Monarch Traveling Across Road Way

[Mona Miller]

I was very surprised to see a Monarch butterfly crossing the road in Herndon today. This is typical behavior for me of a migration south. I often see them traveling along roadways during their journey south. But, I think its a little early for that because usually our migration south begins towards the end of August.

[tarheel]

I am interested in joining this group. I live in Newport, NC, 8 miles from the Atlantic Ocean & am a devoted Monarch lover. I presently have about 1,000 milkweed plants, & many different nectar plants; this is my first year growing the Giant Milkweed Tree,& am interested in seeing how it tolerates the weather conditions here in NC, but I have grown the tropical, swamp, & common ( our local variety of common mw & the common mw that Rose Franklin was so gracious to send me some seeds from in '06..they didn't tolerate the heat here very good last year, but have several established plants that came back from root this year & I couldn't be happier, some are over 6' & the blooms are beautiful). I also raise different citrus trees & the butterflies love to nectar on them. They also are a host plant for the Silver-Spotted Skipper, & I have had a S-S Skipper each year as a constant companion while I do my gardening on the deck, from the very first year of "butterflying", to the present day. I am trying to add a few new varieties of mw each year. I am a retired RN & happily married for 23 years to the most devoted, patient, loving husband that any woman could pray for. Have been raising butterflies for 10 years, starting out with a bronze fennel that I purchased on a get away weekend out of town, with a few cats & eggs, which was sold to me as "Milkweed with Monarch caterpillars & eggs on it." Ended up being B Stail, which I still raise. Well, that began my Butterfly Adventure, & it took several years to locate milkweed. Finally got some from the Orchard at Altapass, from Judy Carson, I think was her name.Have several pavilions in my solarium, from the smaller to the 100 gallon size, which is set up for bringing my babies inside to protect from the predators. I am a Christian & love all of God's creatures, well, maybe not 'all', can take snakes & cyclamen aphids off of that list. In general I devote much of my time to my 'deck garden' where I grow my host & nectar plants. Having many health problems, Fibro & Lupus, & 3 failed lower back surgeries on the top of the list as real 'pains in my life', it is easier to handle a container garden, rather than 'in ground', weed control is far easier to deal with, though watering is very time consuming. I raise my plants on my deck that runs along the entire length of our home 75' +/- with a central larger area that I have different displays as the seasons change..I have mud puddles, basking rocks & shallow water containers with large rocks for the b'fIies. I visit the board daily trying to locate where the Monarchs are, in hopes of being more prepared with my plants for their arrival, with the blooms, but so far havn't been able to get a handle on them. They have been more plentiful in this area since I started raising the milkweed, remembering the 1st year, with my lone female, through last year, when I released over 1200, it has been a great passion of mine & one of the best therapies for dealing with chronic pain. Is wonderful being out on my deck, with God's creations & beauty & I get such peace & many blessings each day as I start my day out there. Each year has its tears, some of sorrow, many more of joy. I can't imagine my life without my Monarchs now. I take photos of everything, every strange & familiar bug, bloom, & just about anything that is around long enough for me to snap a shot of it.Sorry for being so longwinded, is a Southern thing I think, we tend to go on & on.... Am still trying to get familiar with the format & processes of the Board & Forums.God Bless all. JoyG

[Mona Miller]

Usually, this section is only for posting sightings. There are several other topics for discussing rearing and plants, etc. Pick a topic from the board index and either reply to it or make a new topic. Thanks for sharing. Many of us share your passion for butterflies.

[Mona Miller]

I finally found the map on Journey North (South soon) of the fall migration. You can go up on the left and change the date to see the migration south last year. It will give you an idea of when they appeared last year.

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/maps/monarch_f07_All.html
2007 fall migration August

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/maps/archives.html#F7
Here are the archives of previous years. Looking back helps to calculate when they will come.

You can also sign up to post sightings.

http://www.learner.org/cgi-bin/jnorth/jn-sightings
Main sighting web page

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/orientati ... eport.html
You start with a practice report. Good luck.