Love Me to Death

Dear Friend,

I am a Monarch butterfly.  Apparently you are loving me to death.  I am not supposed to feed and mate year round.  I am supposed to migrate in the fall, rest in the winter, and send my offspring back to you in the spring.

I know you mean well.  I am not angry with you.  Our population has been dwindling for years because our food source is disappearing.  You’re growing food for my children because others are destroying it with weed killers and pesticides.  You want to see me survive.  I am a reminder of the simple joys in life.  I am evidence that change is wonderous and beautiful.  Because of me you stop and watch and breath and for a moment you forget your crazy life.  With me you are present in the here and now.  To lose me forever would be heartbreaking.  I too would miss you and your kindnesses.

I bet you didn’t know this, but the easiest and most accessible Milkweed plant to grow is the Tropical variety.  I confess, it’s also my favorite.  But unlike Milkweed that is native to your area, it doesn’t die back in winter.  It grows and grows and grows.

We can become infected by parasites just like humans.  Our nemesis is a parasite called OE.  I am the carrier; the OE spores catch a ride on my wings.  I scatter them when I flutter about laying eggs on your Milkweed plants.  The spores are ingested when my children and the children of other Monarchs eat the leaves.  Many will die before ever becoming a butterfly.  But don’t congratulate our survivors because they live shorter lives and often have difficulty flying.  More importantly they are infected; they are carriers.  It’s a harsh world we live in.  Survival of the fittest really is the survival of our species.

But I digress.  You’re wondering what this has to do with my annual migration.  If you had a year round food source would you leave the comfort of your home?  Heck no!  But recent studies show I need to leave to stop the spread of OE.  The weak and the infected will not survive the trip.  Monarchs that arrive safely at their overwintering site, that awake in spring to mate, will be healthy.  If I’m a carrier and I don’t leave, I pass the spores on, perpetuating a deadly cycle.

You know how it is when someone hands you food on a plate.  I know you can appreciate the desire to take the easy road.  So let’s help each other.  I’m not asking you to remove all your Tropical Milkweed.  Just cut it back in the fall and winter.  If you want to plant more Milkweed, plant a native variety, one that dies back in the off-season.  If there’s no food, I have to go.

Talk about a harsh reality.  It could be me.  I could be a carrier.  I could be signing my own death warrant writing this letter.  I could, in fact, be asking you to love me to death.  But if you do, others will survive.

Sincerely,
The Muse

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