Monarchs of the skies

Seeing a Monarch butterfly is a sure-fire way to bring a smile to anyone lucky enough to see it. But for a small but dedicated group of hobbyists, breeding the butterflies is much more rewarding, as Adrienne Matthews discovers.

Monarch butterflies with their vibrant orange wings laced with black are a favourite of gardeners the world over. Not only do they feed on nectar to gather up energy to lay eggs and create new generations, they are an important part of the ecosystem, pollinating plants as they go.

They are the most recognised and studied butterfly anywhere and have been lauded in literature and music throughout history, not only for their beauty but their extraordinary flying powers.

Unlike the North America Monarchs who are famous for their migrations of three to four weeks from the Canadian/USA border to Mexico where they overwinter, many of the last of the season generation of New Zealand Monarchs find places close to home to spend the winter months.

Washbourn Gardens, Isel Park and the Queens Gardens are some of the many places that provide safe havens, as one of New Zealand’s major butterfly breeders, Ian Knight, explains.

Ian began breeding the butterflies over fifteen years ago when his youngest daughter told him about the release of butterflies at a wedding she was conducting. Finding only one major breeder in the country, he researched what was required and constructed a lean-to on his and wife Jill’s house to begin the process himself. This soon morphed into a major venture with a number of tunnel houses built to manage every stage of the butterflies’ development, protecting them from the Asian paper wasp which is their biggest predator here and the South African praying mantis.

“Critical to our success was the production of large numbers of the Monarch’s specific food source, Asclepiadoideae, commonly called milkweed,” he says. Whereas there are many different varieties of the plant in the Americas, thought to be where the Monarch butterfly originated, New Zealand only has the swan plant and the tropical version Asclepias curassavica.

“The great thing about swan plants is that even when they have been stripped of leaves, in three to four weeks they will sprout again so it is vital not to pull them out,” says Ian. “If you have a continuous supply you can keep up to five generations of butterflies breeding in a season. You need to keep up a planting regime as well. With each female able to lay up to four hundred eggs you can run out of food very fast. Fortunately, the plants are very easy to grow and the seed from one pod will provide enough plants for a suburban garden.”

Covid put an end to the demand for Ian’s butterflyfor-ceremonies business but with a great love for the creatures he still raises many hundreds a year. “I get out into the tunnel houses in the morning when the sun is just up. The butterflies are waking up and starting to fly around and I say to myself ‘that is why I do this,’” he says.

Fortunately, many people in the region have become passionate about raising Monarchs. Gabi Bedufurtig in Atawhai first heard about the damage Asian paper wasps were doing to butterfly populations seven years ago and decided she had to do something to help. “I started with a small netted area over a group of potted swan plants, and as the plants spread throughout the garden along with an array of mosquito nets.”

Four years into the project her partner Norbert Hennings built a butterfly house for her birthday. “I was so excited,” she says. “It was a proper sanctuary safe from predators and it has raised beds so I am

Helping Monarch butterflies to flourish

Robin Cooper who lives in Tāhunanui is one of New Zealand’s experts on Monarch butterflies.

Paper wasps

“The best way to eradicate Asian paper wasps is to spray their nests in the evening when the worker wasps have come home,” he says. “Always be careful as, although they normally won’t harm you, the nests have a guard wasp which will go for you and can provide a nasty sting.”

Feeding the caterpillars

Never feed them anything except milkweed (swan plant and Asclepias curassavica). There is a common message often spread that it is okay to feed them pumpkin. It is definitely NOT safe for them. It causes deformity as the butterfly is developing, and usually death.

Feeding the butterflies

Butterflies need an abundance of nectar to feed on in the few weeks before they lay their eggs. Examples of favourite flowers are those of the swan plants, alyssum, dahlias, echinacea, marigolds, zinnias and marigolds. Most flowers that bees enjoy, butterflies will as well.

able to plant many swan plants and am not so reliant on the ones in pots. Monarchs are in decline the world over due to predators and the loss of habitats,” she says. “We try to be good to nature here and look after our corner of the world. To get them to the stage where I can let them go is something very special. I still can’t believe that out of that tiny little egg the whole process that evolves creates these beautiful butterflies.”

Mike Evans in Tāhunanui was at one stage the largest breeder of Monarchs in the region and raised up to three thousand a year. “It was a fantastic experience,” he says. “It was a huge commitment. When you are growing large numbers, you can get disease outbreaks. There are twelve diseases Monarchs can get and only three you can identify with the eye, so you have to be on the ball and quick to deal with any outbreak.”

Aphids are a major problem for swan plants, but some years ago the biocontrol Aphidius parasitic wasp became available from Bioforce in Auckland. “They are well established now in the Tāhunanui