The Monarch butterfly inspired me to plant a butterfly garden. They glide through the air, showing off like no other butterfly in my garden. Monarchs are from the Nymphaldae family. They need milkweeds, living in the area corn and soybeans are grown, our farmers find milkweed the crop enemy. They spray every bit of land, from the land and the air to kill insects and they are killing my butterflies. I work very hard to keep a landing site for the Monarchs.

How these tiny insects manage to come from down from Canada land here in Illinois and then maneuver a magical migrate to the twelve mountain tops of the highlands of Mexico, is really a miracle.

Science currently -=does not understands how the Monarchs manage to navigate their way. Some believe flight is based on magnetic field lines.

They have tried moving them to other locations, states far away, from where they came from.

Yet the magical Monarch manages to find its way to Mexico. A two thousand mile journey. A mystic journey that - goes through four generations of reproduction to find its way back to Canada, in the spring.

Sixty thousand visitors go to Pismo Beach, CA a year to see the Mystic Monarch come in the tens of thousands.

The land where they go to sleep the winter, for nearly five months rarely leaving the huddle to just drink a bit of water and sip some nectar. The site they go to keep alive

Is high in the mountains of Mexico. The land is currently== endangered from illegal logging, the destruction of trees. The land was put in protection.

Protection. Nevertheless, due to hunger and starvation of people desperate to make a living, the logging has not stopped. In addition, they do not have the recourses to police it. The Monarch is just another example of a species, which may face mass extinction, if we all do not do something to save the Monarchs.

The people of the land of Mexico celebrate the coming of the Monarch, with a great feast.

Flaming the air with fireworks and fun, including tourism-(some manage to make a few bucks) from people who come from everywhere to see tens of thousands of magical Monarchs flying through the air. The species used to count more in the hundreds of thousands perhaps millions more than we are seeing today. I can vouch for the fact I am not seeing enough Monarchs. In 1983 the IUCN Invertebrate Red Book, designated the Monarch migration as a threatened species.

The natives of Mexico believe: Monarchs carry the spirits of the dead in them. Giving their dead relatives peace in their voyage to their land.

PBS just aired a documentary on the Monarchs; I watched it last night on January 27,

2009. I hope they air this awesome documentary again. It was beautiful and educational.

I never knew they slept all huddled together through the winter, resting for a long voyage to reproduce. They have selected areas, where they reproduce.

I make sure our land has the common plants they need to grow and survive on my prairie grass set aside in nature to grow butterflies, feed the deer, save the pheasants and keep the little scrape of land I live on-in au natural.

I noticed my Monarch count was going down, not up. Every year their numbers seemed to decrease, and it worried me. I decided they needed more help. In my quest as an environmentalist if there is anything I have learned is, start at home. I cannot control everyone that dedicates their yard to finely shaved green grass and shrubs, and spraying toxic chemicals! For me spraying a dandelion always meant I was most likely killing something that needed it.

Dandelions really are not so bad; I have seen many a butterfly lie on them.

The Monarch is the shyest butterfly in my garden; they seem to put on a show and really perform when I do not have my camera. I think they have a brain, and while they may be small, they are one of the largest butterflies.

Viceroy has appeared to look-like, are similar to Monarchs, and are often mistaken for them. A Viceroy has an extra stripe across its hind wing.

Female Monarchs have darker veins. Males have a spot on the hind wing. Which pheromones are released to lure in reproduction. The males are slightly larger.

The Monarch copulation lasts sixteen hours. They fly through the air slightly nudging each other. Then couple backwards. Sitting in that position for many hours the male transfers his nutrients plus the sperm. The female uses these nutrients to produce eggs.

I love butterflies; in fact, I find anything that flies mystical.

Some Monarchs continuously breed in populations that exist in the New World Tropics and the Caribbean; these Monarchs do not have to migrate- in these areas to survive.

Even, scientist and biologist are amazed at how these little insects manage the feat of flying. Their wings are not designed the most aerodynamic but yet they manage to find the back draft to fly and fly

I am always amazed when my Monarchs arrive; they seem to come in waves.

They are not very easy to photograph. For example, my painted lady butterflies will pose endlessly, the Monarchs seem to glide away from my camera and it is a rare photograph to find the perfect Monarch photo shot. I do have some great photos of Monarchs

On my photography test site.

At http://imageevent.com/adoll4ever. There are many beautiful photos of Monarchs online. I just wrote this to remind you not all, if you see a milk pod, think of it as a weed think of it as a magical mystic flower that will bring you Monarchs.

Hi, my name is Terri Jacobus. I am a toy and doll designer, my life has been devoted to the rights of children and the environment. I am an online to help save the planet..

While the butterflies may not seem the most important thing to you, each species is a link to another. We have our bee’s dying and I feel saving species starts with every one of us. Plant a butterfly garden, if you have a yard. It is as easy as taking a ten by ten space and just letting the weeds grow in it and a package of butterfly flower seeds is very inexpensive. Please think of not only the butterflies but if we all continue this pattern, perhaps Monarch pictures is all we will have left of the most magical butterfly we have the Monarch. 10:04am

Edit 07-01-09

Thanks for reading!