I visited three western monarch overwintering sites. Two had very few butterflies. At Natural Bridges State Beach, there a few thousand. But there should have been tens of thousands.

Numbers were expected to be low, but seeing it reminds us how fragile recovery is.

#MonarchButterfly #PlantNatives

Winter strips the garden bare, but reveals its secrets.

An empty swallowtail and monarch chrysalis. Lives already lived.

But look closer, this is where spring begins.
A praying mantis egg case on a dead coneflower. Life tucked into hollow stems. Butterflies overwintering beneath the leaves.

Bittersweet milestone — As the 10 Million Trees in PA Project winds down, we picked up our last load of native tree saplings. 25 more are now in the ground, part of a growing habitat that will shelter wildlife for years to come. #Rewilding #NativeTrees #10MillionTrees #PAWildlife #plantnatives

From lawn to wildlife paradise! This 6×30 ft perimeter use to be lawn, now its full of native plants. Started this spring it already hosts caterpillars of tiger, spicebush & monarchs, plus birds & mammals. Converting a lawn edge is a simple step to boost wildlife! #BackyardWildlife #PlantNatives

I’ve seen more Monarch caterpillars and butterflies this year than in the past few seasons—my milkweed is full of them!These will become the migratory generation that overwinters in Mexico. Plant milkweed: every yard matters for Monarchs!
#plantnatives #rewilding #monarchbutterflies #milkweed

This 10×6 ft, 2 ft deep pond is alive with frogs, damselflies & dragonflies. Birds drink & butterflies puddle on the edges. No pumps—just plants! Don’t dig in existing wetlands—they’re already vital habitat. Small ponds = big biodiversity! #rewild #wildlifepond #plantnatives #nativegardening

Monarch caterpillars don’t just munch leaves—they love the flowers too! If you’re searching for them, check the blooms. Plant native milkweed. Rewild your yard. #MonarchButterfly #PlantMilkweed #Rewild #NativePlants #PollinatorGarden

These Monarch caterpillars are about to pupate! 🐛Want to help Monarchs? Plant native milkweed. Swamp Milkweed is my favorite—it’s native, beautiful, and won’t take over your garden like Common Milkweed.

#PlantMilkweed #Monarchs #NativePlants #rewilding #plantnatives #savethemonarchs

Every time I work in the woods I’m restoring… I feel like I’m being watched!
#nativeplants #rewild #rewilding #plantnatives #woodlandrestoration

Monarchs have just started laying eggs in my milkweed parches. Plant native milkweed to help—Swamp Milkweed is perfect for gardens and small spaces. Every backyard counts! Lets save the minarchs. #MonarchConservation #PlantMilkweed #monarchbutterfly #plantnatives

The Buttonbush: A Pollinator Powerhouse
Even as the blooms fade, my native Buttonbush is still swarming with pollinators—2 monarchs, 3 tiger swallowtails, a black swallowtail, silver-spotted skippers & more! Got a moist spot? Plant one. It’s also a host plant for several moths! #plantnatives

Native Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) is a pollinator powerhouse —host to 100+ butterfly & moth species! In summer, it feeds birds with berries, grows in sun or part shade, maxes out at ~12 ft, and forms thickets perfect for wildlife restoration #NativePlants #Pollinators #RewildYourYard

Just released this freshly eclosed Black Swallowtail!They’ve declined by over 30% in recent decades. Native host plants like golden alexanders support their life cycle—but they’ll also use herbs like parsley and fennel. Plant host plants!

#rewilding #butterflygarden #blackswallowtail #plantnatives

I happened to see a Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar feeding after a rain—normally they only come out at night! Once it had its fill, it crawled back into its leaf shelter. A reminder of how native host plants like Spicebush support the life cycle. If you plant it, they will come. #nativeplants

Not just for monarchs—milkweed is a nectar magnet!

Here’s a Great Spangled Fritillary on Common Milkweed. For small gardens, try Swamp or Showy Milkweed—less aggressive, just as vital.

Milkweed - A host plant for monarchs and a powerhouse for other pollinators!

#Pollinators #NativePlants
#rewild

We’ve lost 1 in 5 butterflies in the U.S. since 2000.
More than 40% of species studied declined by 50% or more.

