Roy Forrester
Butterfly Garden
In 2006 a native perennial butterfly garden was constructed in the events area of the Orono Crown Lands. 85 perennials were planted in a bed of soil which had been prepared the previous fall.
We watched in earnest as Mother Nature supplied the necessary ingredients required to transform our dreams into a reality; plenty of moisture followed by bright sunny days. Just what the doctor had ordered.
As the plants started to bloom our guests began arriving. Bees, moths and butterflies feasted on the nectar. If you create a butterfly garden then why not turn it into a Certified Monarch Waystation?
Monarch Waystation
A Monarch Waystation is an intermediate station between principal stations on a line of travel. If we imagine the principal stations for Monarchs to be the over-wintering sites in Mexico and the points of reproduction in the breeding season, then you can visualize the value of resource-rich Waystations along the annual fall and spring migrations. Without resources in the form of nectar, fall migratory butterflies would be unable to make the journey to Mexico. Similarly without milkweeds along the entire route north in the spring and summer months, Monarchs would not be able to produce the successive generations that culminate in the migration each fall.
In August 2006, at our annual Corn Roast and BBQ, surrounded by friends and four generations of family members we dedicated our butterfly garden to an avid naturalist Roy Forrester, who had worked tirelessly over the years to raise awareness about outdoor conservation.
Roy was presented with a Certificate of Registration from Monarch Watch, University of Kansas certifying the Roy Forrester Butterfly Garden as Waystation #753 along the migratory route between Canada and Mexico.
Less than three years later, there are now 2,968 registered Monarch Waystations.
Monarch life cycle
If you want to attract and sustain Monarchs then you need the necessary ingredients: milkweeds, nectar sources and shelter. Milkweed, some might ask? Milkweed is a required ingredient to complete the Monarchs life cycle. Life begins on the underside of a milkweed leaf when the female deposits an egg no larger than the head of a pin.
The striped caterpillar that emerges 3 to 12 days later immediately starts feeding on milkweed plants. Within two weeks the larva will have multiplied its original weight by 2,700.
The larva sheds its skin five times as it grows. The final shedding occurs when the fully developed caterpillar has stopped eating and located a sheltered perch. Here the larva weaves a dense mat of silk, then grips the fiber while violently dislodging its last larval skin to reveal the pupa.
This fragile blue-green pouch, studded with gold spots that control colour in the developing wings, turns transparent in about two weeks, exposing the features of a grown butterfly. As the adult gingerly exits the chrysalis it pumps body fluid into its wings. Once expanded the adult soars away to feast on nectar and propagate a new generation.
more insects coming soon....
