Butterfly refuge

Monarch butterflies are struggling because of increased pesticide usage and habitat loss. Milkweed is the only plant they can lay eggs on, and it used to grow on the side of farm fields. But with the advent of genetically modified corn and soybeans that are resistant to glyphosate, farmers are using much more glyphosate on these crops, so that everything else, including the Milkweed and the Monarch butterflies, are being obliterated. What can we do? We can refrain from using pesticides and weedkillers in our gardens, and we can plant Milkweed for the Monarch butterflies. Butterflies need nectar, too. Some plants that supply nectar to butterflies are, seasonally: Spring-Dandelions and Red Clover (another reason not to use weedkillers on our lawns). Summer: Milkweed, Butterfly Weed, Monarda, Echinacea, and in Texas and Florida Lantanas. Fall: Joe Pye Weed.
Different butterflies like different plants. Black Swallowtails like parsley and fennel (it makes them smell and taste dangerous to predators). Spicebush butterflies like Sassafras, and Zebra Swallowtails like Paw Paws.
Karner Blue butterflies, like the Monarchs, are being threatened by pesticides and habitat loss. They used to be abundant in the Great Lakes region, New York and New England. They need wild lupine. Wild lupine is also a legume that fixes nitrogen for other plants. I will be adding wild lupine to my garden this year!
Butterflies also need moisture and love sunning themselves on warm rocks in sheltered places.

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