From Friends of Oregon Library:

OREGON (WIFR) -- Diane Roos once was asked by a friend to do some babysitting. The friend needed her monarch butterflies tended. That was ten years ago, but Roos has been taking care of that species of lepidopterans ever since. She will discuss her endeavors on Monday, July 26 at 6:30 P.M. at the United Methodist Church of Oregon in a presentation for the public, sponsored by Friends of the Library.

Roos’ home outside of Oregon has become a Waystation in the Monarch Watch program. She collects newly-laid eggs and holds them in tanks in her house and barn. When they hatch into caterpillars, she feeds them milkweed until they change into chrysalises. Then she continues to protect them until they are ready to spread their wings as the regal monarch butterfly.

Some of the butterflies will be tagged before they begin their September migration to forests in Mexico where they over-winter. Tagging information is used to track migration patterns and population trends. Two monarchs Roos tagged in 2003 were recovered in 2005 near El Rosario, Mexico, 1680 miles from Oregon.

In addition to caring for the different stages of the butterfly, Roos has also worked to grow enough host plants (for the eggs and caterpillars) and nectar plants (for the adults) on her property. She feels it is important to create and protect the environment for the monarch because its resources are declining. Habitat loss due to road-side mowing and chemical use, agricultural chemical herbicides and deforestation in Mexico has contributed to declining numbers of butterflies.

Roos will illustrate her talk with some of the equipment she uses to achieve her 95 to 97 percent survival rate of monarch caterpillars, three times higher than it would be in the wild. The program is free; donations will be gratefully accepted.