2 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
View submission: Welcome new members!
I was incredibly lucky to grow up on the central coast of California, not far off from some of the famous monarch breeding grounds, and nextdoor to my house was a field with a small creek surrounded by native milkweed. My mother taught us to look for the eggs and caterpillars on the underside of leaves and we used to bring them inside and raise them every year as kids. Such a wonderful experience, so I scour the leaves of my own milkweed and other possibly tempting plants every day in hopes that one day I can do that here in the Bay Area. It's good to know about other possible predators for eggs, I would be devastated if the ladybugs ate my chances at monarchs!
It's always good to spread more bee info! I'm hoping to visit this Berkeley bee garden this summer to get more ideas for how to encourage and learn more about what natives I can help. I'm lucky to be so close to a university with a program like this. http://www.helpabee.org/[1] also looks like they now have a book available on local bees and natives to encourage that I should pick up, thanks for prompting me to look into this more!
Comment by gymell at 05/06/2019 at 16:02 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
What a great experience for a child to grow up with! Looks like there are also a lot of resources for xeriscaping in CA which is a win-win with all the drought issues there.
I took a trip down to Mexico this past February to see monarch butterfly migration. Amazing to think all those butterflies are long gone now, and the eggs I collected in my garden last week are their great grandchildren!
Comment by plantitas at 06/06/2019 at 16:20 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Cool resource! I will try to get a copy of CA Bees and Blooms too :)