Birchwood Butterfly Ranch

06/22/2026

🎉🐝🌼 HAPPY POLLINATOR WEEK FROM THE BIRCHWOOD BUTTERFLY RANCH! 🌼🦋🎉

It's officially Pollinator Week, and we're celebrating some of the hardest-working (and cutest) creatures on the planet! 💛 (yup...even you bats!)

Did you know...

🦋 1. A monarch butterfly may travel up to 3,000 miles during migration. That's like flying from Wisconsin to California on wings as thin as paper!

🐝 2. About one out of every three bites of food we eat is thanks to pollinators. You can thank a bee, butterfly, hummingbird, bat, beetle, or fly for that next strawberry. 🍓

🦋 3. Monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed. They're basically the pickiest eaters in the insect world.

🐝 4. A honey bee visits up to 5,000 flowers in a single day. Talk about a busy schedule! 🌸

🌙🦇 5. Bats are important nighttime pollinators! They help pollinate plants like agave, bananas, mangoes, and dragon fruit. (If you love tequila, cheers a bat!)

❤️🦋 6. Monarch butterflies taste with their feet. Before laying an egg, a female "tastes" the milkweed to make sure it's the right plant for her babies.

🚁🐦 7. Hummingbirds can flap their wings up to 80 times per second and are some of the most efficient pollinators around.

🐝 8. Bumble bees can perform "buzz pollination," vibrating flowers so pollen is released like a tiny pollen explosion! 💥🌼

🦋 9. Monarch butterflies go through one of nature's most incredible transformations: egg ➡️ caterpillar ➡️ chrysalis ➡️ butterfly.

🌎 10. More than 75% of flowering plants rely on animal pollinators to reproduce. Without pollinators, our landscapes would look very different.

The truth is, pollinators keep ecosystems healthy, support wildlife, and help put food on our tables. They're small creatures doing some very big jobs. 💛

And the good news? Every one of us can help by planting native flowers, reducing pesticide use, leaving a little wild space, and supporting pollinator habitat.

🌻🐝🦋 Stay tuned tomorrow! The BBR is having some very special visitors from the Birchwood community come to the ranch to help us celebrate!

What's your favorite pollinator and why? Tell us in the comments! ⬇️

06/20/2026

Here's a cheers to the people who slow down.

The people who pause on a trail because they spotted a tiny frog. 🐸

The people who stop to admire a butterfly landing on a flower, a bee covered in pollen, or a caterpillar quietly going about its day. 🦋🐝🐛

The people who understand that nature isn't just something to look at—it's something to respect, protect, and learn from. ❤️

The people who leave wild places a little better than they found them. Who plant native flowers. Who rescue turtles from the road. Who teach their children to be curious instead of fearful. Who recognize that even the smallest creatures have a role to play.

In a world that constantly encourages us to move faster, consume more, and pay attention to bigger things, there is something profoundly beautiful about choosing to notice the little things.

Because when you truly slow down and pay attention, you begin to see that we're not separate from nature—we're part of it. 🌎✨

Every butterfly, every bird, every bee, every tree, every wildflower, and every person is connected in ways we're still learning to understand.

And maybe that's where the real magic lives.

So here's to the observers. The protectors. The gardeners. The wanderers. The nature lovers. The people who still find awe in a caterpillar, joy in birdsong, and hope in a patch of milkweed.

The world needs more of you. 🌿💚

Happy first day of summer! - Danielle at the BBR

06/17/2026

Meanwhile, back at the ranch… it’s not just butterflies keeping us busy! 🦋

🌅 Morning walk with the Pollinating Pointers: Ernie’s on a mission—frog hunting extraordinaire! 🐶🐸

🐔 Coop upgrade! Our laying hens are living in style with their new decorations. Bonus: 7 fuzzy new chicks! 🐥✨

🌸 Garden vibes: My mom and I planted a little pollinator-friendly paradise in the front entryway to our house. Check out the deep purple iris with that bold orange flair! 🌺🧡

🦎 Surprise guest: I found a tiny salamander while landscaping—nature’s little wonders! I love finding these little guys and finding them new safe homes. 🌿

🧄 First garlic scapes are in! Hanky and I are harvesting—and planning for scape pesto already. 🧄🐕

Life at Birchwood Butterfly Ranch is full of projects and surprises—beyond the butterflies! 🌼

Hope you all have a wonderful day! - Danielle

06/15/2026

06/15/2026

🐛💔 Nature can be tough to watch sometimes.

