Written by Claudia Ritche
Stepping up for a good cause is nothing new for Katy resident Rosanne Legon. In addition to raising two children, volunteering in their schools and serving as a board of director for her neighborhood HOA, her list of accomplishments is hard to capture in just one writing. After knowing and admiring her for many years, I have found her to be a combination of a Food Network Star, environmentalist, champion of the arts and friend to many. And that would still be selling her short.
One of her recent endeavors has been to raise Monarch and other local species of butterflies. To date she is getting close to raising 600 of these fragile and endangered beauties. This has earned her certification as a Monarch Waystation through MonarchWatch.org.
It all started when Legon learned that the Monarch population was declining. Knowing that they are susceptible to pesticides, wasps, and need to sip nectar from plants to survive, she decided to take action. She started looking for the host milkweed plant to plant in her yard.
“I had a hard time finding milkweed that was pesticide free,” she says. But, after striking up a conversation with a local florist she was able to get a small sprig from the florist’s own property. “Little did I know that there was a Monarch egg on one of the tiny leaves and it became the first butterfly the Legons raised.
Since that first planting, Legon has built up the nectar plants and that has brought her garden lots of pollinator activity.
In addition to Monarchs, she has raised or supported Eastern Black Swallowtails , Giant Swallowtails, and has a passion vine for the Gulf Fritillary Butterfly. It has become a family affair. “Our whole family cares about butterflies,” according to Legon. This year she is tagging 50 Monarchs for tracking on their journey to Mexico. If any of her tagged butterflies are found there she will receive a special certificate. Texas is the first stop in the spring as the monarchs migrate to Canada and the last stop when they come back to winter in the mountains of Mexico. “There are generations and I believe fourth generations that make it to Canada,” explains Legon. “That last one we like to call the Supers. While a typical lifespan is four to six weeks, a Super can live around six months.”
If you ask Legon, she will tell you that butterflies are an important pollinator just like bees. The King Ranch is designating a massive area for supporting the Monarch population and Chevron also has land. Former First Lady Laura Bush is also an ardent supporter of saving the Monarchs.
Raising awareness of the needs of the Monarch butterfly is crucial to Legon and she hopes others will join in planting nectar flowers for them and maybe even milkweed. “I just feel compelled to help them and I have never had so many thriving flowers. Pollinators definitely help.”
