Give Nature a Break!

Sometimes, nature needs to be left alone in order to thrive and do its job well.

That's the message Carla Sbert, Nature Canada's manager of conservation programs and legal issues, shared with CBC Radio One's Ottawa morning show listeners on behalf of everyone who feels nature deserves a break.

Inspired by her daily commute to our office in downtown Ottawa, Carla asked the National Capital Commission to help Monarch butterflies by leaving fields standing through the summer. Here's Carla's story, which was read by the show's co-host, Stu:

I have been cycling to work from Gatineau to downtown Ottawa through Leamy Lake Park  for five years. Every summer I am pained to see beautiful fields along the bike path razed down in the middle of summer. This year that happened last week and early this week, even before Canada goldenrods started blooming and just a couple of weeks after the first milkweed did. This is so unnecessary. These fields are important for declining pollinators and birds, like bees, swallows and other insect eating birds and bats. They are important for monarch butterflies, too. I hope you’ve heard about the latest research showing the importance of milkweed for monarch butterflies and the role of milkweed loss in their decline. Please give nature a break and leave fields standing through the summer.

Do you want to help monarch butterflies in your backyard or garden? Check out Nature Canada's tips on how to plant a monarch butterfly friendly garden to get started!

If there's a natural space where you live that needs a break, share your story with us. Tell us what inspired you to protect it and what can be done to ensure it gets a break in the comments section below. And don't forget to advocate for this natural space just like Carla did!

Warming Up for Spring: Two Species of Butterfly Find Their Wings

From our friends, the outdooredguys, comes a blog post about two butterfly species, the Eastern Comma and the Mourning Cloak, and how they literally "warm up" for spring. Based in the Waterloo/Cambridge Ontario area, the outdooredguys teach kids from grades 1 to 12 about nature at 4 day-use Outdoor and Environmental Education Centres. This post by Al takes a look at the fascinating life-cycle of two species of butterfly:

"... I went to the south-facing slopes to find two species of butterfly – the Eastern Comma and the Mourning Cloak. These two species overwinter as adults, spending several months tucked away in hollow logs, underneath loose bark, or finding spaces between tree roots. As spring arrives and the snow melts they emerge from winter hibernation and begin to feed. These are not nectar-feeders because few flowers are blooming at this time. Instead, they feed on sap to get their energy and mud or animal droppings to gain valuable minerals ..."

Read the entire post here

New Discovery Made about Monarch Butterfly’s Incredible Journey

The Monarch Butterfly is one the most cherished and widely recognized insect species in the world. Its Latin name, Danaus plexippus, is inspired by the Greek myth of Danaus, king of Libya, in which Danaus and his fifty daughters (Danaides) fled to Greece to avoid marrying their cousins. The long, migratory journey of the Monarch butterfly is reminiscent of the daughters' flight. The Aztecs also believed that the adult Monarch butterflies were incarnations of their fallen warriors, as the monarchs portrayed the colors of their battles.

Researchers from the University of Guelph and Environment Canada have made a significant new discovery about “nature’s royalty” and their mysterious migration. They recently learned that some Monarch Butterflies produce offspring that don’t simply travel the thousands of kilometres each year between the Great Lakes Region and Mexico. At least some head east across the Appalachian Mountains en route to the eastern seaboard. According to Ryan Norris, professor of integrative biology at the University of Guelph and author of the study, “this explains why monarchs always appear later on the east coast than the interior.” He also noted that the butterflies who follow this migratory pattern have wider wingspans than others monarchs by a few centimetres. These findings were published in the journal, Biology Letters.

As the weather chills, the monarchs will begin their annual migration south to California and Mexico, a journey that represents up to 4,828 kilometres. When springtime arrives the monarchs will head back up north, and lay eggs along the way. But now we know that for some, the journey back will be a more difficult feat as they will have to pass through the treacherous mountains ranges of the Appalachians.

Under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) the Monarch Butterfly is listed as a species of “special concern”. This type of designation only requires that a management plan be prepared but it does not offer the Monarch adequate protection against its destruction, harassment, capture or the destruction of its habitat. In other words, I am saddened to say that no legal repercussions will come to you if you kill or hurt a Monarch Butterfly. Fortunately, Canada and Mexico signed a declaration creating the International Network of Monarch Butterfly Reserves. Three areas along the north shore of lakes Ontario and Erie have been designated as reserves—Long Point National Wildlife Area, Point Pelee National Park, and the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area.

You can attract these beautiful creatures to your backyard while protecting local ecosystems and encouraging biodiversity by planting a Monarch-Friendly Garden.