Canada: Monarch butterfly lands in Saskatoon community garden after years of trying to attract the majestic insect
Canadian government lists the monarch butterfly as a “species of special concern”
By Theresa Kliem
CBC News
Aug 15, 2021
Excerpt:
“We finally had a sighting here last week of a beautiful female monarch butterfly,” said Blair McCann, a board member at the community garden and president of the Saskatoon Nature Society.
“These butterflies are spectacular. They’re kind of the poster child of the butterfly world.”
The Canadian government lists the monarch butterfly as a “species of special concern” under the federal Species at Risk Act.
When the garden was established in 2010, the group wanted to provide a good environment for pollinator insects, said McCann, so the group planted a lot of different flowers.
They added milkweed to the mix in 2017 to attract monarch butterflies, since milkweed provides a great nursery for monarch eggs.
Milkweed plants are the only spot the adults will lay their eggs on.
While he wasn’t first one to spot the insect at the Varsity View Bishop Murray Community Garden, he was very excited when he heard the news.
