Calling all Wild Ones members and friends to make an impact in the City Nature Challenge! April 26–29, 2019 The greater St. Louis region will be competing in the 2019 City Nature Challenge, along with more than 160 cities around the world. Which city can document the most species in…
We’ve received the following request for Monarch tags from Bailie Kleekamp, Instructor at Shaw Nature Reserve: We are tagging monarchs like crazy here at Shaw Nature Reserve! We just went to order more tags today and they are SOLD OUT. Wow! So happy to see that this program is doing so…
By Marypat Ehlmann Member-at-Large and Volunteer Coordinator, Wild Ones – St. Louis Chapter In early/mid-April the St. Louis region received our first wave of monarchs migrating north. This was unexpected and about 4-6 weeks before most milkweed in neighborhood yards was tall enough to support feeding a brood of very…
Blog by Susan Burk Member, Wild Ones – St. Louis Chapter [Editor’s Note: At the end of the gathering on Wednesday, April 12, 2017, Fred and Susan Burk were busy counting monarch eggs. They need our help as these early monarch eggs are now hungry caterpillars!] It is unusual to…
Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects Xerces Society Timber Press: Portland OR, 2016 287 pages Reviewed by Carol Boshart Member, Wild Ones – St. Louis Chapter Written by the Xerces Society which is dedicated to invertebrate protection, this book is designed for both novice…
By Dawn Weber Board Member-at-Large Wild Ones – St. Louis Chapter St. Louis sits at a pivotal migration point for monarchs, right in the middle of what is known as the Central Monarch Flyway. The importance of our location makes the success of the Milkweeds for Monarchs program significant, aiming toward the goal of increasing…
By Marcia Myers Not only does this amazing plant act as a nursery, provide nectar, and serve as an important food source, it provides extra protection from predators. Both monarchs (Danaus plexippus) and queen butterflies (Danaus gilippus) store cardenolides, toxins obtained from their milkweed (Asclepias spp.) diet. Why aren’t the butterflies poisoned? Monarchs…
By Marcia Myers Monarch butterflies are in serious decline, so raising and releasing them must be good, right? It would seem so, but some experts have concerns. On October 8, “a group of 10 monarch researchers and conservationists from across the U.S. issued a statement highlighting concerns with the release…
This video includes Carol Davit of the Missouri Prairie Foundation, and a brief shot of the Missouri Wildflowers Nursery. Click the icon in the bottom-right corner to open it in full-screen mode.
In case you missed the link in the Native Plant School newsletter, this is a nice video of milkweeds in Yosemite, with monarchs and other pollinators.
