Norfolk Garden Club – Federated Church Butterfly Garden – Monarch Research Project
August 2023 conducted by Michelle Noonan and Madeline Champagne
On August 1, 2023, all the milkweed plants in the mulch area in the butterfly garden area were pulled out – plants were large and tough and infested with aphids. A cursory look was taken at the established plants, and no monarch eggs or caterpillars were seen.
On August 15th, it was noticed that there were probably about a hundred eggs on the new-growth milkweed plants. So it was decided to do a research project about survival rate. Paths were outlined, and the small plants in the path were pulled out.
On August 17th and 19th, Michelle Noonan and Madeline Champagne marked 102 milkweed plants that had monarch eggs and caterpillars. Another 19 plants were subsequently marked for either an egg, or for a caterpillar (which was perhaps due to caterpillar movement). Monitoring continued through September 5th.
No chrysalises were found on plants in the study area, so it is unknown if there were any butterflies from this population.
Summary of study:
| Aug 19 | Aug 23 | Aug 26 | Aug 28,29 | Sept 01 | Sept 05 | ||||||
| #Egg | #Cat. | #Egg | #Cat. | #Egg | #Cat. | #Egg | #Cat. | #Egg | #Cat. | #Egg | #Cat. |
| 94 | 28 | 27 | 58 | 7 | 43 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | ||||||
| 122 | 85 | 50 | 30 | 12 | 0 |
Conclusions
It is a tough world out there for caterpillars!!
Besides declining host plant availability, monarch caterpillars face many threats in the wild – including: insect predation (for example tachinid fly, trichogramma wasp, assassin bugs, spiders), O.E. – a protozoan parasite, and certain bacteria. Norfolk Garden Club butterfly gardens are free from chemicals. Elsewhere, monarch caterpillar threats include ingesting insect growth hormones such as neem oil, widespread use of BT used to protect food crops, and use of many other herbicides and pesticides.
What can YOU do to help monarchs and other butterfly/moth/insect populations?
- Plant native plants.
- Stay away from chemically treated plants (like neonictonoids) and if in doubt, don’t buy.
Pay attention to bloom times – try to have early flowers and late flowers. - Look for host plants (plants that caterpillars eat).
- Don’t worry if you get holes in leaves unless you know it is a pest.
- Put a patch of wildflowers (and/or vegetables) in your lawn – a little fence around it makes it look purposeful!
- Plant native plants
- Do some research – there’s lots of books and lots of info on the internet.
- Specifically, for monarchs, plant milkweed (3 native varieties), and manage common milkweed (cut back when tough and with aphids).
For More Information
Garden Club of Norfolk: gardenclubofnorfolkma.com
Massachusetts Butterfly Club: naba.org/chapters/
Native Plant Trust (Garden in the Woods): nativeplanttrust.org
Grow Native Massachusetts: grownativemass.org
Book: “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that starts in Your Yard” by Doug Tallamy
Book and website: “We Are The Ark” (Acts of Restorative Kindness) by Mary Reynolds, wearetheark.org
The Garden Club of Norfolk, Inc. 