August 31, 2016 at 4:20 p.m.
Monarch butterflies start journey from Rhinelander to Mexico
Monarch butterflies start journey from Rhinelander to Mexico
By Kayla Thomason-
Paula Larson, butterfly conservationist and facilitator of a conservation program called Monarch March, has been breeding monarch butterflies for two years and raising them since 2005.
She chose to release her butterflies on Friday as it was the eighth birthday of her twins, Alexander and Persephanie. The family unzipped a mesh laundry basket, peeled back the flap and the butterflies immediately took to the air in a flutter of black, orange and white.
Alexander and Persephanie were excited to see the kaleidoscope of butterflies as they took to the air.
"It's pretty neat (to see the butterflies go from eggs to being released)," Alexander said. "It's actually a little boring just waiting."
He was impressed by the size of the crowd that came to watch and had some valuable information to share.
"Well, I can tell you something you don't want to do, eat a monarch," he said. "They are poisonous. They could probably kill you, and do not touch milkweed unless you're going to wash your hands after (because milkweed is poisonous)."
His sister Persephanie enjoyed helping her mother release the butterflies.
"I like (that the butterflies are released on our birthday), especially because after we are going to have butterfly cookies mama made," she said.
Her favorite thing about raising monarchs is "releasing them because they are going extinct and we are helping nature."
Jace Macdonald was amazed by "how pretty it was" to watch the butterflies fly off.
He came up from Appleton to visit his grandparents and happened to be in town when the butterflies were released.
This summer he raised his own butterfly. He said it was hard work as it ate a lot.
"He was with his grandpa at our hunting land and got out of our truck and spotted the caterpillar and said it was a monarch. So we took it home and put it in a jar and put some milkweed in there and it ate a lot of milkweed," said Mona Macdonald, Jace's grandmother.
It hatched and Jace released it in Appleton. He named it George Washington.
Larson was pleased with the turnout and hopes that others will have an interest in rearing and releasing butterflies.
"It was wonderful," she said of the turnout.
Larson got her start with the beautiful creatures when she was a young child.
"When I was really, really little, like 3 or 4 years old, a butterfly physically landed on my hand and died - a monarch," she said. "I remembered it vaguely but this is my mother's story to me and that's when I became a fanatic."
In the beginning of the summer she travels all over Oneida County looking for caterpillars, notes where she finds them and keeps them separated by location so that when it comes time to breed the chances of inbreeding is reduced.
This year she found 40 eggs. In the past she would find that number in one spot, so that shows that monarchs aren't doing well, she said.
"They are talking about in 2019 to put them on the endangered species list," she said.
She keeps the monarchs in canvas laundry baskets with zippers on the top and side. This is a cheap and handy way to raise the butterflies, she said.
With hungry, hungry caterpillars to tend to, Larson searches far and wide for milkweed - a necessary plant for the monarch butterflies as it is their only source of food - however, with it being a weed, many homeowners kill it. Larson has a few spots where she has found this plant along the highway, but there aren't many.
She has tried growing her own milkweed but hasn't been successful.
Larson releases the monarchs when they have turned into butterflies, except for two males and two females which she breeds later.
Monarch butterflies can lay from 100 to 300 eggs. Some in captivity have been known to lay 700 eggs she said.
"Last year one female of mine - my first female I bred - laid 300 eggs," Larson said. "I know because I counted them."
Monarchs take three days to hatch from an egg, two weeks to transition from caterpillar to chrysalis, and another two weeks to transform from chrysalis to butterfly, she said.
After three or so days of being a butterfly they can breed.
Captive butterflies usually have to be picked up and touched end to end to get them to breed, but Larson had two pairs this year that bred "unforced," she said. It is quite rare for them to breed naturally while in captivity, she added.
Others in her group were stunned to hear that they had bred without assistance.
In the wild the chances of an egg hatching are slim, but captive breeding has increased the monarch's chances of survival.
"In the wild their life expectancy is like 1 percent," Larson said. "In my house 98 percent live if not more. So I'm putting hundreds into the population."
Larson's butterflies travel far from Rhinelander. Last year she tagged 200 butterflies and three were found in Mexico.
"What impresses me about monarchs so much is that these things fly so far for one, and two, their grandkids are the ones who come back here," she said.
Larson enjoys caring for these docile creatures and sharing her passion with others.
"I would love to get people involved in this process because it's not tons and tons of work," she said.
She's gives away caterpillars and eggs for others to raise if they ask.
"It's a fun job," she said. "One of my girlfriends has watched me do this for years and she never understood it until this year she actually took one home and took care of it and she said 'this is the coolest job in the world.'"
Larson is hoping to do an activity with children, give them a tagging sticker and whoever's butterfly makes it to Mexico can get a prize.
She needs more help, and anyone who is interested in raising butterflies or learning more can contact her at (715) 513-6216 and at www.facebook.
com/monarch.march., email at monarch.
[email protected].
She also strongly suggests people visit a website where she has obtained additional information on monarch butterfly rearing: www.facebook.com/groups/572683816192386.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.