Saturday, September 7, 2013

Saturday Snapshot: Monarch Magic

At times, reading a novel leads me to some sort of a project.  After reading Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver, I became intrigued by the idea of creating a small habitat for monarch butterflies.  My sister-in-law, Kristine, advised me to get milkweed plants for the garden, to attract monarchs.  I bought several "butterfly plants", or milkweed, from Home Depot, to plant outside. To my delight, monarch butterflies quickly discovered the plants and laid eggs on them, leading to numerous caterpillars, who start out very tiny and grow larger and plumper by eating the milkweed, their only source of food.  Eventually, some of these caterpillars became gorgeous chrysalises, with their trademark gold band, which are truly an exquisite sight.  With my iPhone, I took a few photos of this incredible life cycle.  This experience has been a highlight of my summer.  

A monarch on the milkweed

Caterpillars feasting on milkweed

A beautiful chrysalis
 
A new monarch, nearly ready for flight

Created by Alyce from At Home With Books, Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda from West Metro Mommy Reads.  To participate, post a photo, or a few photos, taken by you, a friend, or a family member, and add your link on Melinda’s site.  Your comments are welcomed. 
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24 comments:

  1. DoingDeweySeptember 7, 2013 at 1:35:00 PM PDT

    How beautiful! I think it's wonderful that you're helping the butterflies out with a place to live and also that you get to watch them grow up :)

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    1. SukoSeptember 7, 2013 at 5:27:00 PM PDT

      Thank you very much! It's been wonderful to watch the life cycle in progress. I also have seeds to plant next spring. :)

      Delete
  2. LouiseSeptember 7, 2013 at 2:34:00 PM PDT

    What a fantastic thing to do! So great to be able to see it in your own backyard. It's extraordinary to think of those tiny fragile creatures migrating to Mexico.

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    1. SukoSeptember 7, 2013 at 5:27:00 PM PDT

      They are remarkable creatures! Thank you for your comment, Louise.

      Delete
  3. Felicity Grace TerrySeptember 8, 2013 at 5:54:00 AM PDT

    What amazing photographs. You must have lots of patience to have captured each of these steps.

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  4. So many books, so little timeSeptember 8, 2013 at 8:57:00 AM PDT

    This is amazing, I had no idea you could attract then by doing this. Amazing and it must be beautiful to watch, how long did it take in total? Beautiful photographs, thanks for sharing.

    Lany http://www.alwaysreading.net

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    1. SukoSeptember 8, 2013 at 9:01:00 PM PDT

      Lany, I planted the milkweed a couple of months ago. For more detailed info, please visit: http://www.monarch-butterfly.com/
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. The BookwormSeptember 8, 2013 at 4:13:00 PM PDT

    Suko, what a great idea to create your own monarch habitat. That's wonderful. Love the pics!

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  6. samantha.1020September 8, 2013 at 4:31:00 PM PDT

    This is such a lovely post! I love the fact that your inspiration for this came from a book. And the pictures are just gorgeous! It makes me want to plant milkweed in my own garden next spring :)

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    1. SukoSeptember 8, 2013 at 9:11:00 PM PDT

      It would be a wonderful,educational project to share with your children, Sam. Thank you so much for stopping by.

      Delete
  7. Lady In ReadSeptember 8, 2013 at 10:02:00 PM PDT

    love the post.. Monarch butterflies are indeed a wonderful sight.. and at Santa Cruz here in the bay area, they are an annual attraction

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  8. Brian JosephSeptember 9, 2013 at 1:21:00 AM PDT

    Great pictures!

    It is super that you were able to set up this habitat! It is also neat that you were able to photograph all the stages of the lifecycle.

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  9. erikoSeptember 9, 2013 at 7:05:00 AM PDT

    Wonderful photos! Thanks for posting these!

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    1. SukoSeptember 9, 2013 at 6:47:00 PM PDT

      Thanks, Eriko! It's been a joy this summer to watch them.

      Delete
  10. YvonneSeptember 9, 2013 at 3:39:00 PM PDT

    These are amazing pictures!

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  11. Leslie (Under My Apple Tree)September 9, 2013 at 4:00:00 PM PDT

    That's fantastic! And since you've already read Flight Behavior you know the Monarchs need our help.

    I planted milkweed this year and sadly no Monarchs. Last year I only had one Monarch caterpillar. I'm not sure what the problem is but I will definitely try again next year, and try moving the milkweed to another part of the yard.

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    1. SukoSeptember 9, 2013 at 6:51:00 PM PDT

      Leslie, we have the right climate for them. We saw a ton of baby caterpillars on the milkweed, who then munched away on them. Best of luck to you next year!

      Delete
  12. AnnaSeptember 10, 2013 at 4:13:00 PM PDT

    Beautiful pictures! I love butterflies, but I haven't seen too many this year.

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  13. HarveeSeptember 10, 2013 at 4:14:00 PM PDT

    This is lovely, Suko.I planted one small plant but I see one needs to have several to attract butterflies. Congrats1

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  14. Kim SmithSeptember 12, 2013 at 3:39:00 AM PDT

    Just beautiful Suko! and so needed, unhappily. Butterflies are beginning to become extinct and they are necessary to our ecology! anyway, have a great day!

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  15. (Diane) Bibliophile By the SeaSeptember 12, 2013 at 5:13:00 PM PDT

    WOW...these were awesome Susan, and how appropriate after Flight Behavior.

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  16. Laura at Library of Clean ReadsSeptember 12, 2013 at 7:12:00 PM PDT

    I saw an IMAX documentary on monarchs that was stunning. It mentioned gardeners like you that purposely planted milkweed in their garden for these butterflies! Your pics remind me of that. What a lovely gesture on your part!

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    1. SukoSeptember 12, 2013 at 9:23:00 PM PDT

      Thank you, Laura! It's been a real joy to help monarch butterflies, and I'm rewarded by their remarkable presence right outside of my home.

      Delete
  17. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzSeptember 6, 2014 at 10:48:00 AM PDT

    Great shots! And so cool that you took them with your iPhone!

    Here's my Saturday Snapshot!

    ReplyDelete

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