Full Transcript for Why We Love Monarch Butterflies

00:05:59.920 So, you know, we were always talking about what we could do, activities with our kids. 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:10.800 And Don mentioned that he read about doing this from Ranger Rick, that's a kids' magazine from the National Wildlife Federation. 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:18.079 And so he learned about it from Ranger Rick, and then they started doing it. 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:21.199 And then, you know, I started, it was easy enough. 00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:23.600 There's plenty of milkweed around here. 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:28.319 And and then, of course, we planted more and it propagates pretty easily. 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:30.160 So yeah, yeah. 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:36.560 But it was 25 years ago when my son was, you know, two or three that we started doing this. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:50.399 Yeah, so I have three kids, and we started the boys were probably almost eight, nine, somewhere in there, but it was right around when Lila was born. 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:56.959 So that would be 23 years for us and 22, 23, somewhere in there. 00:06:57.519 --> 00:07:02.399 And at first, we didn't have any milkweed in our yard, right? 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:14.959 But I knew that monarchs only lay their eggs on milkweed plants because that's what the caterpillar, when it emerges from the egg, that's what it needs to eat. 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:31.199 And so I remember early on when we would go to these, we always had a back to homeschool or not back to school, that's what it was called, not back to school beach party, the day after Labor Day every year for a big homeschooling group. 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:34.079 And there's milkweed along Lake Erie. 00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:36.959 So around the Great Lakes, there is a lot of milkweed. 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:44.959 And so that's I knew you were doing this, and so that's actually where I started looking for eggs, just out of curiosity. 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:58.480 And at first, it's easy to mistake other little nicks and things on the milkweed for eggs, so it takes a practiced eye to do to realize what is an egg and what isn't an egg. 00:07:58.639 --> 00:07:58.800 Yeah. 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:03.120 I would I remember running over to my neighbor with leaves saying, Is this one? 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:03.680 Is this one? 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:06.319 And he's like, Nope, nope, nope, yes. 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:14.079 That is great because I remember bringing some in thinking they were eggs, and then nothing would happen. 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:17.759 You know, and then we're bringing something in and then it moved. 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:21.120 It's like, oh, that's a tiny little bug, it's not an egg. 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:21.519 Right. 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:23.040 So, yeah, yeah. 00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:26.720 So let's talk about what the process is. 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:34.559 Like, how do we raise monarchs and what what it's been like for each of us over the years? 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:35.840 So, do you want to start? 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:36.799 Like, sure. 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:39.200 And honestly, there's no one right way. 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:43.200 I think many people do it differently, whatever suits them. 00:08:43.519 --> 00:09:01.440 But as recommended by Nancy and Don, I would take the leaf on which I found the egg off of the milkweed stem and lay it on a tray with some wet paper towel and loosely covered with plastic so the leaf wouldn't dry out, and then wait. 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:10.960 And sometimes you have to wait even five days, six days, because if you get the egg right after it's laid, it takes a while until the caterpillar hatches. 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:19.919 And so then once it's so tiny, I mean, it's really tiny, it's so tiny you almost need a magnifying glass to see it. 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:41.200 I wait a while and let it eat the milkweed that it's the leaf that it's on and get big enough, at which point I will transfer it to a another stem of milkweed or stalk that I've taken out out of the garden and put in water in a jar or vase of water. 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:50.639 And I I usually will either lay the leaf on one of those leaves or maybe even kind of tear around the caterpillar. 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:57.679 So I just have a tiny little piece of leaf with a caterpillar on it and lay that on the bigger milkweed stem. 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:01.200 And then the caterpillar knows what to do, it does its own thing. 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:12.399 Well, so I just want to say that I often find it easier to see the egg than to see the tiny caterpillar because the egg, yes, is very, very, very, very small. 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:15.600 I mean, it's smaller than a grain of rice. 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:17.279 It is so small, right? 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:18.000 Right. 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:21.200 But it's white against the green leaf, right? 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:24.559 And you always find them on the under, not always, every once in a while. 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:29.039 I found one on top, but it's almost always on the underside of the milkweed leaf. 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:31.759 But when the caterpillars on the flower, too. 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:35.919 Sometimes you will find them on the flowers, but you're right, mostly on the underside. 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:36.799 Yeah. 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:47.519 But that tiny caterpillar, it just, I mean, you really need to leave it alone and let it grow a little before you can really even identify it as a caterpillar. 00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:56.480 You know, right before it's about to hatch, it looks like a little black pinhead because it's almost like you see the nose of the caterpillar coming out. 00:10:56.639 --> 00:11:00.480 And many times I'll check the egg and think, oh my god, it disappeared. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:01.759 Where'd it go? 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:04.799 You know, and it's just you have to have faith. 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:07.200

