A Flutter of Monarchs

Monday, April 7, 2025

Pollinator Powwow!

Saturday, April 12 at 1 pm. 4212 W. Streetsboro Rd, Richfield, OH

Join Robert Najjar, Master Beekeeper, Geoff Rapp, Fantastic Foragers and Wildflower Expert, and me for a hands-on presentation about our favorite pollinators. Geoff has a scavenger hunt planned through the Eastwood Preserve meadow and woods. We'll hunt for wildflowers! Honey and wildflower products will be on sale. FREE and open to the public.

Weather-permitting, we will meet outside of Eastwood House. If it rains (or snows!), the rain date is Saturday, April 26 at 1 pm.

Friday, March 28, 2025

Join us for the Third Annual Pollinator Powwow! Special presentation by master beekeeper, Robert Najjar, President of the Summit County Beekeepers Association. I will be talking about butterflies and moths and my fellow naturalist, Geoff Rapp, will talk about native wildflowers and their benefits to all of us.

Free and open to the public!

Saturday, April 12 at 1 pm

Eastwood Preserve in Richfield, Ohio

4712 W. Streetsboro Rd.

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Every year we try to bring the joy of butterfly rearing to our communities in the form of a butterfly camp. All ages attend from age 1 to 91, and there is so much to learn about these endangered creatures. This year at the Magical Butterfly Camp we had 32 people excited to share the magic of the metamorphosis of the monarch butterfly.

One of our youngest campers meeting a newly emerged female monarch.

Here I am explaining the importance of milkweed to the monarch caterpillar. Milkweed is the only host for monarch caterpillar and is being lost to over development and herbicides.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

We released 370 monarchs this summer! Thank you to all who helped raise these beautiful creatures.

Monday, October 15, 2018

This is one of the butterfly parasites--the tachnid fly. It lays its egg inside a caterpillar and the larva slowly eats the poor caterpillar from the inside out.
Note red eyes and prickly back.

My last 7 crysalises are awaiting good weather before the butterflies eclose (emerge). Meanwhile, this wooly bear caterpillar found a home in my garage after munching a final meal!