Monarch Butterfly Habitat and Mine Reclamation 2015 PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference “Reclaiming Our Communities” June 26, 2015 . Michael C. “Mike” Korb, P.E.
Aug 06, 2015
Monarch Butterfly Habitatand Mine Reclamation
2015 PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference“Reclaiming Our Communities”
June 26, 2015. Michael C. “Mike” Korb, P.E.
Engineers don’t know this,but sometimes they don’tcare a lot about “save the…”A couple years ago,I didn’t know much aboutButterflies….except they’re pretty.
Today, I want to talk aboutMonarch Butterflies andmilkweed, not “save the…”But how they seemto be threatened, andhow the reclamationcommunity might beable to help. What WE can do.
Each species of butterfly lays its eggs on particular plants. The caterpillars will starve to death rather than to eat any other
plants than the ones they are “designed” to eat. So, if you are serious
about attracting more varieties of butterflies to your garden, you need to consider the host plants that the butterflies seek out to
lay their eggs.
Zebra Swallowtail - pawpaw treeBlack Swallowtail - fennel, carrots, parsley
Giant Swallowtail - citrus tree, prickly ash treePipevine Swallowtail - Dutchman's pipevine
Tiger Swallowtail - tulip poplar, wild cherry treeSpicebush Swallowtail - spicebush, sassafras tree
Painted Lady - hollyhocks and thistleRed Admiral - false nettles
Question Mark & Comma - hop vines, elm treeSilvery Checkerspot - purple coneflowers
Sulphur butterfly - white clover and legumesCabbage white - nasturtium, spider flowers(Cleome)
Pearl Crescent - astersVariegated & Gulf Fritillary - passion vines
Great Spangled Fritillary - violets
Butterfly Larvae Host Plants
For each species of butterfly, its larva can only digest a specific type of plant foliage. Some caterpillars are able to thrive on a number of closely related plants
while others are able to digest just one specific species. This specific plant material is referred to as the 'host plant'. Isolate a caterpillar with an unsuitable host plant
and it will starve. For every butterfly species that is native to Pennsylvania, there is a native plant, often a “weed”, that hosts its caterpillars. Thistle is one of the host plants for the
caterpillars of the American Lady butterfly, stinging nettle hosts Red Admirals, wild carrot is a host for the Black Swallowtail, and plantain is a host for the larvae of the
Baltimore Checkerspot and Buckeye butterflies. Most people would be reluctant to incorporate milkweed, thistle, stinging nettle, wild carrot, and plantain into their landscaped gardens. These plants are classified as ugly, invasive weeds. The caterpillars of many butterflies can utilize beautiful
cultivated plants as hosts.
Monarchs cannot.They are stuck with milkweed.
Butterfly Larvae Host Plants
Milkweed
Monarch butterfly habitat is anywhere milkweed grows.
Monarch larvae feeds only on milkweed. Milkweed is native to all of the lower-48 US states and the eight southern provinces of
Canada. Pennsylvania has 11 native species and New Mexico, 24. There are 73 species of native milkweeds in the United States. Many of these species are rare, and 21 are threatened, and/or
endangered.
Milkweed
This plant is a pioneer plant - a fugitive species - a disturbed habitat specialist, it grows in sandy,
clayey, chalky or rocky soils. It occurs along roadsides, railroad tracks, bike paths, highway medians, and farm field and forest margins; on
vacant land, old fields, small clearings, fence rows and waste places. It is ideal in semi-dry
places where it can spread without presenting problems for other ornamental species.
Milkweed
It reproduces by seeds, underground stems, and roots, and is easily propagated by both seed and
rhizome cuttings. It is very recognizable - the plants can be recognized at highway speeds by
their distinct form. Seeds can be harvested easily by hand in the fall.
Timing of collection of milkweed pods or seeds is critical. If you squeeze the pods and they don’t open easily, they don’t contain mature brown seeds. Pale or white seeds should be not collected. Dry collected pods in an open
area with good air circulation. Once the pods are thoroughly dry, the seeds can be separated from the coma, or silk-like ballooning material, by hand, or by
stripping the seeds and coma from the pods into a paper bag. Shake the contents of the bag vigorously to
separate the seeds from the coma and then cut a small hole in a corner of the bottom of the bag and shake out
the seeds. `
Milkweed Seed Collection
Propagation by cuttings of the tuberous rhizome is easy and reliable. The cuttings should be made when the
plant is dormant. Each piece of the rhizome should have at least one bud (they are about two inches apart).