And then it appears again. 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:17.519 But it's really cool actually to look at one of the just hatched caterpillars with a magnifying glass because you can see those stripes from the very beginning. 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:19.120 Isn't that amazing? 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:26.399 So a monarch caterpillar has these very distinct stripes that are absolutely beautiful. 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:28.559 And from the very beginning, you can see it. 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:29.600 Yeah, so true. 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:32.080 All right, so let's talk stage by stage. 00:11:32.159 --> 00:11:38.320 So I used to do it that way too, and bring just one leaf in and put it on a wet paper towel. 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:51.759 And now I have, I don't know when I switched, but I've started bringing, usually I think because I have I often have multiple caterpillars in my little habitat at once. 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:57.519 So I just bring the stalk in from the get-go and put it in a little vase of water. 00:11:57.679 --> 00:12:08.639 But it does make it difficult to see, you know, you have all these leaves, and if you have caterpillars of varying sizes, it can be kind of hard to find them. 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:21.039 So something else that I didn't realize until more recently, and my neighbor confirmed is that sometimes they cannibalize themselves, like a bigger caterpillar might eat a smaller one. 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:26.080 Maybe it's unintentional, maybe it's just eating the leaf and it accidentally eats the caterpillar. 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:26.960 I don't know. 00:12:27.279 --> 00:12:34.000 But I used to keep close count of my caterpillars, my eggs, my caterpillars, and everything. 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:39.200 And then if one disappears, then maybe it was eaten. 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:40.879 That's yeah, yeah. 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:45.840 And so let's talk like what uh kind of enclosure. 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:48.000 So we're bringing these in the house. 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:51.120 I'm gonna talk, give a little caveat to that in just a moment. 00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:55.600 But what do you put those stalks of milkweed in? 00:12:56.240 --> 00:12:58.559 Yeah, so that's evolved, right? 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:04.159 It started out in a big aquarium with a screen lid. 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:06.159 That's how my neighbors do it. 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:17.840 And I started doing that, but I realized that they really like height because the stalks are tall, and we'll talk at you know about the next stage when they form their chrysalis. 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:19.600 They like to crawl up. 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:26.879 So there was a time when my screened in porch was my caterpillar what? 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:28.639 Habitat. 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:31.200 Nursery habitat, right? 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:35.200 And I actually did not have them in a cage at all. 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:46.159 And I just had a table with multiple vases filled with milkweed

and caterpillars at all various stages, and soon chrysalises as well. 00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:51.519 And they were kind of free to roam in this screened-in porch area. 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:53.120 And there's some, we'll get to that. 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:55.919 There's some funny stories associated with that. 00:13:56.159 --> 00:14:00.000 But more recently, I decided to build a cage. 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:16.080 You know, I've read, and this might be the caveat you were going to talk about, that you don't want to raise them inside because they need to be exposed to all the natural elements they would be if they were outside to just develop appropriately. 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:31.440 So I had these old screens from windows, and I made I built a cage that's tall as the window screens with a piece of wood across the top so that there's a flat surface where they can form their chrysalises. 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:42.720 And the two sides, I just took some screen and put Velcro, the sticky Velcro on it, and and then it sticks on both sides. 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:49.360 So I can open it easily, change the milkweed out, and put the screen back. 00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:52.879 The point of the screens is to keep the predators out. 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:54.240 I love that. 00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:56.720 So I did just learn this recently. 00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:09.200 I mean, I've heard over the past few years about the importance of them being outdoors, and I've still brought them into our kitchen. 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:11.840 You know, they're it's right by a window. 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:18.799 Well, first I will say that the caveat is that they are stronger if they are raised outside. 