It Flits in flight and always delights~The Monarch Butterfly!

Living by the Ohio River I get to delight in the fluttering wings of the Monarch as they fly by and sometimes land upon bright flowers. Declared the official butterfly of West Virginia on March 1, 1995. Its loyalty to the Ohio River banks always fascinates me. It brings the banks alive with its wings and orange colours. The monarch butterfly is sometimes called the "milkweed butterfly" because its larvae eat the plant. In fact, milkweed is the only thing the larvae can eat! If you'd like to attract monarchs to your garden, you can try planting milkweed. Once the larvae transform into the winged orange and black insect it sips nectar from flowers. At summer's end, migrates south to Mexico. The butterflies that you see in the spring are the great grandchildren of the ones that lived in Mexico during the winter.Click on the above/below banner to find out how to attract butterflies to your yard!