‘Raising’ butterflies
Monarch butterflies
WARWICK, R.I.
Neck surgery in 2005 put Amy Ottilige’s life on hold. She was “bored,” until she noticed a monarch butterfly fluttering outside her window. The simple observation changed her life. Instead of just briefly stopping to smell the flowers, she came to appreciate the bugs’ life on them.
Once recovered and after some self-education, Ottilige embraced the importance of native plants and the pollinators they support. Since 2014, when she began “raising” butterflies, some 1,500 of the nectar-feeding insects have completed their metamorphosis in her yard, including 161 monarchs last year and 28 swallowtails this year.
“I just started, and then I ended up having a whole width of my house as a pollinator garden,” Ottilige said. “I’ve raised all types of butterflies, but monarchs are my favorite.”