Monarch Migration –
Spring time is when Monarch Butterflies start their migration north into the U.S. and all the way to Canada. During winter they live down in Mexico in deep forests in just one mountain range. Each butterfly migrates over 2,500 miles every year.
The first wave of returning butterflies lays eggs on milkweed plants. Then they die. The eggs hatch and out crawls striped yellow, white, and black caterpillars that eat the milkweed. They grow and then turn into a green chrysalis for three weeks, just hanging upside down on the plant. The chrysalis opens up and a beautiful adult Monarch crawls out.
This monarch is perching and drinking nectar on a Maximilian Sunflower. These sunflowers grow naturally everywhere in the central plains. We plant them all around our house so we can see butterflies and give them a good meal on their trip.
