Torrential rains didn’t stop the fans of the Monarchs of Delta County from enjoying an educational class focused on backyard pollinators last Tuesday at the Delta County Courthouse. Delta County AgriLife Extension Agent Alford Echols along with sponsoring entities: Monarchs of Delta County, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife hosted the program.
Hunt County Master Gardener Lissa King presented a slideshow on the Monarch butterfly. Butterfly and Pollinator Plants were listed. Examples of Necture Producers are: lavender, bluebonnets, daisys, and azalea. Host Plants are: milkweed, citrus trees, Texas thistle, Cherry tree, and Oak tree. Invasive Plants are: Trumpet vine, Wisteria, and Honeysuckle.
King invited interested fans to visit the garden located downtown Greenville near the Farmer’s Market as it is open to the public. She noted most of the vegetation growing is identified and marked.
Cooper Wildlife Management Area Biologist Howard Crenshaw introduced the Texas A&M University in Commerce graduate students. Those included Misty Nixon (Studying the effects of arthropod community structure on monarch survival), Kalynn Hudman (Studying the effects of fire ants on monarch survival), Kelsey Helgerson (Studying the effects of milkweed health on monarch survival), and Alyx Scott (Studying survival of fall monarchs in Texas). They have been learning from TAMU-C professor Dr. Jeff Kopachena. He has been guiding them in their studies of Monarch Butterfly eggs and Larvae Survivorship.