A Monarch walk, a caterpillar crawl, storytime, butterfly plant tour and gardening tips--it's all at the San Antonio Botanical Garden's opening weekend celebration of Amazing Butterflies. Come join me and other butterfly ambassadors and find your way through the Nature maze to learn the whole life cycle.
First-of-season Monarch butterflies sighted on the Llano River in the Texas Hill Country. With little nectar, drought ravaged roosts, and wildfires across the landscape, Monarchs will find a less-than-welcoming rest stop when they hit Central and South Texas in October.
Butterfly FAQ: Is it OK to relocate a Monarch chrysalis after its formed? Answer: Yes, and here's some tips on what to keep in mind when you do.
Texas Butterfly Ranch closes out its weeklong first birthday celebration with some or our favorite butterfly photos of the year. Enjoy.
Happy first birthday to the Texas Butterfly Ranch blog, where we love the whole life cycle. Read on to learn how we came about blogging and how our education continues.
Austin Butterfly Forum members shared tips on how to raise caterpillars and nurture them into butterflies at an informative session at Zilker Gardens recently.
Ever wonder about the best way to raise caterpillars [...]
According to Monarch Watch, the citizen scientist program that monitors the Monarch butterfly migration and started the tagging program, monarch caterpillars consume 200x their birthweight in milkweed leaves in about a two-week period. Commercial butterfly breeders suggest that a single caterpillar can easily decimate an entire one-gallon milkweed plant--175 leaves per caterpillar. Of course, it depends on the milkweed you supply. Our native Texas milkweed, Antelope Horns, Asclepias asperula, is much heftier than the Tropical Milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, found in nuseries right now--like a beef steak compared to lettuce. Yet, when the Monarchs are flying, any milkweed is better than none. Sound impossible? Watch the video.
Happy Equinox and the start of Butterfly Season. Monarch butterflies and Eastern Swallowtails are fluttering back into our gardens. Be sure you have milkweed, fennel, parsely, dill and rue to give them something to host on.
Millions of Monarch butterflies are heading to Texas for Spring Break, but who's got milkweed for them to host and nectar on? Fortunately, some local nurseries have "got milkweed" in stock.