MARSHFIELD, WI (OnFocus) – What started as a rescue mission has turned into triumph for a Monarch butterfly in Marshfield.
The butterfly was found by the head of Marshfield Monarchs, Melissa Gwiazda. She found the butterfly as a 3rd instar caterpillar in a patch of milkweed plants that had been sprayed by weed killer. He was about halfway through his caterpillar life cycle and two weeks old when Gwiazda found him.
Two weeks filled with careful feeding and then another two weeks of watching the butterfly in chrysalis form eventually resulted in the butterfly’s revival.
The area was traditionally one that sprouted many milkweed plants allowing Monarchs to thrive in the area. It has now been destroyed and this butterfly, affectionately named “Bret Michaels” after the lead singer of the band “Poison”, was one of the lone survivors.
Gwiazda said there wasn’t a lot of hope for the sick caterpillar to make it but with some TLC, the group was able to help him out.
“We really didn’t have high hopes for him but we brought him home and gave him good milkweed and kept him isolated from all the others,” Gwiazda said. “When he made it past the 1st few days I was excited and even more excited when he made his chrysalis.”
Gwiazda said she tagged the butterfly and took his picture before releasing him into the wild where he took off and seemed to have made a 100% recovery.
“He appeared as a handsome migrator butterfly and was tagged with a Monarch Watch tag which if he is found we will be able to see how far he went,” Gwiazda said. “We have no doubts that he will thrive and migrate with the rest of his ‘band mates’.”
Gwiazda recommended that if you or someone you know are trying to get rid of a milkweed plant, you can safely transplant the plant to a different location or dig up the plant and till the soil. Using weed killer on the plant is discouraged as it could harm the life that is on the plant as well, including caterpillars.
“Bret Michaels'” recovery has been only one of the thousands of success stories that Marshfield Monarchs has achieved this year. Gwiazda said they have released over 3,000 Monarchs into the wild this season and have helped plant over $3,000 worth of plants in habitats around Marshfield.
The group plans to build a new exhibit at Hamus Park and is currently getting shirts made as a fundraiser for that project and other future projects.
Check out Marshfield Monarchs on Facebook for more information.
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