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:25.519 And I've learned that even more specifically recently from an organization called Monarch Watch. 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:41.840 The organization is really involved in education, conservation, and research, all about monarch butterflies, because their population has dwindled and the goal is to build it back up. 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:47.039 The way I learned this about raising them outdoors is from their tagging program. 00:15:47.120 --> 00:16:09.759 They now have a monarch tag, you can buy monarch tagging kits from them as part of this citizen science program and tag monarchs, but they don't want you tagging any that are raised indoors because their likelihood of making it all the way to Mexico is lower having been raised indoors. 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:11.519 That's how they've discovered that. 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:14.799 So I just find that really interesting. 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:22.159 And so now my project, Janet, is going to build a habitat like yours so that I can yeah, that I can keep outside. 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:25.360 So I'll just quickly say we two started with a tank. 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:28.399 I think it had been a lizard tank, right? 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:31.200 My kids had, my boys had some lizards. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:35.840 And so it was just an extra tank with a mesh, a screen lid. 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:46.080 And we started there, and then Brian got me, it's a collapsible sort of netted uh butterfly habitat that's taller. 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:52.000 It's about three feet tall and probably two feet, foot and a half, two feet wide. 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:54.480 And and it's been really nice. 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:58.960 It's just sets on a tabletop or a countertop, but I'm gonna build one. 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:03.200 I'm inspired to build an outdoor setting for them. 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:04.480 So what's next? 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:12.960 So the caterpillars, then it's funny to go and read the very hungry caterpillar by Eric Carl because they really are like that. 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:17.200 They devour these caterpillars just eat and eat and eat. 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:26.319 But it's just milkweed, and that's where you know, if you're going to do this, you have to commit to providing fresh milkweed. 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:34.480 There have been times when a whole stock has been completely devoured and it's just a bear stock. 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:43.200 And I remember one summer giving some caterpillars to a friend who didn't have a supply of milkweed. 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:51.519 And so I do I remember one night, probably, you know, 10 o'clock, it was in the dark, and she lives in a different community. 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:59.119 So we met at at a library parking lot halfway in between, and I gave her milkweed. 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:04.799 It looked like we were up to something clandestine, you know, something bad, but it was it was so funny. 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:07.119 It was just milkweed for her caterpillar. 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:14.240 Yeah, I remember late at night before we had it in our yard, and I think you would give me eggs, right? 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:17.680 And then I would need to keep the milkweed stocked. 00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:27.200 And I remember one night also late at night, I knew this one spot at the edge of a field nearby, you know, by a park near us where milkweed grew. 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:29.680 So I remember it was also like 10 p.m. 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:30.799 or something like that. 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:33.759 Like, I know they can't make it until morning. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:38.799 I have to go out and procure some milkweed right now. 00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:48.880 One more thing I just want to add that um, if if you, you know, your listeners are reading about this, the caterpillar is the larva stage. 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:58.240 And sometimes I think of larva as something, I don't know, like maggots or you know, awful things, and it is the larva stage of this development. 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:07.119 Yeah, but then once the caterpillar hatches and gets big and becomes, like you say, a big fat, juicy caterpillar. 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:16.640 I mean, you know, the size of your pinky

probably, it's time for it to form a chrysalis, and it knows, you know. 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:20.720 What I have found is they like a protected spot. 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:23.519 So if they can, they crawl up. 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:26.400 I've just noticed they go as high as they can. 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:33.680 But sometimes when I when they were on my porch, I found them everywhere. 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:40.079 These are some really funny stories about where these caterpillars would decide to form their chrysalises. 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:45.039 Oh, and um, you know, under chairs, under tables. 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:53.279 Once there was one, our sofa, our little you know, couch or love seat on the porch was it's a cloth one. 00:19:53.359 --> 00:20:04.079 It was soft cushions, one cushion overhang a little hung a little bit from the seat, and there was a chrysalis underneath the cushion. 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:07.440 I mean, it was in the front of the couch. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:17.440 And then another time I just had random things on my table, like a plastic cup with a plastic spoon in it, and I found a chrysal. 