Attention: There will be no program meeting in April.

 * In case of rain the event will take place the following day, Sunday April 26.
 Detailed map below:

Stock up on Monarch Snacks! - Plant Prairie Flowers

It’s coming up on spring here in northern Illinois. My partner and I live in Bull Valley. We already know what squirrels and turkeys love - sunflower seeds and peanuts! Our woodpeckers, doves, chickadees, and robins are also big peanut fans. 

But what do our soon to arrive monarchs like? Here are some of their favorite foods. Monarchs love common milkweed.

Monarchs choose common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) because it is one of the sole host plants their caterpillars can eat to survive.

Monarchs can actually lay their eggs on over 70 different species of milkweed across North America.

Other common host plants for larvae include these on this chart.

• Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) The most widely available and used by monarchs in the Midwest. It is incredibly hardy and thrives in full sun and various soil types.

• Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) A favorite for egg-laying, it features fragrant rose-pink flowers. It is ideal for moist or wet soils and works in rain gardens.

• Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) Known for its vibrant orange flowers, it prefers dry, sunny locations and is a smaller, well-behaved choice for formal gardens.

• Prairie Milkweed (Asclepias sullivantii) Similiar to common milkweed but less aggressive and better suited for garden settings with rich, loamy soil.

• Polk Milkweed (Asclepias exaltata) A unique choice for partially shaded or woodland gardens, featuring drooping white flowers.

• Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) Features thin, needle-like leaves and late-season white blooms, making it great for extending the breeding season.

The point is that monarchs need a plant in the Asclepias genus to lay their eggs on. Nothing else will do.

Milkweed leaves provide all the essential nourishment monarch caterpillars need to grow at an extraordinary rate. Monarch caterpillars are milkweed specialists. The caterpillars eat only milkweed. They voraciously consume the leaves, but they will also eat the stems, flowers, and even seed pods.

In just 10 to 14 days, a monarch caterpillar increases its body mass by nearly 2,000 to 2,700 times its original hatching weight. To achieve this growth, a single caterpillar typically consumes roughly 200 times its own weight in milkweed leaves. This constant gorging provides the energy and nutrients required for the larva to progress through five distinct growth stages, known as instars, before forming a chrysalis.

• First Instar (2-6 mm): Newly hatched and almost translucent with a solid black head. It has tiny, barely visible "nubbies" instead of long filaments

• Second Instar (6-9 mm): The signature yellow, black, and white stripes appear. The front filaments are visible but shorter than the length of the head.

• Third Instar (10-14 mm): The stripes become more distinct. The front filaments are now roughly the same length as the head.

• Fourth Instar (13-25 mm): The caterpillar grows significantly larger. The front filaments extend well beyond the head and may have a slight bend.

• Fifth Instar (25-48 mm): The final larval stage. The filaments are much longer than the head, often appearing in an "S" shape or touching the ground. At the end of this stage, it will find a spot to spin a silk pad and hang in a "J" shape to pupate.

Beyond being a necessary food source and habitat for eggs, many milkweeds provide a powerful biological defense for the next generation. Many milkweeds contain toxic compounds called cardenolides (cardiac glycosides). Monarch caterpillars are immune to these toxins. They ingest and store them in their bodies, making both the larvae and the future adult butterflies poisonous and unpalatable to predators like birds.

Once adults, monarchs will also get nutrition from other plants including these which are arranged in the order they bloom. The idea is to have monarch food ready from April to October.

Nectar Plants  (For Adult Butterflies)

• Wild Blue Phlox   (Blooms  April-June)

• Golden Alexanders (Blooms  May - June)

• Wild Lupine (Blooms May-June)

• Purple Coneflower (Blooms June - August)

• Black-eyed Susan (Blooms June-September)

• Wild Bergamot (Blooms July-August)

• Joe Pye Weed (Blooms July-September)

• Blazing Star (Blooms July-September)

• Ironweeds (Blooms July-September)

• Goldenrods (Blooms August-October)

• Asters (Blooms August-October)

To help support these butterflies, you can find regional seeds through the Xerces Society Milkweed Seed Finder or purchase native varieties from specialized nurseries.

Plastics Reduction Petition

The Coalition for Plastics Reduction (CPR) is petitioning for phasing out the use of single-use plastics and polystyrene foam.

Not only are there better alternatives available, but these plastics harm our health and environment. Further information can be founs on CPR's  letter of support to the General Assembly.

This letter is a show of support by local businesses in conjunction with CPR. IF you DO own a restaurant or know someone who does, you can sign on to this petition here.

If you do NOT own a restaurant, but would still like to participate, you can contact local restaurants using the information and template located here.

If you are in Illinois District 44 (represented by Representative Crespo) we especially encourage you to reach out to local restaurants! This is one of the areas CPR is focusing on in Cook County.

Join the NWCC Water Team!

We need volunteers for our water sampling team.

Our group's area watershed is primarily that of Salt Creek. We will continue sampling for chloride (road salt runoff) throughout the winter but need to obtain baseline sampling first in the late fall before snowfall.

There may be other types of sampling done, as well.

We need to get this going now!

It's easy and doesn't take much time. The more volunteers we have, the more useful the data will be to the IEPA.

For more information or if you're interested, contact:

nwccsierraclub@gmail.com

Social Media Volunteering

If you are interested in volunteering to help manage our social media, we would love to hear from you!

You would be working with the Communications Chair of the Executive Committee. Contact the group here:

nwccsierraclub@gmail.com

At Risk Natural Spaces

Do you know of any local (NW Cook County) natural space- prairie, wetland, marsh, or similar- that is at risk? Please let us know by emailing nwccsierraclub@gmail.com