A monarch caterpillar spotted at the Box Turtle Sanctuary of Central Virginia in Ashland
Monarch butterflies have dazzled humans for generations as they migrate from as far north as Canada to as far as south as Mexico.
Over the past few decades though, these black and orange-flecked insects have suffered due to adversaries like herbicide and pesticide usage and habitat loss. In February, Mexico City authorities recorded the second-smallest population on record: nine overwintering colonies across roughly 2.25 acres, down from 45 acres in the winter of 1996-97.
However, there’s a strong mission among ecologists to revive them. One technique is building monarch way stations, which are filled with crucial plants such as milkweed that provide nourishment and a place for new generations to reproduce and thrive.
One such way station lies in Ashland at the Box Turtle Sanctuary of Central Virginia. This is the sanctuary’s first year as a bona fide monarch way station — certification is done by Monarch Watch, a research program at the University of Kansas — but its journey in saving these butterflies began many years ago after a milkweed plant appeared on the edge of its neighbor’s yard.
“I was excited,” says Shelley Whittington, the sanctuary’s founder. “I dug it up and moved it to the garden.”
Milkweed soon prospered on the grounds. Oddly though, monarchs never really stopped by. Not to be deterred, Whittington added more native plants; joe-pye weed, a favorite late-season treat of the butterflies, became particularly abundant.
“I realized monarchs didn’t just need [places to lay] eggs, but food, so I started planting more and more for them to eat,” Whittington says.
The now-quarter-acre way station is filled with milkweed, mint, asters, goldenrod, sunflowers, black-eyed Susans and hostas. It has become a welcoming oasis not only for monarchs, but lizards, birds, the sanctuary’s turtles and many other butterfly species and insects.
While native fauna and flora are important to a healthy ecosystem, milkweed is a necessity for sustaining the butterflies because monarch caterpillars solely eat this tall host plant. In the commonwealth, there are 14 native species, such as common milkweed, swamp milkweed and poke milkweed.
Monarch caterpillars exclusively eat milkweed.
Virginia is part of the eastern monarch’s spring breeding grounds for first and second generations. Many begin arriving around March and spend their time reproducing before heading off in mid-September to their wintering home in central Mexico’s oyamel fir forests.
This year, four monarchs arrived at the sanctuary, mainly at midsummer. The number might seem insignificant, but it’s an encouraging sign for a species at risk of extinction.
“I’m always waiting, watching and hoping, looking at the milkweed,” Whittington says. “I’m trying to do my part and give back.”
In Powhatan County lies another place attempting to welcome these ethereal creatures. Graystem Farm, a flower farm run by Trudy and John Cuoghi, is also a first-year certified monarch way station.
The farm offers everything required by the program: nectar, host plants free of pesticides, shelter and water. After meticulous research, the Cuoghis have created a welcoming place for all pollinators by designing a landscape filled with native plants.
“What we learned is that many of the creepy crawlies don’t really want to eat our beautiful but non-native blooms. They simply have no other choices,” Trudy Cuoghi says. “They prefer native plants often regarded as weeds, many of which are being lost to herbicides and land development.”
Unlike Whittington, though, Cuoghi hasn’t spotted monarchs at the farm this year. “I think the last time I saw a monarch butterfly was prior to opening our farm, sometime around 2016 or 2017,” she says. “I hope to see more as we increase our milkweed plantings.”
As they wait for the monarchs, they’ve spotted countless other species taking advantage of the farm’s abundance, such as hummingbird moths, swallowtails, eastern tailed-blues, great spangled fritillaries, clouded sulphurs and buckeyes.
“Monarch butterflies are one of those species that provide a bellwether for the health of our world,” Cuoghi says. “So far it’s not doing so well, but we have the power to make change.”