Timing of propagation is important. Harvest or divide plants and get the plants in the ground by late fall so they can develop enough root growth to survive the
winter. Irrigation the first year will improve survival, and by the second year the root system should be well enough established so plants will survive without.
Propagation from Cuttings
% % %
Milkweed Seeds & Plants
Seeds and plants are available from many nurseries. Ernst Seed in Meadville PA currently
is producing 3 species of milkweed: Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), Swamp
Milkweed (A. incarnata), and Butterfly Milkweed (A. tuberosa). If planting onto mine land in
Pennsylvania, Common Milkweed on dry sites and Swamp Milkweed on wet sites are
recommended.
Milkweed Habitat LossThe loss of milkweed plants in the monarch’s spring and summer breeding areas across the
United States is a significant factor contributing to the decline of the monarchs
• Changes in agricultural methods, • conversion of grasslands to agriculture,• suburbanization of rural lands, and• mowing and pesticide control of roadside
vegetation have all worked to reduce the richness of
milkweeds in the landscape.
Milkweed Loss - No-Till
The idea of modern no-till started in 1943 with Edward Faulkner, author of Plowman's Folly, but it wasn't until
the development of several chemicals after WWII and in the 1950s, and development of no-till seeders in the
1960s that various researchers and farmers started to try out the idea. Approximately 35 percent of U.S. cropland (88 million acres) planted to eight major crops had no-till
operations in 2009. The use of no-till increased over time for corn, cotton, soybeans, rice and wheat. While a more recent estimate of nationwide use of no-till by all
major crop producers is not available, it seems likely that no-till’s use continues to spread.
Milkweed Decline – No-TillNo-till farming appears to be a tremendous step forward for
agriculture. However, as it's currently practiced in the U.S., no-till farming
might more appropriately be called no-till/chemical agriculture.
Milkweed Loss - Mowing
Highway I-81 / Exit 112 - PA 25 – Hegins(Currently, the Interstate System is 46,876 miles long)
What Can We Do to Help?
So…we’ve got a plant that is the required host plant for one of America’s most recognizable,
beautiful and recognizable animals, and the plant is a critical component in that animal’s life cycle. Changes in agricultural methods, intensification of agriculture, development of rural lands and
pesticide control of roadside vegetation have all have reduced the richness of the plants in the
landscape, helping cause a dramatic drop in the animal’s numbers.
What Can We Do to Help?Common milkweed is a pioneer plant - a fugitive species
- a disturbed habitat specialist.Common milkweed grows in sandy, clayey, or rocky calcareous soils. It occurs along the banks or flood
plains of lakes, ponds, and waterways, in prairies, forest margins, roadsides, and waste places. It is easily
propagated by both seed and rhizome cuttings. Seeds and plants are available from many nurseries.
In general, milkweed grown in their native range and preferred soil type adapt well to no irrigation. Milkweed
is tolerant and may benefit from sulfur in the soil.
Use Milkweed In ReclamationSeed mixes are often used to restore habitats for
wildlife (quail and pheasants), restoration of native vegetation, and to reseed construction
sites… Pennsylvania and some other AML programs may use milkweed in their wildlife
seed mixes, but milkweed is not included in all seed mixes. Except where the post-reclamation
land use is grazing, when using a prepared seed mix, specify one with milkweed in it, or add
milkweed seeds to the other mixes.
Seed Mixture on Newtown South
Working with the Pennsylvania Game Commission Southeast District, a game-
cover seed mixture of Orchardgrass, Little Bluestem, Yellow Blossom Sweet Clover,
White Dutch Clover, Vernal Alfalfa, Canada Wild Rye, Birdsfoot Trefoil, Maximillian’s
Sunflower, Perennial Sweet Pea, Butterfly Milkweed, and Spring Oats was specified for use on the bulk of the grading areas.
Using Milkweed In ReclamationEven under favorable growing conditions, a fairly high percentage of milkweed seed in any given
lot may not germinate immediately after planting. The reason the seed does not
germinate is that there is an incorrect balance of two hormones within the seed, and this leads to a condition called seed dormancy. To “break” this dormancy and get high levels of germination, the milkweed seed should be planted in the fall, or a
seed stratification process should be used.
• Ernst Conservation Seeds, Inc. http://www.ernstseed.com/ Mark Fiely, [email protected]
• Monarch Joint Venture, http://monarchjointventure.org/
• Monarch Watch, www.monarchwatch.org/
• National Wildlife Federation, http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/
• US Department of Agriculture Forest Service, www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/Monarch_Butterfly/
• University of Minnesota Monarch Lab http://monarchlab.org/
• Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, http://www.xerces.org/monarchs/
Resources