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:21.279 Well, first a caterpillar, I should say it forms a J. 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:34.319 What it does is sew a button from it's behind, and the the back two legs attach to this button, and it hangs upside down and curls up like a J. 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:40.079 So I would find those J's before it forms the chrysalis on the spoon. 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:43.440 I found one on the end of the plastic spoon. 00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:47.680 And wouldn't you know it, the next day there was another one right beside it. 00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:49.440 So my gosh, isn't it? 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:50.799 I'll send you that picture. 00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:51.759 It's hilarious. 00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:52.799 Yeah, hilarious. 00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:56.640 Yeah, so we in in our little enclosure, right? 00:20:56.799 --> 00:21:02.079 We would put even this year, I just have two chrysalli left right now. 00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:04.720 A butterfly emerged yesterday morning. 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:06.799 You know, I add the sticks in there. 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:18.079 Sometimes they've jade and formed their chrysalis under underneath a leaf, but they often crawl up to the top, very top of this netting and do their J from there. 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:29.920 So, like you said, they do generally like to crawl up and they then hang upside down, they form this shape of a J and then they turn into the bright green, emerald green crystal. 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:40.000 So let's talk about that process for a minute, though, because I am I feel so privileged to have had the time to observe that transformation. 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:45.359 And it takes place about 24 hours after they form the J. 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:50.079 And it's chrysalis emerges from within the caterpillar. 00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:54.160 It's different than mods that spin cocoons. 00:21:54.319 --> 00:22:14.319 This is not a cocoon, this is a chrysalis, and it comes from within the Caterpillar, it's as if the skin unzips, you see it split, and then the green blob emerges from that split skin, and the skin itself just shrivels up. 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:29.519 The green blob kind of wriggles around to make the dry skin drop off if it can, and then it hardens into that beautiful emerald green crystal. 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:29.839 Yeah. 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:41.359 So I will tell you a funny story is that this year at the beginning of August, for the very first time, so I've been doing this 20 plus years, I got to see that process. 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:43.279 And I was on the phone. 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:47.839 It's so funny because I was working on planning the Taproot teacher training that I host. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:57.440 And I was on the phone with one of the presenters, my friend Jody, who does the music at Taproot, and it was happening like, wait, Jody, I have to call you back. 00:22:57.519 --> 00:22:59.119 You'll never believe it's happening. 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:04.880 And I went and watched it, and then I came back and finished my conversation with her. 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:09.920 And one of the books I'm going to share at the end is about butterflies. 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:18.000 And I was using that book as part of one of the workshops I was presenting at Taproot this year in 2022. 00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:21.759 So I took my butterfly habitat to Taproot. 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:32.319 And that the caterpillar that I saw form its chrysalis is the one that emerged on the Saturday morning of the Taproot weekend this year. 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:36.480 So that was really magical, really a wonderful thing. 00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:39.839 So let's talk about when they come out as butterflies. 00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:43.599 That that process is probably a couple weeks later. 00:23:43.759 --> 00:23:52.000 I don't, I haven't exactly measured, but my sense is it's between 10 and 14 days from when they form a chrysalis. 00:23:52.559 --> 00:23:58.240 Yeah, and that's what the that's what you'll read that that that is the general time frame. 00:23:58.799 --> 00:24:06.319 And you'll know that it's soon because that beautiful green chrysalis becomes transparent. 00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:07.119 Yeah. 00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:15.440 It looks like it turns black, but really it's clear, and what you're seeing are the folded up wings of the butterfly inside. 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:16.400 Yeah. 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:19.680 And you and you know it's coming, you can see it. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:31.279 But again, unless you have time to just sit and watch it, there have been times when I have done that, just sat and watched and watched and watched, and trained my video, you know, my phone to videotape it. 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:36.640 And then I get impatient and I walk away, and then I come back and

