The next generation of monarchs is coming! The migration entered six new states and the first Canadian province this week. Watch for sightings to surge – the population always swells during the second half of May and expands into most of the breeding range: http://ow.ly/xXOZ30k1TkW
Milkweed has also started coming up. If you have been wanting to start a pollinator garden, now would be a great time to plant some native wildflowers. Check your local nurseries and garden stores for plants like common milkweed, swamp milkweed, butterfly weed, purple coneflower, rattlesnake master, and black-eyed susan. Big or small, every pollinator garden helps. Even our staff at Spring Valley Wildlife Area converted a small area of lawn next to the parking lot to pollinator habitat (see photo below).
More information can be found in the publication Milkweeds and Monarchs: http://ow.ly/iKlS30k1V0I