CONSTRUCTION WORKER’S PASSION FOR BUTTERFLIES TAKES FLIGHT

For the last eight months, Jeff Smith has been raising and releasing monarch butterflies in Key Largo. CONTRIBUTED

It was about eight months ago when construction worker Jeff Smith stumbled upon something in his garden that would quickly become his passion.

“It was a complete accident, ” said the Buccaneer Point resident. “The giant milkweed blooms this beautiful three-dimensional flower, so I bought it because I liked the flower; I had no idea that it attracted butterflies.” 

Smith soon discovered his blossoming milkweed was becoming home to scores of hungry caterpillars.

“This is the only plant that the monarch butterfly will lay its eggs on. It will not lay its eggs on anything else except milkweed and that’s because it’s poisonous to other animals,” said Smith, who works for Upper Keys Marine Construction.

Intrigued, Smith bought more and more milkweed plants. Soon, his very own butterfly garden was born. Smith finds it fascinating watching the metamorphosis from start to finish. 

From the eggs being laid, to the caterpillar coming to life, then to the chrysalis or cocoon being formed and lastly, to the emergence of the iconic bright orange and black monarch butterfly, the entire life cycle is complete in about a month.

“I absolutely love it, how God works, it kind of blows my mind,” said Smith with a smile.

“It goes from an egg, to the ugly caterpillar and then to the most beautiful butterfly.” 

In many ways, Smith said, his garden has brought his Key Largo community together, with some neighbors stopping by to check on the butterflies’ progress and others offering advice and donating supplies.

“My neighbors are amazing; they just come and help me,” said Smith. 

“When I saw that he was doing it and his son was really into it, I said to him ‘I have this house, I’m going to bring it down and give it to you,'” said neighbor Maureen Slattery.

The butterfly habitat she gave Smith protects the caterpillars and chrysalises from predators like hornets and lizards until the butterflies are ready to be released. Inside the screened enclosure, clear chrysalises hang down, the final stage before the magnificent monarch emerges.

Slattery started raising monarch butterflies herself during the pandemic, but a busy travel schedule got in the way. 

“I was kind of glad to pass the torch to someone else that would do it,” said Slattery. “I think it’s great and I think that everybody should plant plants that are good for them, and bees too,” she added.

“We just released 46 of them, I’m going to let you release one today,” Smith enthusiastically told me. 

Soon, a gorgeous butterfly crawled onto my finger. Smith then instructed me to guide the butterfly onto a plant in the garden along the side of his house. And just like that, another butterfly was released into this bayside Key Largo neighborhood.

The monarch butterfly’s lifespan is fleeting. They live roughly 30 days, but in those 30 days, their grace and beauty can touch lives.

Smith says his 13-year-old son Parker is helping him raise the butterflies and is learning a lot in the process. 

“I think it’s cool that they start really tiny and turn really big,” said Parker.

Recently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the monarch butterfly as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act; citing loss of habitat, the effects of climate change and exposure to pesticides as reasons for the monarchs’ declining population.

Jeff Smith says he is happy to do his part to preserve this beautiful species for generations to come.

“I am definitely not a biologist, I’m just a regular person that works construction that just loves to see this happen and wants to be a part of it,” said Smith.

Kellie Butler Farrell
Kellie Butler Farrell is a journalist who calls Islamorada home. Kellie spent two decades in television news and also taught journalism at Barry University in Miami and Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, UAE. She loves being outside, whether spending time on the water or zipping down the Old Highway on her electric bike, Kellie is always soaking up the island lifestyle. Kellie and her husband own an electric bike rental company, Keys Ebikes.