Lufkin Butterfly Volunteer Garden

07/24/2025

Anyone wanna trade different colors of day Lillies? My color is in the comments.

July is the time to divide these plants—give them space to thrive next season! Full article 👇 💬

07/07/2025

She is going to bloom any day now! I had the pleasure of seeing this live but not while it was bloomed years ago.

Experience the incredibly large, notoriously stinky co**se flower bloom!

06/30/2025

Love dragonflies

06/23/2025

A birdie was talking to a butterfly and heard things are about to start hopping again

04/22/2025

Pollinators suggestion however MOST are TOXIC to pets.

02/21/2025

If you do this post photos!

02/20/2025

Yay

02/07/2025

When we talk about “leave the leaves” what does that do?

Each community paves the way for the next to thrive, creating a chain reaction of habitat adaptation.

Leaf litter and humus layer boost sandy soil regeneration.

Consider this when planning your landscaping and before cleaning those garden beds.

12/18/2024

I would love to get the rearing of butterflies going however will take CONSISTANT volunteers to make it happen.

THE USFWS DECISION ON LISTING THE MONARCH AS 'THREATENED' UNPACKED AND IN DIGEST FORM: I promised a summary of yesterday's news and the most important thing to know is it won't affect our lives very much. You won't be arrested if you cut back your milkweed; you won't be arrested if you accidentally hit a monarch while driving; and the biggest take away of all is YOU WILL STILL BE ALLOWED TO REAR OR MOVE MONARCHS AROUND YOUR GARDEN OR HOME OR SHARE WITH OTHERS AS LONG AS IT'S FEWER THAN 250 A YEAR. Scenes like this pictured below can still happen.
How can that be if the species is listed under the ESA? The USFWS proposal includes many 4(d) exceptions. What is a 4(d) exception? The 4(d) rule allows the FWS to tailor their protections best for the animal. And in the case of a wide ranging animal that often uses farmland and private gardens this 4(d) rule is a good decision indeed. In a nut shell, after a 90 day comment period, and sometime later this year, protections to the monarch will prohibit transport, export, sales or 'takes', with the following exceptions, straight from the USFWS website:
-Activities that may maintain, enhance, remove or establish milkweed and nectar plants within the breeding and migratory range that do not result in conversion of native or naturalized grassland, shrubland or forested habitat
-Implementation of conservation plans developed by state or federal agencies
-Maintaining or improving monarch overwintering habitat in the United States when following an approved management plan
-Vehicle strikes
-*******Non-lethal collection, possession, captive-rearing, and release of 250 or fewer monarchs per year
-Non-lethal scientific research and educational activities involving 250 or fewer monarchs per year
-Possession of dead monarchs
-Sale of 250 or fewer captive-reared monarchs

I will write up a more detailed summary and get it out in newsletter form at some point over the next few days. There is a Zoom with the FWS January 14th at 6 PM to hear more and comment. Registration link in the comments below. I will be there ;)

10/25/2024

Update!! Still need SERIOUS volunteers for year round project of growing milkweed, and butterflies to release and track.

Report from Mexico from Journey North!! Monarchs are roosting only 400 miles from their overwintering sites. Will they make it by the Day of the Dead? Link to full report in the comments, excerpts here:
"Monarchs reaching Mexico, approaching overwintering sites
It’s only a matter of time until eastern monarchs begin to reach their overwintering sites. This weekend, we received our largest fall roost report from Mexico so far this season.
In San José de la Joya, Pedro Benjamín Dávila Valdés reported over 1,000 monarchs to Correo Real on Oct. 19 with a photo, which Correo Real shared with us in a Journey North report.
Just west of Monterrey, in García, Rigel Nava submitted a report to Correo Real on Oct. 20: 'On Sunday morning with thick fog, my fellow hikers and I headed to the Mota Chica Canyon Waterfall and, on our return at 3:30 p.m., we found a tree with a perch of 50 monarchs. It was still cloudy with a temperature of 20°C. Possibly the monarchs spent the night there and we saw them early in the morning due to fog and poor light.'
As the crow (or monarch) flies, San José de la Joya is only about 400 miles from the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, where monarchs could be arriving any day now."
I will keep you all posted of their progress and if they arrive right on schedule!

10/25/2024

I know folks are worried about curb appeal.... please resist the rake