Monarchs and Milkweed

While in Santa Cruz, we visited Natural Bridges State Beach to view the sand stone arch carved by wind and wave action. Associated with the park is the Monarch Grove, now Monarch Butterfly Nature Preserve. From October to February, thousands of monarch butterflies gather in clusters in the Eucalyptus grove.

Monarch butterflies overwinter in the Eucalyptus groves 

The Visitor Center provides information about the monarch life cycle – from egg, to larvae, to pupa, to chrysalis, and then to butterfly. The butterflies originate in northern United States and Canada, and migrate to the warmer climates of California and Mexico for winter. Each monarch lives about six to eight weeks, with three or four generations living and dying, before a group migrates south. This generation lives about four to five months, spending part of the time hibernation. In the larval stage, caterpillars eat only milkweed (Asclepias spp.) and lots of it. Milkweed contains a toxin, which the larvae can ingest but is toxic to its predators.

Milkweed demonstration garden (off season)

The Visitor Center maintains a demonstration milkweed garden to provide food for the caterpillars. They also encourage gardeners to plant milkweed to attract monarchs. Milkweed was once plentiful in the United States, but has diminished due to urbanization. You can purchase milkweed seeds in the Visitor Center, or obtain them from a number of organizations or seed suppliers such as, http://www.livemonarch.com/free-milkweed-seeds.htm or http://www.butterflyencounters.com/store/products.php.