But there’s hope.
The Xerces State of the Butterflies report outlines how we can turn this around—starting in our own yards and communities.

Read the report:

xerces.org/press/as-us-...

It all starts here! At just 2mm long, I spotted this freshly hatched Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar. It is already on its journey to becoming a beautiful butterfly. Its host plant? Spicebush. Want these butterflies in your yard? Plant natives.
#SpicebushSwallowtail #PlantNatives #BackyardWildlife

Found tiny Spicebush and Black Swallowtail caterpillars this morning—already hatching and feeding!
The Spicebush cats are right at home on our native spicebush.

Plant host plants. Butterflies can’t raise young without them.

#Rewild #NativePlants #Butterflies #SpicebushSwallowtail #swallowtail

Found this Curve-toothed Geometer caterpillar (Eutrapela clemataria) on my Dwarf Chinkapin Oak! It’s likely looking for a spot to chrysalis. It’ll become a big, beautiful geometer moth. A generalist, but favors cherry family trees.

Plant natives and they will come.

#NativePlants #WildlifeGarden

This Spicebush Swallowtail just emerged—one that overwintered from last fall in my outdoor butterfly tent! I’ve planted Spicebush-Lindera benzoin-their host plant around the area to increase their numbers. it’s working. Native plants bring wildlife back. #Rewild #SpicebushSwallowtail #NativePlants

Dicentra eximia (Fringed Bleeding Heart) blooming now in my woodland! Native to the Appalachians, it supports bees, hummingbirds, and more. A true conservation plant — far better than the non-native kind. Plant these instead of Chinese Bleeding Heart. #NativePlants #Rewild #DicentraEximia #rewilding

Fleabane’s Time to Shine

The early spring flowers are done, and the elderberries and viburnums are still waiting in the wings—
But native fleabane is blooming strong.
Often called a weed, but right now it’s feeding bees, flies, and beetles when little else is.

#NativePlants #Fleabane #Rewild

Got free native trees from PA’s Invasive Replace-ive Program! They’ll go into our rewilding sites to replace invasives with habitat-supporting natives. Love seeing local ecosystems get a boost.
#Rewilding #NativePlants #HabitatRestoration

Just spotted the first little blooms on my Woolly Dutchman’s Pipevine!

It’s the host plant for the beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail — no pipevine, no butterflies.
Got a trellis? Plant pipevine. Got a woodland? Try Virginia Snakeroot.
Support native pollinators!

#nativeplants #rewild #butterflygarden

Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) is my favorite spring ephemeral — it’s always a little elusive, hidden in the shade until you stumble across it.

Native plants like this are vital for wildlife, feeding pollinators in spring and birds later with their berries.

Protect wild places.

It’s not time to remove the leaves yet if you live in the Northeast US. These are chrysalises of a Pipevine Swallowtails. Most insects overwinter in leaf litter or debris. My rule: wait until you see Swallowtails flying. That’s nature’s signal the insect world is waking up. #LeaveTheLeaves #rewild

Mayapples are popping up! A spring woodland native with umbrella-like leaves, perfect for shade. Ephemeral, unique, and a favorite of box turtles when fruit ripens. Great for natural ground cover, early-season biodiversity for shaded restoration spaces. #Mayapple #NativePlants #TurtleHabitat #rewild

Redbud & Serviceberry—two spring-blooming natives that look stunning together! Purple + white blooms, early nectar for pollinators, and berries & caterpillars for wildlife. Perfect for woodland edges, gardens, or naturalized spaces. Beauty + biodiversity! #NativePlants #Redbud #Serviceberry #rewild

Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is one of the first native shrubs to bloom in spring! Now’s the time to tell male from female (see the images for the difference)—both are needed for berries that feed wildlife. Also a host plant for the beautiful Spicebush Swallowtail! #NativePlants #WildlifeGarden

First red-backed salamander of the season! On warm rainy Spring days, they start appearing in the leaf litter. They’re rarely seen but common in healthy woodlands. They are also very territorial—if you find one, don’t move it.

Here’s to the hidden life of the forest waking up for spring!