This morning during one of my Monarch Larva Monitoring Project outings, I captured something I've never photographed before: one of the monarch caterpillar's natural predators in action.

Meet the stink bug. 😬

While many people think of stink bugs as harmless garden visitors, some species are actually predators. They use a long, needle-like mouthpart called a proboscis to pierce their prey, inject digestive enzymes, and then...well...let's just say they sip up the liquefied insides like a milkshake through a straw. Nature doesn't always sugarcoat things. 😳

As heartbreaking as it was to see one of our monarch caterpillars become lunch, this is also an important reminder that monarchs don't just face challenges from habitat loss and pesticides. They also contend with predators, parasites, weather, and countless other natural obstacles.

The good news? The monarch population in our front monitoring area is looking fantastic! 🎉

In that one section alone, I counted 36 monarch caterpillars this morning across multiple stages of development. That's incredibly encouraging and a sign that the habitat is doing exactly what it's meant to do.

One of my favorite parts of monitoring is discovering all the life that depends on milkweed. It's so much more than a monarch plant. Today alone I found spiders, aphids, ants, beetles, other caterpillars, butterflies, and have found tiny tree frogs tucked inside the leaves before. 🐸🕷️🦋

So yes, I was a little disheartened by today's discovery. And yes, I now have to resist the urge to flick every stink bug I see off a milkweed plant. 😂

But this is exactly why we monitor. We get a front-row seat to the real story unfolding in nature—the triumphs, the challenges, and everything in between.

Stay tuned! I'll be sharing more photos from today's monitoring adventure soon. 📸💚

06/11/2026

👋 Danielle here!

During my morning walk with Hank and Ernie yesterday, I spotted this tiny monarch caterpillar curled up into the cutest little ball on a milkweed leaf.

My first thought?

"Awwww... somebody is taking a nap." 🐛💤

My second thought?

"Wait... do caterpillars actually sleep?"

As it turns out, monarch caterpillars don't technically sleep the way we do. Scientists believe they enter periods of rest and reduced activity instead. They'll stop munching on milkweed for a bit, stay very still, and conserve energy before getting back to the very important business of eating their body weight in leaves. 🌿😆

Now, the more likely explanation for this little one's position is that it saw (or heard) me coming and curled up defensively. When monarch caterpillars feel threatened, they often tuck themselves into a tight little ball to protect themselves.

So while it may have been practicing good predator-avoidance skills, I'm choosing to believe I interrupted a very important "cat nap."

(Caterpillar nap. You're welcome. 😏)

One of my favorite things about the Birchwood Butterfly Ranch is that even after years of watching monarchs, they still surprise me. Every walk with the dogs seems to come with a new observation, a new question, or a tiny moment that makes me stop and smile.

Nature has a funny way of doing that. 💚🦋

Have you ever spotted a caterpillar doing something that made you laugh or scratch your head? We'd love to hear about it—or better yet, see the photo! 👇

🐛💤🌿🦋

06/09/2026

🦋🐛 PHOTO DUMP: Monarch Babies of the BBR! 🐛🦋

If you've followed Birchwood Butterfly Ranch for any length of time, you know that finding monarch eggs and caterpillars never gets old around here. But this week's discoveries felt especially exciting. 💚

This Sunday, Danielle completed her very first official monitoring session for the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP), and she was thrilled to find monarch caterpillars at multiple stages of development throughout the habitat. From tiny little first instars to larger, hungry caterpillars munching away on milkweed, there were signs of monarch success everywhere she looked! 🌿

What's especially encouraging is that many monarch enthusiasts across Wisconsin have been reporting low numbers so far this season. In fact, Danielle spent the weekend at a Monarch Ambassador training in Stevens Point and didn't see a single monarch butterfly or caterpillar at the beautiful nature preserve where the training was held.