wouldn't you know it had emerged. 00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:37.279 I missed it. 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:38.720 Yeah, isn't it crazy? 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:41.759 Such a quick press into the other room. 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:42.480 Right. 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:44.079 It's a butterfly. 00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:44.319 Yeah. 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:47.440 It takes place so quickly that it's like the shell. 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:59.119 It the chrysalis is just a clear, almost plastic-looking shell that cracks open, and it's like a birth, the way the butterfly slips out. 00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:10.559 There's a little bit of fluid there that comes out, and then and it's so looked so distorted because its body has been in that, you know, looks like embryo shape, right? 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:26.559 And then and then its legs have to kind of grab onto the old chrysalis, and it takes a couple hours for the fluid to pump from its abdomen into its wings, for its wings to spread out and for them to dry. 00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:31.920 And all that whole process, they really need to be left alone to be able to do that. 00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:43.759 Yeah, and they sometimes they flutter a little bit, or sometimes they just sit really still once the they've pumped up their wings to their like full size and while it's drying. 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:45.359 Sometimes they just sit. 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:53.839 And one of the fun things in our family, so my kids have all had the experience, right, of releasing them. 00:25:54.079 --> 00:26:04.880 So when they crawl, you know, you put your finger inside the wherever the little habitat, and and the butterfly will crawl on your finger and it really tickles, I think. 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:12.000 And then you can go outside and release it, or if you're already outside, that's what we're we're gonna try to do from now on. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:13.839 But you let the butterfly go. 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:17.839 And then in our family, we always say, bye-bye, butterfly. 00:26:18.400 --> 00:26:19.519 That's so cute. 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:20.079 I know. 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:27.519 I mean, since my kids were really little, so that's a such a fun process, and it really every time is magical. 00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:32.000 And I do also think there's something amazing about doing it year after year after year. 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:43.759 It be has become, you know, in both of our families, such a tradition, and it's just like a part of uh the seasons, you know, our experience of the seasons. 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:52.480 I will say that mostly, you know, I haven't read a whole lot, but most of what I've learned has just been from observation. 00:26:52.720 --> 00:27:02.720 And you mentioned that sometimes the caterpillar will form its chrysalis on the leaf itself, of on the stalk of a milkweed. 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:17.920 And later when I've been throwing those stalks out, I notice the leaf is secured to the stalk with some of

that webbing that like the the caterpillar will secure the leaf because it will turn yellow and die. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:23.599 But I'm always surprised why it or have been surprised, you know, why it doesn't fall off. 00:27:23.839 --> 00:27:34.160 And and that's why, because the caterpillar already secured it to the isn't that incredible that they yeah, that they know instinctively to do that. 00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:37.359 So I would just love to share some funny stories. 00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:44.160 So when you were talking about, you know, all the different places you would find the J's or the chrysality. 00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:56.000 So, you know, when you're when you're first bringing them the milkweed in and the caterpillars are small, it doesn't seem necessary to cover the the the whatever they're in, right? 00:27:56.240 --> 00:28:05.440 And so we would keep these, we now keep them in the kitchen by the kitchen windows, but we would keep these in our dining room, which is where we did most of our homeschooling, right? 00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:07.519 Living room, dining room. 00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:13.839 And we kept them there because it was fun to watch them while we were doing our our homeschooling activities. 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:22.720 And so one year I had put new, we'd replenished the milkweed, and I thought all the caterpillars in there were really small. 00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:30.000 I didn't realize one of them was getting quite large and ready to j and then turn into a chrysalis. 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:33.680 And so we went to bed and the lid was off the tank. 00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:43.279 And I got up in the morning and I was looking for a book on a, we had a, so there's a doorway into the kitchen, right? 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:44.480 An open doorway. 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:50.720 And the tank was on the sideboard to the left of the doorway, and to the right of the doorway was a bookshelf. 00:28:50.799 --> 00:28:55.279 And so I was getting a book off the bookshelf in the morning for our lessons. 00:28:55.440 --> 00:29:03.839 And I look up and there's the J on the very top shelf of this very tall bookcase. 00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:07.359 And I thought, oh no, you know, we left the tank open. 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:08.240 What am I gonna do? 00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:11.680 Because then you realize, well, at that point, you can't move them. 00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:12.079 Right. 00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:12.480 Right? 00:29:12.559 --> 00:29:17.759 It's that's where it's gonna be for the next two weeks, and then a butterfly is going to come out. 00:29:17.839 --> 00:29:22.319 And hopefully we will be there when that happens so we could let it outside. 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:23.920 So it all worked out just fine. 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:29.519 But I do remember toward the end, I knew to look for it darkening, right? 00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:35.279 The chrysalis darkening when it when you can begin to see the butterfly inside. 00:29:35.680 -->

