Hurricane Florence Versus the Butterflies

With Hurricane Florence smashing into the East Coast of the US this week, just as Monarch butterflies are starting to migrate, I wondered how the insects would be affected by such a huge storm.  Would they be able to survive, or would this be a major setback for the struggling species?



Male monarch nectaring on a New York Aster

It's a little hard to tell right now of course, the storm only just arrived in the Carolinas today. But I found some anecdotal stories about how Monarch butterflies survived previous hurricanes that made me feel a little less anxious.


According to this post from Journey North, butterflies and caterpillars are likely to take shelter before a bad storm hits. Perhaps they can sense the sudden drop in pressure or something else that precedes the storm, and know to get out of the way. Another post on Journey North quotes Florida monarch-watcher Harlen Aschen, who says he's seen butterflies withstand even 50 mph winds, clinging to plant stems.


In 2015, Hurricane Patricia also smacked into Arizona just as the western population of monarchs was due to migrate through there. According to this news article from azcentral.com,  in a fortunate turn of events, the monarchs actually moved their path eastward, out of the way of the hurricane! Wow. That's pretty significant. Did they know to do that? Or were they just luckily and coincidentally blown off track? We don't really know.

So the biggest risk to butterflies from a major storm isn't likely to be of hurting the butterflies themselves, but instead destroying the habitat they depend on. If a lot of areas get flooded, nectar sources the butterflies need to fuel their migration could be hard to find.

So what can we do to help butterflies make it through hurricanes?  I found a few suggestions. Birds and Blooms magazine recommends we gardeners add lots of places in our yards for butterflies to find shelter. Strong tall plants for them to cling to, lots of loose earth and rotting leaves for caterpillars to hide in, and loose stone walls or log piles with lots of crevices into which butterflies can crawl. After the storm passes, if there was a lot of flooding in your area, the remaining nectar sources will probably be minimal, but butterflies will still be as hungry as ever. Since fall is a great time to plant anyway, why not add some additional late-blooming nectar sources to your yard, like goldenrod and asters? The more blossoms you can add to your yard after the hurricane, the better for any passing butterflies.


So get through this storm. Then once it passes, you can look for ways to help your local butterflies recover or to help protect them from the next storm. 
Be safe out there!