An important food source and breeding ground for monarch butterflies is the milkweed plant, which has been diminished do to pesticide use. These butterflies are pollinator which we require, as we do bees. The milkweed is the only place female monarch butterflies lay their eggs and the caterpillars feed off it.
In February and March, the final generation of hibernating monarch butterflies comes out of hibernation to find a mate. They then migrate north and east in order to find a place to lay their eggs. This starts stage one and generation one of the new year for the monarch butterfly. Each year the butterflies go through four generations. The fourth generation is born in September and October and goes through exactly the same process as the first, second and third generations except for one part. The fourth generation of monarch butterflies does not die after two to six weeks. Instead, this generation of monarch butterflies migrates
