South Jersey woman turns her porch into butterfly sanctuary
Coaxing, coaching, and cooing, Suzan Preiksat persuades a seemingly reluctant hatchling to do what it must. "Come on, honey, come on," she says in a gentle, yet no-nonsense, voice.
Coaxing, coaching, and cooing, Suzan Preiksat persuades a seemingly reluctant hatchling to do what it must.
"Come on, honey, come on," she says in a gentle, yet no-nonsense, voice.
"Get on my hand."
Raised since caterpillarhood in the screened sanctuary of Preiksat's porch, this monarch butterfly had emerged from its chrysalis just hours earlier.
The intricate little creature nevertheless attaches itself to her finger, opens a majestic set of fresh, brilliant orange wings, and flies.
"Amazing," says Preiksat, 68, as we watch the monarch flutter around, and then settle on a pale pink zinnia blossom in one of the butterfly gardens in her Deptford yard.
"Isn't it a magnificent thing?"
Indeed it is. And so are the efforts of people like Preiksat, a retired computer programmer and lifelong nature lover who began raising monarchs last year.
Known for the distinctive hue and pattern of their wings, as well as their sensational Canada-to-Mexico migrations, monarchs are beloved, but under siege.
Habitat loss in Mexico, and the widespread use of pesticides that kill milkweed - the insect's sole food source and only hospitable egg-laying site - are taking a toll.
"Five years ago, there were so many monarchs it looked all orange out here," Preiksat says, adding that she has since noticed "a startling decline" in such visitors.
New Jersey Audubon's Cape May Bird Observatory has since 1990 sponsored a Monarch Monitoring Project (monarchmonitoringproject.com) to do research on, advocate for, and educate about the creatures. Other organizations in South Jersey, and elsewhere, also champion the butterflies.
"In the last 15 to 20 years, aerial surveys in Mexico show that the migratory population has declined 90 percent," says Erik Mollenhauer, 67, of Pitman, a former West Deptford High School science teacher.
He founded the Monarch Teacher Network in 2000 to encourage schools to use the butterflies as an educational tool.
"Suzan is a good example of the fact that getting involved is not only good for the incredible monarch phenomenon, but good for people, too," he says.
Mollenhauer is a consultant to the network, which is a project of the Education Information Resource Center, a state agency with offices in Blackwood.
"Since 2000 we've trained about 6,000 people" in North America and elsewhere in the world, director Brian Hayes says.
"Our workshops educate people and provide the tools and all the basics needed to raise monarchs, and raise awareness," adds Hayes, who notes that simply planting native milkweed helps the butterflies.
He also suggests that anyone with questions visit the Monarch Teacher Network page on Facebook.
Preiksat, a breast-cancer survivor, has long planted zinnias, tithonia, and other butterfly-friendly "nectar" flowers and shrubs.
In 2015, her friend Karen Kravchuck, president of the Gloucester County Nature Club (gcnatureclub.org) suggested raising monarchs.
Kravchuck herself became interested in the butterflies after Mollenhauer, a longtime club member, "handed me a container with a beautiful lime-green chrysalis with gold dots on it," she recalls.
Adds Kravchuck, a hairdresser who lives in Mantua Township, "I knew Suzan would enjoy it, because of the wonder of it.
"Because of the magic."
There's a good amount of work involved as well.
"If you're going to raise monarchs on your porch, you should have a supply of native milkweed," notes Preiksat, who readily harvests stalks of the tasty plants from her five-acre property.
It's also where she also collects the caterpillars that she places in three net-covered "rearing towers" - each containing one of her mother's mason jars, filled with water and milkweed cuttings - on her porch.
The caterpillars pupate at the top of the tower, and after a couple of weeks the monarch emerges.
Preiksat raised 33 of the butterflies in 2015; this year, the number will be about 85.
And often, when she releases monarchs, "they fly right up over the house and head south" to begin their migration.
"I'm kind of like a foster parent," Preiksat says.
"I'm just trying to get them out of here and on their way. I hope some of them will make it to Mexico."
267-815-0975@inqkriordan