The mobile monarch butterfly was put on the list of endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature on Thursday.
According to scientists, monarchs were once abundant, but habitat destruction and rising temperatures reduced estimated numbers to a fraction of the population in the 1980s.
Laura Ford, who lives in Laguna Beach, is worried about this decline.
Butterflies can be a symbol of metamorphic regeneration they experience. When her grandmother died, Ford went to a local gardening center and tried to buy milkweed, the host plant of the monarch butterfly.
Nothing was available. Then she saw the caterpillars on the concrete and was urged to procure milkweed elsewhere.
Laura Ford looks for western monarch butterfly eggs through narrow-leaved milkweed plants under the watchful eye of her husband Michael.
(Kevin Chan / Staff Photographer)
“The larva transformed into a butterfly and encouraged us to see the process and start a non-profit organization,” she said. “When I learned that seeds were in trouble, I wanted to do something.”
Ford has launched a non-profit pollen mater protection fund. She and her husband, Michael, built a habitat garden for pollen maters in Heissler Park last September, using narrow-leaved milkweed and other native California plants.
Over the last few weeks, they have started another Habitat Garden at Bluebird Park in Laguna Beach, tearing old ivy in a space of about 700 square feet and building beauty. They are also planning another garden for a steeper space behind the park.
The group also recently put up an educational sign. Ford now wants to find more volunteers as it expands its projects to the coast in collaboration with other organizations.
Western monarch butterflies breed west of the Rocky Mountains before moving to the California coast to overwinter.
“Our purpose is to keep it growing,” said fellow Laguna Beach resident Pamela Knusen, who Ford hired as secretary to the Pollen Mating Conservation Fund. “Part of it is to create beautiful habitats for monarchs and other pollen maters, but it’s also to make the public aware of what’s going on.”
Hummingbirds eat out from the gardens of the western monarch butterfly habitat at Bluebird Park on Wednesday.
(Kevin Chan / Staff Photographer)
A recent afternoon at Bluebird Park, the new garden seemed prosperous. As with other butterfly seeds, the familiar pair of black and orange monarch butterflies flew in formation.The hummingbird made a humming noise before landing on Salvia greggii (Autumn sage) Plants.
“We have a native bee coming to Heissler, which is great to see,” Lauraford said. “That means we’re doing the right thing. The monarchs are laying their eggs. About two weeks ago, we were there, hatched and dry, fresh monarchs. I felt that “everything I’ve been working on is working well”, which was the best feeling in the world. You know that it produces positive effects and changes. “
Ford said he bought most of the plants from the Tree of Life Nursery in San Juan Capistrano, which specializes in native plants.
Ford also planted bee favorite bright yellow sundrop flowers, California goldenrod, verbena, and other colorful plants. They recently teamed up with Monarch Joint Venture, a national non-profit organization that seeks to protect monarch butterfly migration.
Wendy Caldwell, Executive Director of Monarch Joint Venture, said: “We are at that point when we need to do something really quickly about it.”
Educational signs are posted in the garden of the monarch butterfly habitat at Bluebird Park in Laguna Beach.
(Kevin Chan / Staff Photographer)
A simple thing like a milkweed pot on the front porch could create a small habitat for endangered species, according to Caldwell.
“I saw a monarch using milkweed in a sidewalk crevice, so it’s not a species that requires a particular size or type of habitat,” she said. “In fact, monarchs have access to habitats of many sizes and shapes. Therefore, these gardens, or pots on the porch, are all important contributions to Monarch’s habitat.”
The Bluebird Park yard took off as part of a children’s playground, about as fast as the giant metal rocket ship just behind it.
Longtime resident of Laguna Beach, who lives just above the street, Rumos said the garden added a lot to the park.
“We are very proud of what they are doing,” Moss said. “I’m happy. We also love butterflies, so what they’re doing is just incredible.”
We support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.
Comments
Post a Comment