00:29:38.240 So then I was watching it like a hawk, right? 00:29:38.319 --> 00:29:45.920 I mean, I'm I'm watching it constantly so that when it did emerge, before it started flying around our house, right? 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:47.680 I could get it outside. 00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:54.480 We've had those experiences in the past of having to get butterflies that were flying in our house out. 00:29:54.720 --> 00:30:01.039 Because once they start flying, they're not as amenable to crawling on your finger as initially. 00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:03.440 And that's the other thing that's really funny. 00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:07.039 I think when they first emerge, I don't think they know they're a butterfly. 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:09.599 They're used to being a caterpillar and they crawl. 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:11.680 I'm like, you can fly, you don't have to crawl. 00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:17.359 I'll I'll take it out and I'll put it on a flower, and it might end up maybe on a fence or something. 00:30:17.440 --> 00:30:20.960 And instead of flying away, it crawls up. 00:30:21.359 --> 00:30:22.960 Oh, interesting. 00:30:23.119 --> 00:30:24.480 I've never seen that. 00:30:24.640 --> 00:30:25.680 That is very funny. 00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:30.240 I mean, if you wait long enough for them to really be ready to fly, they will fly. 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:30.559 Yeah. 00:30:30.799 --> 00:30:31.839 Which you've probably done. 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:41.680 Well, so I just think that is such a good example of how doing this year after year, you learn more every single time. 00:30:41.839 --> 00:31:09.599 To me, that's a such a great lesson, a commentary about education, because when we really get into an activity and do it regularly over a period of time and really take the time to observe, I really think that's one of the key tips here is that so much of this is about you just learn by observ through observation. 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:16.400 And then it builds up into this really rich experience that you carry with you for the rest of your life. 00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:18.559 And it's such a great thing to share. 00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:25.039 I have to say, another neighbor just learned about it two summers ago, I think. 00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:27.519 And she's a fanatic. 00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:33.119 She sends her husband out looking under the milkweed on around the block, you know, all the neighbors. 00:31:33.359 --> 00:31:37.440 And last year, I think she released over a hundred butterflies. 00:31:37.599 --> 00:31:38.319 Oh my gosh. 00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:40.720 And she names them also. 00:31:40.880 --> 00:31:46.799 She'll she'll post on Facebook and ask for names, or she'll tell them what she named them. 00:31:46.960 --> 00:31:51.599 Oh, here's another interesting fact that uh we haven't talked about yet. 00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:54.799 That you can tell the difference between a male and a female. 00:31:54.960 --> 00:31:55.519 Oh, yes. 00:31:56.160 --> 00:32:07.599 And the males have a swelling on the lower wings that uh looks like along one of the black veins, just is a little bit bulgy. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:10.240 It doesn't stick out, but it's wide. 00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:14.640 I mean, yeah, so it's a a lot of people will say, Okay, there's a black dot. 00:32:14.799 --> 00:32:16.319 Look for the black dot, right? 00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:21.440 And on each side, yeah, that's really fun too to see. 00:32:21.680 --> 00:32:24.640 Oh, is it my kids would always be like, is it a girl or a boy? 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:26.400 And then it makes me think the same thing. 00:32:26.480 --> 00:32:27.920 It's like a birth, you know? 00:32:28.160 --> 00:32:29.119 Right, exactly. 00:32:29.519 --> 00:32:32.720 Uh yeah, we're we're monarch butterfly doulas. 00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:34.240 That's what we are, Janet. 00:32:34.720 --> 00:32:35.519 That's it. 00:32:36.240 --> 00:32:36.880 That is it. 00:32:37.359 --> 00:32:37.920 That is it. 00:32:38.160 --> 00:32:49.200 And just to circle back to something you said at the very beginning, the transformation, the metamorphosis is such a metaphor for our own lives. 00:32:49.279 --> 00:32:52.720 You know, I mean, there's so much deep meaning there if you want to go into it. 00:32:52.960 --> 00:32:53.359 Yeah. 00:32:53.599 --> 00:33:01.279 So one of my favorite quotes, and I'm paraphrasing a little bit here because I don't have it in front of me, but I will be sure to put it in the show notes. 00:33:01.359 --> 00:33:04.160 And it comes from Buckminster Fuller. 00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:10.960 And the quote is there's nothing in a caterpillar that knows it's going to turn into a butterfly. 00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:16.480 And it's so fascinating to me because that transformation is often like that. 00:33:16.640 --> 00:33:19.519 Like we have a sense, but we don't know, right? 00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:22.640 We don't know what's coming. 00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:26.720 And yeah, it really is a metaphor for so many things. 00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:30.240 So here's a funny story. 00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:32.960 There's this book called Hope for the Flowers. 00:33:33.119 --> 00:33:34.720 Oh, I remember that book. 00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:35.680 Do you? 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:36.240 Yeah. 00:33:36.480 --> 00:33:44.640 Well, it turns out, I mean, it's odd that I first learned about it in a spiritual meditation community that I'm part of. 00:33:44.799 --> 00:33:58.799 And years later, the same neighbor that turned me on to raising monarchs in the first place, showed me this book again and told me that it was another neighbor, Trina Paulis, who wrote the book. 00:33:58.960 --> 00:34:00.720 And I never knew that. 00:34:00.880 --> 00:34:04.960 So I Trina didn't live here anymore, but her mother still lived here. 00:34:05.440 --> 00:34:08.000 Her mother Alice still lived here. 00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:10.559 And Trina's the one who wrote it. 00:34:10.639 --> 00:34:12.960 It's just so she signed it for me.

