So Just What is a Monarch Waystation?

[Dee & Frank Hughes]

Monarch Waystation Numero Uno at the University of Kansas Operation Monarch Watch

Everybody in this group knows what the Wildlife Federation Back Yard Habitat program is all about. We provide wildlife with food, water, shelter and a place to raise their young.

A monarch waystation does the same, only specialized for the monarch butterfly. Nectar plants like cone flower and black-eyed susan provide food for all types of butterflies. Areas of dense growth that get plenty of sunshine give them shelter. And butterflies fill their water needs from the moisture on the plants they visit.

It's the "place to raise their young" piece that becomes a particular problem for the monarch. You see over the long span of evolution the monarch has learned to rely on one and only one genus of plant for egg laying and larvae feeding. This plant family is called Asclepias, named for the Greek god of medicine and healing. There are about 110 different species of Asclepias, commonly known as milkweed, in North America.

Next time I'll talk about why scientists believe the monarch relies exclusively on milkweed as well as the reasons we need to take extra measures to provide it in our gardens.