We made it through January (the coldest, longest month in my opinion) and there is hope! Spring is only a few months away – sooner for some of you in the South.

It’s time to start the tropical milkweed seeds so they are a decent size when the weather warms up. I will begin mine soon.

Check out my “Tips and Questions” page for some interesting facts, tips and questions from my readers. I am sure some of you can add some of your own comments and answers to these questions – please do so! I know that many of you have a lot of experience raising butterflies.

My goal is to keep you up-to-date on what is new at Glorious Butterfly and in the “world of butterflies”! Look for a new issue the first week of each month….

ENJOY!

Karen

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What's New? - Chrysalis falls on ground & Southern native plants

Butterfly News - Larger monarch wings & NYC butterfly conservatory

Everything Butterflies - Antique & vintage butterfly jewelry

Teacher’s Corner - Butterfly lesson plans & bulletin boards

In the Butterfly Garden - Best butterfly plants from seed

What’s New

One of my readers found a chrysalis that had fallen on the ground. Check out a couple of ideas to try and save the chrysalis. Add a comment with your own experiences and ideas for “fallen chrysalis”.

Dr. Charles Allen contacted me after visiting GloriousButterfly.com to share the website he created. Check it out – it focuses on Native Plants in Louisiana.

Butterflies in the News

Here is an interesting article about Monarch Butterfly wings having evolved larger in size over the years to help with migration.

Interested in science?? Check out this science blog with detailed scientific information and experiments into how Monarchs migrate. It includes an interesting video on the Monarch migration.

If you live in New York City or plan a visit there sometime soon check out the Butterfly Conservatory at the American Museum of Natural history. What a great way to escape the cold winter weather and see some beautiful tropical butterflies.

Everything Butterflies

Do you enjoy “old” things? Check out these unique pieces of vintage and antique butterfly jewelry.

If you have children and they love butterflies, how about a butterfly birthday party when it is time to celebrate.

Teacher’s Butterfly Corner

Check out my butterfly lesson plans for an interesting science unit before you try raising butterflies in the classroom.

Also, consider making a butterfly bulletin board with these easy ideas. Or, have the students draw their own pictures of the stages of the butterfly and create a unique bulletin board with their artwork.

In the Butterfly Garden

It is time to start some seeds for your butterfly garden. The best monarch butterfly plant in my opinion is tropical milkweed. It is so easy to start from seed! It takes a few months to get big enough for the monarchs, so now would be a good time to plant your seeds.

One of the best nectar flowers, in my opinion, is zinnia. Monarchs and Swallowtails especially love the Zinnia Elegans. Zinnia are super easy to start from seed. They don’t take long to germinate and grow pretty quickly.

Do you have a hobby that you would like to turn into a business? That's exactly what I did with this website. I am using what I found to be the very best tool available! Check out these people’s stories to find out more.