Ian Knight on the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly

The eggs are laid on the swan plant leaves where they remain for two weeks.

The eggs hatch into caterpillars. Over a two-week period, they grow from 1mm to around 50mm, consuming large amounts of food. The caterpillars grow so fast they can shed their skins up to five times before they reach the chrysalis stage.

The chrysalis forms – these can be seen hanging and are initially green. Within the chrysalis the caterpillar completely dissolves into a goop before a butterfly begins to form. This takes two weeks.

The chrysalis then changes colour to a dark brown and the butterfly emerges. The butterfly then feeds on nectar from flowers before mating and laying eggs so the whole process can begin again.

area at least,” says Mike, where there are a number of people raising the butterflies successfully.

Gabi, on the other hand, spends an hour each evening in her butterfly sanctuary, squashing by hand the bright orange aphids and washing the plants down.

Gail Devangh Farah breeds Monarchs in Golden Bay. “I started during the Covid lockdowns,” she says. “I saw the first butterfly hatch on a neighbour’s plant and it was so amazing I just had to do it myself. I started with three swan plants and it has grown from there.”

She now releases around three hundred Monarchs a year on a suburban section near the beach at Pohara.

“As soon as I see eggs on the swan plants in the garden, I put them in the butterfly castles that I purchased from the Moths and Butterflies Trust of NZ,” she says. The four castles stand over a metre tall and are covered with fine netting. “I pop the swan plants in and the caterpillars can munch away undisturbed until they hang on the top as chrysalises. When they hatch I release them into the garden.”

“I have never seen so many butterflies as this year. For the first time I brought the castles inside during the winter so they weren’t exposed to any frost and had a head start as soon as the warm weather came.”

“The biggest problem I have had raising the Monarchs, apart from the predators which included hedgehogs, has been getting enough spray-free swan plants,” she says. “You have to be so careful that the plants you buy have not been sprayed or they will kill the caterpillars.”

Raising the butterflies in Nelson has become a passion for those of all ages. Betty Salter at eightyfive has loved them since she was a child. “My garden is a jungle of swan plants and I raise around four-hundred-and-fifty a year,” she says. “It is awful that predators are decimating the species and I am doggedly determined they won’t win.” Betty has even begun a Monarch butterfly blog on her Facebook page to help people who want to learn more.

Mother of toddlers, Jodie Simpson, is completely inspired by the transformation of egg to butterfly. “When I see the chrysalises turn clear I know they will hatch that day so I open the window for them. It takes about a day for their wings to dry out. I have hatched around a hundred in the last few months and my little girls love to watch them. I think it is so important to show them kindness toward living things. It teaches them compassion and care and connection to Papatūānuku (Mother Earth).