Written by Emmy Ulmschneider
master gardener
From September 12 to October 6, 2021, Master Gardeners will conduct a series on habitat creation and the importance of native plants, culminating in the importance of native plants for migrating monarch butterflies. reached. We continued this trend in 2022 and 2023, featuring profiles of local native plants that describe local grasslands and support local birds and butterflies. But now more than ever, it’s time to focus more on what Bill Nieman, co-founder of Native American Seed Co. in Junction, Texas, calls “responsible beauty.”
And that’s exactly what our iconic monarch butterfly needs. I’ve been tagging and tracking Monarch migrations since the mid-1990s. Migratory monarch butterflies migrate north through Texas to their breeding grounds and south to their wintering grounds in Mexico. So what we do here matters.
Monarch butterfly migration takes place over many generations. Monarch butterflies that leave Mexico in the spring are not the same as those that return in the fall. The second and third generations migrate through Texas to their spring and summer breeding grounds, feeding on nectar as they pass through the Great Plains, eastern United States, and southern Canada. At the end of summer, the monarchs begin their epic journey back to Mexico. During this southward migration, the fourth and sometimes fifth generation becomes dormant. This means they do not reproduce and are metabolically different from other generations. This fourth or fifth generation then winters in Mexico and makes their way home in the spring, returning through Texas. Texas is a vital key to Monarch survival!
Photo by: Emmy Ulmschneider Photo by: Emmy Ulmschneider
We measure the number of migratory monarch butterflies based on the area they occupy in oxymel fir forests in Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountains. In 1976, early researchers estimated that the monarch occupied an area of more than 20 hectares, with one hectare the equivalent of two soccer fields. Since the 1990s, researchers have been measuring their wintering roost area. Researchers estimate that a monarch butterfly population spanning 6 hectares is sustainable. In the winter of 2022-23, it was 2.1 hectares. Last winter, in 2023-2024 it was 0.9 hectares. Only once in the past decade has the monarch butterfly population reached a size of 6 hectares. To review this data, understand what threatens monarchs and what you can do to check it: https://monarchjointventure.org/blog/eastern-monarch-butterfly-population-falls- to-less-than-one-hectare-in -2023-2024 wintering season
This is a lot of work. But the Texans have been here before. The American bison population had declined from more than 60 million individuals in the late 18th century to just 541 individuals in 1889. Fortunately, two Texans, Charles and Martha Goodnight, stepped in and brought seven bison to the JA Ranch. These animals eventually became the beginning of the Caprock Canyon Texas bison herd. Their genes are passed down to virtually all remaining bison herds in the United States.
Bringing monarchs back from the brink of extinction requires a mindset shift that recognizes that we are part of nature, rather than separate or separate from it. Even just a small part of our garden allows us to appreciate the beauty of nature, its quiet power, and, in the words of Bill Neiman, “planting responsibly.”
If you have any questions, please call the AgriLife office in Odessa at 498-4071 or the Midland office at 686-4700. A blog with additional information and access to past articles can be found at westtexasgardening.org. Click Resources.
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