Tag: monarch butterflies

Lizards Over Caterpillars Cause a Lack of Florida Butterflies

With all the various types of lizards here in Florida, do Monarch caterpillars stand a much of a chance of becoming butterflies?

All I know is what I am seeing in my own little yard, but it’s not hopeful. I’ve seen many caterpillars form and munch on milkweed. They are not around for long, and I blame the abundance of lizards in my yard.

Nature is trying to adjust to all the invasive species, and honestly I think it is losing. Now, there are brown lizards which are invasive. Between those and the normal green anoles, the caterpillars don’t seem to stand a chance.

I’ve been growing and planting milkweed to feed the Monarchs but all I seem to be doing is providing food for lizards.

green anole lizard
Green anole
brown invasive lizard
Brown lizard

I’ve watched caterpillars crawl on the Milkweed. They get to various sizes and then they are simply gone.

Monarch caterpillar
Monarch caterpillar on milkweed
monarch caterpillar on milkweed
Rosemary and Milkweed

The whole time I watched this caterpillar grow he went from milkweed to the rosemary and back again. They seem to like hiding out in the rosemary. Back in April a caterpillar crossed my yard to build a chrysalis on the rosemary plant.

I was beginning to think that maybe this guy was big enough to survive. Finally, a yellow wasp came down and stung him and knocked him off the milkweed! He was happily chowing down on a leaf and I saw the wasp come in and pop him. He ended up crawling down the side of the pot. He was down there for a while, but the next time I looked, he was nowhere to be found.

Black Swallowtail Caterpillars

Little black swallowtail caterpillars were all over my dill plants. I snapped these photos one day in May. The next morning when I looked for them, the caterpillars were all gone.

Although I think it’s unfair that no butterflies get a chance to form, it is not something I can change. Some people raise monarchs inside, but I am not about to do that. Many years ago I saw a black swallowtail butterfly emerge from a chrysalis. I had some parsley growing at the time. It is the only swallowtail I’ve seen make a chrysalis.

I can’t see everything, so maybe a lot of them do pupate. The Monarch caterpillars do tend to crawl to other plants and things. I’m only viewing them for a short time each day.

I do want to fill my yard with plants that accommodate butterflies and caterpillars. I can’t help what happens during their transformation. These plants also feed other critters. And the caterpillars are food for lizards and wasp babies I suppose. Who am I to say how it should go?

Thank you for reading.

Plant Florida Native Milkweed to Save Monarch Butterflies

My Florida yard is small but I am trying to fill it with native plants to attract bees, butterflies and wildlife. After reading another blog about planting milkweed to help monarchs survive and thrive, I began researching the types of milkweed to plant here in central Florida where I live.

Do Your Research and Plant Native

Big box stores sell plants that look nice, and are not necessarily concerned with native species. Customers usually want pretty things to brighten up the home landscape.

Bringing non-native plants into the yard can end up being a problem. Florida contains many invasive species – the air-potato and Brazilian Pepper trees come to mind. They invade and push out more native plants. This is also true for wildlife that has been imported, but that is another blog post.

Although this page is about milkweed, researching all types of native plants for the landscape will go a long way in helping the butterflies and birds. Native plants will survive nicely, with little help, when planted where they should be.

Butterfly weed orange flowers for monarch butterflies
Butterflyweed

Types of Florida Native Milkweed

There may be more types, but this is what I found when writing this page. Visiting a local nursery that sells local plants could be very helpful.

  • Orange Butterfly Weed – reddish orange flowers, blooms late spring through fall – I had a volunteer pop up in my yard!
  • Pink Milkweed – light pink flowers, summer blooming
  • Swamp Milkweed – light pink to white, tolerates some shade
pink milkweed plants to save monarch butterflies
Pink Milkweed

Read more about milkweed and the Monarchs at this page on the Florida Wildflower Foundation site.

Plant Real Florida is a great site for anyone wishing to fill their yard with native vegetation.

Florida Milkweed pdf With Photos and Info

The link above goes to a file found on the Xerces Society site which has many articles about Project Milkweed and has Regional Milkweed Guides in printable pdf. form for many areas of the country.

monarch butterfly milkweed
Monarch butterfly on milkweed