I love our great state of Texas. And one of the reasons is our Texas state butterfly is the Monarch butterfly. I have been planting milkweed in our yard for a couple of years now. It has truly been a learning experience. It can be a roller coaster of a ride when observing their life cycle up close but the rewards are so great. They are pure joy to have in our yard. This year our Monarch caterpillars got hit hard from the Tachinid fly strikes. It was devastating to watch these flies take over the caterpillars as a host for their fly larvae.
At least right now, we have a few Monarch caterpillars almost ready to transform and lots of Monarch butterflies flying around spreading joy and magic.
I am looking forward to November where we can plant more butterfly milkweed seeds for next year. Here is a great website on Monarch butterflies and ten (10) simple steps for fall planting. Kapow!
