Monarch Butterfly

The Monarch Butterfly is the only butterfly that migrates! As the weather gets colder, monarchs begin their annual migration. Tens of millions of these butterflies spend the winter in a mountain forest in Central Mexico.  Monarchs sometimes cover whole trees of eucalyptus and pine groves. In the spring they will make the long journey back north, and lay eggs along the way. When these eggs hatch into caterpillars, the whole cycle starts over again.


  • The monarch butterfly is a large, beautifully colored butterfly that is easy to recognize by its striking, orange, black and white markings

This milkweed is the variety most commonly seen along roadsides, waste places and old fields throughout New England.  Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on this wild Common Milkweed and other cultivated varieties.


ATTENTION GARDEN CLUB MEMBERS:

  • Plant milkweed to help the monarch butterfly thrive in our region
  • Educate our youth
  • Allow these beautiful insects to continue to grace our gardens and our lives!

Reference Materials:

Butterflies and Moths (Children)
Usborne First Nature
DC Publishing
Tulsa, Oklahoma

The Butterfly Book
An Easy Guide to Butterfly Gardens
D. & L. Stokes and E. Williams
Little Brown, Boston, MA

Discover Butterflies (Children)
Activity Book
Callaway Gardens
Pine Mountain, Georgia 31822

Monarch Butterflies (Children) 
“A New Tree Book” 
-Emilie V. Lepthien 
Children’s Press – Chicago

The Butterfly Garden
Turning Your Garden, Window Box or Backyard into a Beautiful Home
For Butterflies
M Tekulsky
The Harvard Common Press, Boston, MA 1985