Today it is a warm spring one and the monarch butterflies are having a great time doing acrobatic, syncronised movements around our property. They are also interspersing that with fuel stops at flowers (purple ones in particular) and creating the next generation of butterflies, if you get my drift. It gives a warm feeling to have them enjoying life even if they don't give us a second thought.
So how many beautiful monarchs have we released? My wife has tabulated a list. She initially wasn't at all keen to have the plants they feed on in the garden, but is now more committed than yours truly. By the way, can you spot the chrysalis in the picture above? The bird statue is of the Pukeko, a native of NZ known for wading in swampy areas. The caterpillar went 14 metres to get to this destination.
Back to the list of successful butterfly releases:
2016: 19
2017: 19
We realised they needed more protection from voracious predators so the work really began.
2018: 78
2019: 216
2020: 240 (150 Female)
Updated 31.12.2020
