Fourteen-year-old twins Eva and Elizabeth Martina have been on the hunt this summer.
They regularly search through the backyard flower garden at their Irwin home for signs of monarch activity: a caterpillar with distinctive yellow, white and black rings munching on a milkweed plant; or a more advanced hanging chrysalis, preparing to transform into a regal orange-and-black butterfly.
The sisters have shared a lifelong interest in butterflies, originally raising the painted lady variety of the winged insect from a kit. But they’ve upped their game to provide particular appeal for migratory monarch butterflies and attract them to the Martina Monarch Haven.
“It was a lot of research,” Elizabeth Martina said, “making the monarchs know they can come back here year after year. You have to know what kinds of flowers they like, and you have to have a water source. Butterflies still need water.”
While milkweed is the preferred host plant for monarchs in their early stage of development, the adults can take sustenance from a variety of flowers.
“We’ve added zinnias, which are really pretty flowers, and coneflowers,” Eva Martina said.
The Martina family’s pollinator-friendly garden is one of more than 260 waystations established by residents and organizations throughout Westmoreland County as part of a campaign to expand local habitats where migrating monarch butterflies can thrive and reproduce before flying to Mexico for the winter.
The Westmoreland Pollinator Partners had a goal of enlisting 250 waystations in the county this year, in recognition of the county’s 250th anniversary. The group recently surpassed that goal, with 267 waystations at last count, and more expected to sign on.
The Penn State Extension Master Gardeners of Westmoreland County, Penguin Court and Brandywine Conservancy, Weeders and Seeders Garden Club of Ligonier, Greensburg Garden Center and Laurelville Retreat Center were among the organizations that helped the Westmoreland Pollinator Partners as it spread the word about the waystation program and provided related educational programming.
“I estimate we spoke one-to-one with over 1,000 people this spring and summer, and reached many more through publicity and social media,” said Deb Christopher, a master gardener and WPP member. “It’s gratifying to know it was worth the effort.”
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the monarch butterfly as a threatened species, with loss of habitat and exposure to chemicals among the hazards it faces.
Before the Martinas signed up for the monarch program, they’d already begun transforming their backyard into a paradise for pollinators, featuring native flowering plants to attract butterflies, bees and birds.
“We started it a couple of years ago as a pandemic project,” said mom Danae, who teaches English at Norwin High School. “We planted a couple of milkweed plants. We’ve been going to native plant sales and adding to it. Now it’s expanded across the back of our house.
“We also have a big (vegetable) garden and grape arbor. It’s nice to have the pollinators nearby for the garden plants.”
Dad Shawn pitches in to provide weed control. Since herbicides could harm beneficial insects, he uses a flame thrower to target unwanted vegetation.
“He hooks it up to a propane tank and uses it to burn the weeds down after a good hard rain,” Danae Martina said.
When the Martina sisters take stock of their garden, they come armed with a camera — capturing images they’ve translated into works of art they’ve entered in the county fair.
Elizabeth’s forte is paintings of birds. Eva works in mixed media, combining dried flowers with painted three-dimensional models of butterflies that she creates.
Eva has found that sketching butterflies from life isn’t practical. “I usually can’t get close enough to notice all of the details without them getting scared away,” she said. “Taking photos is normally easier.”
Sara Zacur got her family involved in creating a pollinator garden and monarch waystation to replace some “big ugly hedges” after they moved to their Murrysville home three years ago.
In addition to the Unity nursery where she works, Zacur goes “garden center-hopping” to find plants for her garden. Her husband, Rich, and their son, August, 6, sometimes help with the selection.
Among the plants they’ve added are various colored varieties of daisy-like coneflowers, also known as echinacea — which help to anchor the soil while attracting pollinators.
“It’s serving a purpose for us, it’s serving a purpose for Mother Nature, and it’s beautiful,” she said.
Zacur makes sure to have a mix of perennial and annual flowering plants that will bloom in succession from the spring through the fall so that visiting pollinators are never without a source of nectar. That includes white clover in the spring and black-eyed Susans in the summer; sedum, also known as stonecrop, that lasts into the fall.
Sara Zacur’s husband assists with the heavy lifting of digging up their hillside garden beds and helps her keep watch for the presence of pollinators.
“He’s my second set of eyes,” she said.
“My favorite butterfly is always going to be the monarch,” Zacur said. “It has such beautiful colors. My favorite caterpillar is the spicebush caterpillar. It almost looks like a tiny little snake; that’s its camouflage.”
While the county waystation goal has been reached, local efforts will continue to encourage residents to grow plants that support monarchs and other pollinators.
“We plan to continue our educational efforts with some virtual programming this winter and special events in the spring,” said Melissa Reckner, program manager at Penguin Court. “The importance of planting native flora for butterflies and all beneficial insects, including pollinators, will be emphasized. We can protect the butterflies we love by providing the habitat they need.”