00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:20.880 I have a signed copy, and it says to Janet, to believe in the butterflies always. 00:34:21.199 --> 00:34:22.880 That is so sweet. 00:34:23.199 --> 00:34:24.880 Ah, I just love that. 00:34:25.119 --> 00:34:25.280 Yeah. 00:34:25.599 --> 00:34:31.440 Well, let's let's move into resources because that's a beautiful, that's a beautiful little story. 00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:34.320 It's not exactly about how to raise monarchs, though. 00:34:34.400 --> 00:34:39.760 I mean, it's a more of a meta, it's like a metaphor for life, that story. 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:43.280 Because in this one, even the caterpillars spin cocoons. 00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:45.039 It's not like it's a chrysalis. 00:34:45.360 --> 00:34:46.719 So oh, interesting. 00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:50.159 It's not really about raising monarchs. 00:34:50.320 --> 00:34:51.199 Yeah, yeah. 00:34:51.440 --> 00:34:57.760 Well, there are some great books about raising monarchs, and listeners can find in the show notes. 00:34:57.840 --> 00:35:01.360 We'll put links to all of these resources that we're mentioning. 00:35:01.599 --> 00:35:11.760 But one I want to mention that we I just came across this book one year at the library, but it's so simple and straightforward, and it has a lot of great photographs in it. 00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:18.639 And it's called How to Raise Monarch Butterflies: A Step-by-Step Guide for Kids. 00:35:18.880 --> 00:35:26.480 And it's by Carol Pasternak, and I'll put a link to that book over in the show notes. 00:35:26.800 --> 00:35:32.400 Yeah, this one is called Butterflies for Kids by Jay Dicker Northgard. 00:35:33.039 --> 00:35:37.119 I'll put, I will put a link to that one in the show notes too. 00:35:37.360 --> 00:35:52.719 And then I want to be sure to mention monarch watch because that's where I've learned more and more about protecting monarchs and butterfly conservation and also the research that's being done. 00:35:52.880 --> 00:35:55.199 You know, these monarchs migrate. 00:35:55.360 --> 00:35:58.559 This is a whole fascinating aspect, too, right? 00:35:58.800 --> 00:36:10.800 So there are multiple generations of monarchs through this the summer, and then the final generation is the one that uh migrates to Mexico. 00:36:10.960 --> 00:36:14.400 There are eastern monarchs and there are western monarchs, right? 00:36:14.480 --> 00:36:27.760 So there's sort of two streams of migration, and monarch watch is the organization in North America that is monitoring this activity and the numbers of monarch butterflies. 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:53.280 Something interesting that I found when I was doing some research is that there are really two distinct groups of monarchs, and the eastern monarchs are the ones that migrate to Mexico to about 12 different mountain ranges in a couple of the states in western Mexico, and it's the it's a particular tree that they overwinter on, the Oyamel fir tree. 00:36:53.440 --> 00:37:05.039 But then the western butterflies are those in the United States that live west of the Rockies and they migrate to California, to the coast of California. 00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:06.800 Isn't that interesting? 00:37:06.960 --> 00:37:08.880 Yeah, and they are different. 00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:11.760 They're, I just think that that is so fascinating. 00:37:11.920 --> 00:37:17.599 But Monarch Watch, you can go to monarchwatch.org and they have so many resources. 00:37:17.840 --> 00:37:25.679 And now one of the most exciting things that they're doing, you can purchase tagging kits from them if you're interested in tagging. 00:37:25.840 --> 00:37:28.559 And it's this uh citizen science project. 00:37:28.639 --> 00:37:33.920 So there are ways that you can report if you find a butterfly with a tag on it. 00:37:34.400 --> 00:37:46.800 And they also have a program for you could turn your home garden into a certified monarch habitat, and they can they teach you how to do that. 00:37:46.880 --> 00:37:54.480 So I think that would be such a fun project to do as a family, as a homeschooling family, or any family I think would really enjoy doing that. 00:37:54.559 --> 00:38:01.599 It really just takes planting some milkweed and then having other sources of nectar for the butterflies. 00:38:01.760 --> 00:38:03.280 So that could be a really fun thing. 00:38:03.360 --> 00:38:08.000 You can actually certify your home garden if you if you want to. 00:38:08.159 --> 00:38:17.920 You can be part of the tagging program, and they have events and and education and all kinds of other things that you might want to learn more. 00:38:18.400 --> 00:38:26.320 I know your audience is all over the country, so you people need to look at what are native pollinators in their areas. 