sources of nectar. or milkweed is necessary for their caterpillars. The migration does seem to be a little slower since many plants, including milkweed, took a little longer to germinate.

At the Young Living waystation last year, Ziebarth observed numerous caterpillars change into butterflies.

It is a swiftly moving procedure.

According to Wilson, it takes many weeks from the time the egg is actually placed until it hatches and becomes a caterpillar.

Weeks have been spent by the Young Living scientists getting ready for the arrival of the butterflies.

As soon as the milkweed is planted, according to Ziebarth, there is not much else he needs to do. Nature sort of follows its own way.

This project aims to increase the number of monarch butterflies.

Monarch Butterfly Population

The monarch population has varied over the past 25 years, according to Western Monarch Count.

Over 1.2 million monarch butterflies were counted in 1997.

By 2018, there were less than 27,000 of them. The population increased to 335,000 in 2022.

Wilson thinks that the health of the butterfly population is significantly influenced by the harm humans cause to the environment.

According to him, the way humans live is a major factor in the species' vulnerability. Many of the pesticides and herbicides people use are harming their environment as well.

Wilson and Ziebarth are both fervent supporters of this waystation for this reason. It replenishes the plant life that bees and other pollinators so vitally require for their survival, allowing butterflies to thrive in the skies over Utah.

Milkweed

Planting milkweed in one's own yard can aid those who are concerned about Monarch butterflies, FOX13 reports.

The milky white fluid that leaks from the broken leaves of milkweeds (Asclepias) gives them their name. This herbaceous perennial has over 100 native species in the United States and Canada, according to Garden Design.

Several varieties of milkweed are cultivated as ornamentals, and they are present across North and South America. Monarch butterflies are among the numerous milkweed butterflies that only feed their larvae on milkweed plants. Because of the bitter milky liquids that these plants produce, the larvae and their later stages are undoubtedly repulsive to predators.

The sole plant that serves as a host for this famous butterfly species' larvae is milkweed. Milkweed is therefore essential for the survival of monarchs. They cannot finish their life cycle without it, and their numbers get smaller, The National Wildlife Federation reports.

Milkweed for Monarch Butterflies

The milkweed plant is unappealing to most animals because it contains unpleasant poisons called cardenolides that may make them throw up and, if they consume enough, cause the heart to beat erratically.

However, other insects don't seem to be affected by the potent toxin at all. The vibrant caterpillars of the monarch butterfly, for instance, tuck into milkweed with gusto-it's the only thing they ever consume. Due to a peculiarity in a vital protein in their body called a sodium pump, which the cardenolide toxins often interact with, they can survive this food source, Scientific American reports.