Monarch butterfly unexpectedly appears

Monarch butterfly among the hosta fronds

One recent gardening project included dividing over-grown hosta plants and planting divisions in new parts of the yard.

It is arduous work indeed, but it started with a surprise. I was shoveling under a lime-green hosta, getting under the roots, when an adult monarch butterfly suddenly appeared.

A butterfly UNDER a hosta? Oh my!

According to the Monarch Lab at the University of Minnesota (monarchlab.org), adult butterflies born in late summer and early fall might well be the ones who migrate to Mexico.

The primary job of monarch adults is to mate and bear eggs. Monarch females are able to mate after they are 3-8 days old; the males and females may stay together for up to 16 hours, the lab website explains. Adults can mate several times in their life and those born in summer months live 3-5 weeks.

But adults born in late summer/early fall are the ones who live up to nine months, and they make a treacherous journey to Mexico. The U.S. Forest Service (fs.fed.us) reports the butterflies get environmental cues on when to fly south. They use air currents and winds to make their journey, which may stretch 3,000 miles. The winter site is the Sierra Madre Mountains, in oyamel fir forests located about 2 miles above sea level.

Monarch butterflies are called "mariposa monarcha" in Mexico.

Our monarch was clustered among the hosta fronds. Once I dug it out I placed a large bunch on the ground, and the butterfly could be spotted for two days, climbing around the hosta division. I watered it, thinking the monarch could use the water.

Last night we received about 1.5 inches of rain and the butterfly is gone today. It was fun to see this part of the monarch's life, albeit briefly. May it travel successfully!

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