That's why these sightings at the BBR feel so hopeful. 🦋✨

Of course, it's still early, and nature always keeps us humble. But seeing so many healthy caterpillars thriving in their natural habitat reminds us why creating and protecting pollinator habitat matters.

Now we're curious...

👀 What are you seeing in your neck of the woods?

Have you spotted any monarchs yet?
Found eggs or caterpillars on your milkweed?
Seeing lots of butterflies—or not many at all?

Drop your sightings, numbers, and photos in the comments! We'd love to compare notes from around Wisconsin and beyond.

We'll keep you posted on what we find each week at the BBR! 💚

06/08/2026

🦋✨ BIG weekend at the Birchwood Butterfly Ranch! ✨🦋

Danielle checked off TWO exciting monarch milestones this weekend!

First, she attended a special training through the Wisconsin Master Naturalist program and officially became a Certified Monarch Ambassador! 🎉🦋 As a Wisconsin Master Naturalist for the past 4 years, she's excited to use this training to help educate others about the incredible biology and migration of the monarch butterfly, as well as simple ways we can all help create habitat and support pollinators. 🌼🐝

Second, Danielle completed her very first official monitoring session for the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP)! 🔎📋 Throughout the season, she'll be monitoring three sites at the BBR and tracking monarch eggs, caterpillars, and adult butterflies as part of this important citizen science project.

And the best news? There were monarch babies EVERYWHERE! 🤩🐛

Danielle found caterpillars at multiple stages of development (called instars), bringing lots of hope for monarch numbers this year. The swamp milkweed is blooming, the field is turning lush and green, and the habitat is buzzing with life. 🌿💚

We'll be sharing weekly monitoring updates all season long, so stay tuned to follow the monarchs' progress with us! 🦋

A huge THANK YOU to our amazing Pollinator Pack members. Your support helps us maintain and continue building habitat for monarchs and other pollinators right here at the BBR. 💛

Send a message to learn more

06/05/2026

🚨 Monarch lovers, this is important! 🚨

Did you know researchers recently tested milkweed sold at retail garden centers and found an average of 61 different pesticide compounds per plant? 😳

Think about that for a second. You're buying milkweed because you want to HELP monarchs... but some of those plants may actually expose butterflies and caterpillars to chemicals that can negatively impact their health.

The good news? Wisconsin is stepping up! 🎉

The Wisconsin Monarch Collaborative recently launched its Safe for Monarchs program, which certifies nurseries that grow milkweed and native nectar plants without harmful pesticides. If you're shopping for pollinator plants, keep an eye out for the Safe for Monarchs logo! 🦋💚

At Birchwood Butterfly Ranch, this has always been one of our core values. Our habitat is completely chemical-free, giving monarchs and other pollinators a safe place to feed, lay eggs, and complete their incredible life cycle.

And speaking of milkweed... 🌱

Every fall, we collect our own Common Milkweed and Swamp Milkweed seeds right here on the ranch and share them with our Pollinator Pack members! It's one of our favorite ways to help create more monarch habitat across Wisconsin and beyond.

Want first dibs on future seed giveaways and all the latest monarch news from the ranch? Be sure to sign up for our email newsletter, The Flutter Files! 📰🦋
https://birchwoodbutterflyranch.com/newsletter/

As for what's happening on the ranch right now... the milkweed is up and growing beautifully! Danielle just completed her training with the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP), and we're eagerly monitoring plants for those first precious monarch eggs and larvae. 💚

If you're planting for monarchs this year:

✅ Look for Safe for Monarchs certified plants
✅ Avoid pesticide-treated milkweed
✅ Plant native nectar sources
✅ Share milkweed seeds with friends
✅ Support local monarch habitat efforts

Tag a friend who plants milkweed—they need to know this! 👇🦋

🦋🌱💚