Celebrate the Butterflies

Freya Wellin, Chalet's Perennial Buyer has been busy raising butterflies all summer. They were released on September 11th to coordinate with the peak migration dates of Monarchs for this latitude and longitude.

Butterfly Release

A bevy of butterflies was released from their Chalet Nursery habitat to make their annual migration to Mexico. Chalet, a certified Monarch Watch Waystation, has been raising them since spring. Each was tagged and registered with the Monarch Watch organization so they can be tracked. Chalet Perennial Manger Freya Wellin raised them at home and later at the Chalet habitat, and has available a large and exclusive variety of milkweed plants (the only source of food for monarch caterpillars) to encourage people to help increase the monarch population.

Freya and Jennifer Brennan, Chalet’s Education Director, first gave a butterfly lecture to dozens of participants who then helped with the release. Participants were treated to a show when an adult butterfly emerged from its chrysalis.

Monarch populations have been declining for years. This is due to deforestation, because their food sources are drying up with the elimination of their natural habitats, and because of the use of herbicides and pesticides along their migration routes. Only 1% of monarch chrysalis, caterpillars and butterflies survive in the wild. It’s part of Chalet’s mission is to educate people on the importance of providing the right plants to ensure a flourishing future for our monarch butterflies.

Click here to see the photo gallery of the butterfly release, or click here to download information on finding the right plants to attract butterflies to your garden.