Butterfly Club lends Monarch a helping plant

“This amazing creature travels over 5,000 km in the fall, from Canada to Mexico”, says Brennan Caverhill, MTRI volunteer and Species at Risk Stewardship Biologist in Kejimkujik National Park – “It is sometimes known as 'the storm king' because it is most active when the thunder rolls, and there is electricity in the air.”

“The Monarch is threatened by habitat loss throughout the wintering grounds in Mexico, pesticide use along the migration route in the United States, and similar factors here at home”, says Amanda Lavers, Executive Director of the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI) in Kempt.

That's why a group of people in Queens County and around southwestern Nova Scotia have developed a "Butterfly Club" which encourages members to plant their own butterfly garden, including native plants like Yarrow, Asters, and Boneset. Adult butterflies feed on the nectar-rich flowers, but the most important flowers are native Swamp Milkweed plants, which have been grown by local organic farmers at Wild Rose and Pleasant Hill Farms.

The Monarch relies exclusively on Milkweed plants for growth and survival, because adults will only lay their eggs on this plant. When caterpillars feed on Milkweed leaves, they become poisonous to birds and other predators.

Caverhill and Lavers are two of several biologists at Kejimkujik and MTRI who have been encouraging Queens County residents to plant Milkweed in their gardens. With help from volunteers and expert students from Clarke Rutherford Elementary in Cornwallis, who planted their own butterfly garden last year, a model garden was planted in June at MTRI. Members who join the "Butterfly Club" agree to plant their own chemical-free garden, and provide important habitat for the Monarchs and many other butterfly species that call Nova Scotia home. VanDyk'sHealth Juice Products have also joined the effort by planting a similar garden in West Caledonia.

Caverhill and Lavers were recently grocery shopping in Caledonia and spotted numerous monarchs at Aunt Nettie's B&B.

Upon closer inspection, they found a garden full of Milkweed, many small green eggs on the undersides of the plant, and all kinds of fat yellow, black, and white striped Monarch caterpillars. The new owners of Aunt Nettie's, Pat and Chuck Groocock, were surprised about all the attention.

“We were thinking of re-planting some of the gardens, but now that we know how important the Milkweed is, we'll be sure to keep it,” says Pat Groocock. “We're now full fledged members of the Butterfly Club and we're learning about native plants and insects that make this part of the world a special place.”

As a fundraiser for MTRI, Diane Clapp has been volunteering her time at local farmers markets and selling swamp milkweed plants.

“By encouraging the creation of more butterfly gardens among your family, friends, and communities, the team hopes to spread beauty and awareness about not only the Monarch Butterfly, but also other species at risk throughout Nova Scotia,” says Clapp. “There are over 40 species at risk living in Nova Scotia, and we can do lots to help!”

For more information about the club, species at risk, and MTRI, call 682-2371, check out www.speciesatrisk.ca and www.merseytobeatic.ca - and visit an organic farmer near you!