Butterfly bandits jeopardize Tiburon monarch garden

Tiburon Peninsula GreenTeam member Kathy McLeod says someone’s been sneaking into the monarch butterfly garden next to Ground garden store on downtown Tiburon Boulevard and stealing milkweed covered with eggs and caterpillars. (Tyler Callister / The Ark)

When Tiburon Peninsula GreenTeam member Kathy McLeod arrived at the downtown butterfly garden earlier this month to check on milkweeds she had planted the day before, she discovered freshly cut stems where four plants had been growing.

“(The) stalks had been clipped, with fresh milkweed oozing from the stems,” she said. “Someone is stealing milkweed along with laid eggs and tiny caterpillars, the very thing that keeps the garden thriving.”

The four plundered plants, specifically showy milkweed, were part of the butterfly garden started by the nonprofit Tiburon Peninsula GreenTeam in 2021.

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