00:38:26.639 --> 00:38:27.119 Yes. 00:38:27.440 --> 00:38:27.920 Thank you. 00:38:28.079 --> 00:38:29.360 That is a great tip. 00:38:29.440 --> 00:38:32.639 Yeah, and listeners all over the world, actually. 00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:35.920 So I know it's fun. 00:38:36.159 --> 00:38:49.599 So one other resource I want to mention is this book that so my friend Allison and I love taking a book and turning it into like a main lesson block. 00:38:50.079 --> 00:38:59.039 And we chose a book this year for our workshop at Taproot, and it's called The Girl Who Drew Butterflies. 00:38:59.280 --> 00:39:05.119 The subtitle is How uh Maria Marion's Art Changed Science. 00:39:05.360 --> 00:39:09.039 It's a book for probably we did it for grades five through eight. 00:39:09.280 --> 00:39:30.639 It's written by a woman named Joyce Sidman, and it is a fascinating story of a woman in the 17th century who from the time she was a little girl, loved bugs and uh butterflies and all kinds of, she was very nature-oriented. 00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:36.320 But at that time, girls did not grow up to be scientists officially. 00:39:36.559 --> 00:39:48.880 Her father or stepfather was an artist who would paint these big paintings of flowers, and he would also

often put bugs in them to make the painting look more realistic. 00:39:49.119 --> 00:39:55.599 And so she learned to paint, and then she combined her art and her scientific knowledge. 00:39:55.760 --> 00:40:00.639 And here's a fascinating thing: all of her knowledge came from observation. 00:40:01.440 --> 00:40:14.639 So she would go find bugs, eggs, chrysality, all kinds of butterflies at different stages and bring them into her house, kind of like your screen in Porch, Janet, and and watch them. 00:40:14.800 --> 00:40:31.840 And one of the cool things that she learned, she was the first human to discover that certain butterflies lay their eggs on certain plants because that's what the caterpillar eats when it emerges. 00:40:32.000 --> 00:40:34.480 And nobody had ever discovered that before. 00:40:34.639 --> 00:40:36.719 It's just so interesting to me. 00:40:36.960 --> 00:40:45.920 So it's a wonderful book that could go along with if you want to do this kind of raising monarchs as part of your homeschooling. 00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:50.000 It's a really, really wonderful book and so many things in it. 00:40:50.320 --> 00:40:51.599 It sounds wonderful. 00:40:51.760 --> 00:40:54.719 I wish that I had had that when we were homeschooling. 00:40:55.039 --> 00:40:59.920 I know it's a newer book, but it's it has so many beautiful pictures in it, too. 00:41:00.159 --> 00:41:02.559 Well, thank you everyone for listening. 00:41:02.719 --> 00:41:04.639 And do check out the show notes. 00:41:04.719 --> 00:41:14.480 You can find them at artofhomeschooling.com slash episode 98, and we'll have links and some photos for you to check out. 00:41:14.639 --> 00:41:19.519 And I hope this encourages you just to be more curious, right? 00:41:19.679 --> 00:41:31.039 And and maybe you'll plant some milkweed in your yard, you know, every little bit helps, and just learn more about caterpillars, butterflies, monarchs if they're in your area. 00:41:31.280 --> 00:41:35.519 And let us know because I would love to hear if you explore. 00:41:35.840 --> 00:41:41.039 You know, something I'd like to branch out into at in the future is swallow tails. 00:41:41.199 --> 00:41:52.000 I had the the really great luck to find a swallow tailed caterpillar last summer and it overwintered, in fact, in my butterfly cage. 00:41:52.159 --> 00:42:02.239 Their chrysalises are or chrysalli are not as beautiful as monarchs, but when it did emerge this in the spring, it was just fabulous. 00:42:02.960 --> 00:42:04.960 So you know there are other butterflies as well. 00:42:05.280 --> 00:42:07.519 Yes, yeah, that's a really good point. 00:42:07.599 --> 00:42:07.920 Yeah. 00:42:08.159 --> 00:42:15.519 The two tips I would say are it really teaches the skill of observation without having to directly teach it. 00:42:15.679 --> 00:42:20.639 And then a wonderful metaphor for transformation and metamorphosis. 00:42:20.960 --> 00:42:22.719 So thank you so much, Janet. 00:42:22.800 --> 00:42:24.159 This has been really, really fun. 00:42:24.320 --> 00:42:28.800 I appreciate you being here and having this conversation together today. 00:42:29.119 --> 00:42:30.079 You are so welcome. 00:42:30.239 --> 00:42:31.679 It's been a pleasure. 00:42:31.920 --> 00:42:32.800 Thank you. 00:42:33.440 --> 00:42:35.679 That's all for today, my friend. 00:42:35.840 --> 00:42:42.880 But here's what I want you to remember rather than perfection, let's focus on connection. 00:42:43.360 --> 00:42:50.960 Thanks so much for listening, and I'll see you on the next episode of the Art of Homeschooling podcast.