Why Not Plant a Tree For Your Monarch Butterfly?

The monarch butterfly has fascinated people for many centuries. Its migration patterns, its adaptation to the short summer and long winter seasons in its birthplace, the United States, and its ability to withstand the bitter winters in Canada, have made it one of the most famous butterflies. Even more amazing is that these butterflies are capable of flying to their territories in Mexico and South America, crossing the Atlantic Ocean and reaching the waters off of Mexico. In fact, it is believed that there are several hundred thousand of these butterflies within a ten mile radius from where they live in Mexico and South America.

Monarch butterfly in the United States, however, has never had much of a chance to cross its way into these territories. They are mostly viewed as part of a larger problem – that the food supply they need to survive is not readily available to them. When it comes to the monarchs in Canada, there is more of a food supply. With the shrinking of our natural habitats, however, some Canadian species of butterflies have found their preferred habitat replaced by pine trees – even though they have a year round source of food and shelter.

In addition to this, the young baby monarchs are struggling to find a safe haven before going into their cocoons to pupate and reach adulthood. Due to the issues that the forests provide for these little creatures, particularly during their molting time, many of the Mexican forests of the North are populated with large concentrations of these creatures. These sites, it is said, are the ideal haven for the monarchs in Mexico. Thus, it is very likely that if we want to keep the monarch butterfly in its original home, we need to support its new “hometowns” by planting and preserving the forests where it can thrive.