A wee bit of excitement here, as we both spotted a Monarch butterfly on the butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) that Sarah has been nurturing along over in the guerrilla garden. It’s a male (you can tell by the two black dots on the lower wings), but we hope he finds a girlfriend and they start raising a family.
Having planted many delicious plants to attract pollinators of all sorts (note the bee with the butterfly above), Sarah has had our local guerrilla garden listed as a success story with the Monarch Joint Venture – one of the first in Canada.
She is also working as a butterfly ranger with the David Suzuki Butterfly Way Project, designed to encourage people to create migratory corridors, garden by garden, on Toronto’s east and west sides. So we do get excited when we see butterflies flutter by.
Interested in making a monarch habitat in your garden? Here’s a handy PDF guide from DavidSuzuki.org.
3 comments
A migratory corridor, that’s what I need to lead butterflies to what is now a backyard habitat island! I see a lone swallowtail or monarch once in a while, but that’s about it despite my attempts to attract more.
I’ve seen a couple in the past week – so exciting! I’ve downloaded the Monarch Habitat guide – great info in there.
Thanks for sharing the guide from Dr David Suzuki’s website. I’ve always loved monarchs and look forward to trying to attract them!