July 28, 2023

The mighty Methuselah scans the landscape, zeroing in on a bright swath of gold, crimson and purple flowers below. It’s a blinking neon “EAT” café sign for this migratory monarch butterfly.

Summer’s fourth and final generation of monarch – known as the super or Methuselah generation – is a robust specimen with powerful wings capable of flying thousands of miles south to Mexico. Monarchs winter over in Mexico as part of the age-old cycle to sustain this majestic species.

Monarchs make countless pit stops to fuel up on nectar from native plants to survive this astounding journey. That’s where employees can come in to help them.

If you live or own property in Westmoreland County, Pa., and have 100 square feet of sunny space to spare in the yard – or some large containers on a patio or deck – consider hosting a monarch waystation.

Benefiting the local environment

As part of its 250^th anniversary celebration, Westmoreland County seeks to establish 250 waystations in 2023, joining hands with FirstEnergy and the Westmoreland Pollinators Partners consortium to reach the goal.

“Supporting pollinators is not new to FirstEnergy. Our vegetation management practices are leading the way in helping pollinators prosper as part of our commitment to being a good steward of the environment,” said Scott Wyman, president, Pennsylvania Operations. “Assisting Westmoreland County in its goal to establish 250 monarch waystations in 2023 is a fitting way to celebrate the county’s milestone anniversary.”

To date, 165 monarch waystations have been established in the county, putting the goal of 250 well within reach. Even relatively tiny refuges in urban or suburban areas can act as steppingstones linking larger monarch habitats.

Until the goal of 250 new waystations is achieved, a corporate donation from FirstEnergy and the county’s 250^th Anniversary Initiative will cover the $18 certification fee and additional $18 cost for the metal monarch waystation sign that signifies participants commitment to support the monarch and other pollinators.

How to participate

Monarch waystations feature two primary components to provide food and shelter: native milkweed plants and flowering nectar plants.

Monarch caterpillars feast on milkweed leaves to grow and mature into adult butterflies. To maximize effectiveness, monarch waystations should contain at least 10 milkweed plants of varieties native to Pennsylvania including common milkweed, swamp milkweed and butterfly weed.

Flowering nectar plants are the other key ingredient for a waystation. It is essential to plant a variety of nectar plants that bloom at various times, both for the stalwart long flyers that require energy to migrate south in the fall and for the earlier generation monarchs that breed and live out their entire four-to-six-week lifespans locally.

Employees residing in Westmoreland County who would like to have their habitats certified as monarch waystations and join nearly 42,000 other recognized waystations worldwide may complete this application.

Managing and maintaining your waystation

“Monarch waystations are a great way to introduce people who may not be nature savvy about ways to ‘rewild’ their backyards to attract pollinators,” said Melissa Reckner, a local conservationist who is directing the local waystation effort in Westmoreland County. “Everyone has monarch memories or remembers blowing milkweed fluff when they were kids.”

Performing a few habitat management chores is necessary for your waystation to succeed. Work may include watering as needed to establish new plants; removing invasive plants; mulching to suppress competitive plants; and avoiding the use of pesticides.

Monarchs might need a couple seasons to discover the new neighborhood. “Just because you build it, doesn’t mean monarchs will come right away,” Reckner said.

No worries. In the meantime, monarch waystations also feed and shelter other beneficial pollinators like milkweed beetles, bees and birds.