Learn about Monarch Waystation with DuPage Monarch Project
DuPage Monarch Project invites you to celebrate National Pollinator Week, June 20-26, by visiting a monarch waystation and we've made it easy for you to find one.
If the image that comes to mind when you hear monarch waystation is a tired butterfly bellied up to a bar having a drink and snack before traveling on, you're exactly right, though the drink is water and the food is flower nectar. Monarchs have managed rather well through the years, why do they now need a waystation?
A hot gardening topic these days is creating pollinator friendly gardens because pollinators are in trouble. Pollinators are the bees, butterflies, moths, some birds and bats that provide the essential link for turning flowers into food, like fruit, nuts and veggies.
The monarch population has crashed by 90 percent over the past 20 years from a combination of extreme weather events and loss of habitat in the U.S. and Mexico.
The tiny, familiar orange and black summer visitor travels all the way from Mexico to Illinois looking to settle in and produce the generation of butterflies that will make the return trip to Mexico in the fall. Greater development and more intensive agricultural land use in the Midwest means less milkweed for hungry caterpillars and fewer nectar plants for fueling the butterfly's journey south.
A monarch waystation has everything the butterfly needs to thrive during the summer visit in its prime breeding territory. Monarch waystations look like flower gardens or prairies or the landscaping around a library. Colorful drifts of blossoms in a sunny location signal good eating to the adults and while they're feasting, females notice milkweed plants nearby where they can lay their eggs. A shallow dish of water or area of wet sand provides a place for drinking and the entire garden may be sheltered from wind with a few well placed shrubs. No pesticides are used and the area is maintained by pulling invasive weeds or if it's a prairie, it's burned after the monarchs leave.
In DuPage County, there are 173 waystations registered with Monarch Watch, a national conservation organization dedicated to research and preservation of monarchs. Most of the waystations are in private, backyard gardens but several are on public land or open to the public. DuPage Monarch Project has identified public waystations in Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn, Oak Brook, West Chicago and Wheaton offering examples of how monarch gardens can be an attractive addition to most landscapes and an opportunity to become familiar with the plants that are often included in one.
The details for the self-guided tour can be found at dupagemonarchs.com. Visiting a waystation may be the first step in joining the effort to ensure monarchs continue to make Illinois their summer destination for years to come.
Criteria for certifying a waystation with Monarch Watch can be found at www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/waystation_requirements.pdf.