The Power of Pollinators

By Tom Castronovo Executive Editor/Publisher Gardener News

The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is among the most recognized pollinator butterflies in North America.

Pollination is the transfer of pollen to the stigma from stamens of the same or a different flower. An extremely large percentage of the world’s flowering plants require a pollinator to reproduce.

As monarchs forage and flutter for nectar, they move pollen within and between flowers. This movement of pollen helps flowering plants produce seeds, which can eventually disperse and grow into more flowering plants.

The flowers they choose are varieties that are brightly colored, grow in clusters, stay open during the day, and have flat surfaces that serve as landing pads for them.

I found this beautiful monarch butterfly on a Mexican sunflower. These plants yield dozens of showy daisy-like blooms with petals in fiery shades of red, orange, or yellow, all with yellow centers. The tall, nectarrich, shallow blossoms of the Mexican sunflower bring butterflies (Cont. on Page 25)