Monarch butterfly numbers are down a dramatic 90%. What’s to be done? The easy solution is plant milkweed.
Kay MacNeil, director of Milkweed for Monarchs, wants to distribute 10,000 seed packets this year! To get samples of three different kinds of milkweed and lots of information, send a stamped self addressed Business sized envelope and $3 cash donation to: Director Kay MacNeil, 689 Golf Club Ln., Frankfort, IL 60423. Kay also has seeds, 100 packets for $55 donation (including shipping).
Other options are to order asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) or asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) from a plant nursery.
There are compact Save Our Monarchs drop boxes, which hold milkweed seed packets, for free, but recipients must pay for shipping. You place them in libraries and businesses. You then can replace seeds and remove donations.
For more information contact Kay MacNeil at 815-469-1294, kaymac60423@yahoo.com, or visit
MilkweedForMonarchs.info.
—Kay MacNeil