Milkweed and Monarch Butterflies p2

 continued from p1 

While I was trying to do everything the natural way, as part of that natural way, those milkweed bugs were munching on more than my milkweed; they were adding protein to their diet and eating monarch caterpillars. Once I figured out what was happening, I decided that natural wasn’t working for me.

In all fairness to the milkweed bugs, if your property is being overrun with milkweed, the bugs do work to keep everything trimmed back to a manageable size. The aphids brought in ladybugs that were not in as much abundance as was needed to curb the aphids, and for a while, I thought the little baby milkweed bugs were ladybug babies that I did not want to destroy.

I had every intention of dumping the plants onto a vacant lot next door and giving up on the whole thing, but at the last minute, I trimmed the plants back to the root and removed all of the bugs. If nothing else, I thought I would have some beautiful flowers.

All in all, my start to 2022 milkweed garden was a huge loss. I was afraid that I had missed the season because of the pests. 

That wasn’t the end of the grand milkweed plans, though. Apparently, monarchs lay eggs all year round in Florida. There was hope after all. 

pt 2 of 4

Milkweed and Monarch Butterflies

As far back as I can remember, I’ve loved the look of a monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), and as much as these orange, black and white butterflies with their white-spotted black bodies are used in motifs throughout the ages, I’m not alone in my fascination with them.

The monarch was an important cultural symbol of the indigenous peoples of Mexico, and Tula warriors wore the monarch on their breastplates. The butterfly was added to stamps, frescos and ceramics of the Teotihuacan people. This stands to reason considering that Mexico is the migratory destination of these colorful creatures. They can cover thousands of miles to get to Mexico. The International Space Station even raised a few monarchs in space.

Since we try to include as many native species of plants, trees and flowers in our yard, we see a large assortment of butterflies as they migrate through, as well as our native butterflies like the zebra butterfly. I have tried to plant only Florida milkweed, to not disrupt the natural cycle of the monarch. Every year, I have planted or tried to raise from seed a selection of milkweed that invites the monarch to lay eggs. Every year, I see a few caterpillars, and then they are gone.

This year, I decided to move my annual milkweed purchase into a large pot on the back porch where I could monitor it. I bought a pink and an orange flower from reputable nurseries and set up my monarch watching station.

It did not take long before I started to see aphids show up. I try not to upset the natural order of things (see the movie The Biggest Little Farm for information on why you should not upset things), to keep nature in balance. I decided to leave the aphids and let nature take its course.

That might have been a great idea for the aphids and then the invading milkweed bugs, but it didn’t do my prospective monarchs any favors. While I resisted doing anything about the invading bugs, beetles and other creatures, I monitored the plants for monarch eggs. I was very happy to see that I had both eggs and a few quarter-inch caterpillars moving about my milkweed.

Until I didn’t.

part 1 of 4

Welcome to Florida - Prepare to Die

After 30+ years in the Sunshine State, I've seen a few changes. Not all for the good, but some very wonderful and surprising changes. For instance, the 10-year-old I brought here in the 1980s made me a Grandma in 2020. The state changes not so good. Too many people and not enough backroads. 

The life I've led here has been the life many women my age from my home town now talk about wanting to live. They long to leave the snow and bask in the sun of Florida.

Okay, but just know that everything in Florida wants to eat you. Flying, crawling, slithering. All the same. 

If it doesn't want to eat you, it will chase you. Sometimes it will run over you. Ever see the running of the bulls? Picture it with wild hogs. 

When I got to Florida, it was part Wild West and part drunken stupor. Sometimes the two met under the thatch of a tiki hut and bamboo bar. This was even before Jimmy made that kind of living something to envy. 

We've got car races, boat races, rocket launches, sunken treasures and cockroaches the size of VW Beetles. For added fun and an aerobic workout, they fly! Erratically. 

The weather is so nice, the running of the wild hogs - the HD kind - is often the rumble you hear on an otherwise still summer afternoon. 

The other rumble is from the Space Coast as the rockets fling themselves out of Cape Canaveral towards destinations unknown at a million miles per hour. The aftermath is a slow building rumble that travels down the Indian River and convinces the dog that we're all going to die. 

If that is not convincing enough, a double sonic boom rattles the garage door and vibrates the hurricane proof windows. You gotta admire the fact that those rockets can now be set down on a barge in the ocean rather than thrown into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. 

Hurricane Season 

Hurricane, I've had my share. I've run from them. I've boarded up. I've ignored them, and I've defied them. Mostly, I've slept through them. 

There are two types of hurricanes: Those that annoy and those that destroy. I've been in both over the years. 

Word to the new resident. Putting duct tape Xs on your windows is the Midwestern equivalent to a snipe hunt. I'll wait while you look that up. 

The most annoying part of the hurricane season is prepping for something that doesn't happen. Yes, you're lucky not to be in one, but what are you gonna do with those 40 cans of Dinty Moore Stew that you scarfed off the shelves in a self-preservation mode of FOMO? Church pantry will take your overstock. 

Every year, I put up a tracking map and inventory my canned goods. If the seasons have been quiet for a few years, your Hormel chili might be expired. Throw it out. No one wants expired chili beans. 

I'm coming up on the start of hurricane season 2022 - starts on June 1 and ends on Dec 1 and hurricanes are sure to adhere to the calendar -, and since I'm never going to eat the Sue Bee Chicken and Dumplings in the pantry, it's time to regift it to the pantry. It's still got a few years to go until it expires. Someone will say 'Yum'. It just won't be in this house. 

Newbies - make your list from the local Publix and get prepared to stock your pantries. It'll be here before you know it.