A flower fit for a monarch

A flower fit for a monarch

Waterloo Region Record

By Editorial

A weed is merely a plant that grows where it is unwanted.

In the eyes of many farmers, according to conventional wisdom and until recently Ontario law, the common milkweed is what its name says it is — a weed, an enemy fit only to be destroyed.

But in the tiny eyes of the monarch butterfly, the milkweed is life. Adults drink nectar from its fragrant flowers. Females lay their eggs on the undersides of its leaves. And as for the caterpillars that will become the next generation of monarchs, the milkweed leaves are its sole source of nourishment.

No milkweed, no butterfly. Sadly, this scenario has been playing itself out in southern Ontario where, as both rural and urban communities waged war on the milkweed, the sight of the monarch, with its blazing orange wings, fluttering through the air has grown increasingly uncommon. These are remarkable creatures who each year, and over the course of generations, journey to and from Mexico. But their value goes beyond their beauty and charm. They are important in pollinating many plants.

Aware of the monarchs' decline, and eager to help them increase in numbers, humans have belatedly seen the value of the milkweed. Ontario removed it from its list of noxious weeds earlier this year. People are deliberately growing the plant in their gardens. And more monarchs are visiting us. Like beauty, what constitutes a weed is in the eye of the beholder.