Why the Butterfly? What Our Icon Means to You.

The monarch butterfly is an icon used on all of packaging of Red Sun Farms greenhouse grown tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, cucumbers, and eggplant. Its migration path, beginning in Ontario, over Great Lake Erie, through Kingsville, Ontario and ending in Central Mexico, mirrors the locations of our farming areas. We’ve used the butterfly as a symbol of quality for our Red Sun Farms brand.   5 facts about this beautiful species of the monarch butterfly:

• North American monarch butterflies travel up to 3,000 miles in the migration path. This trip is made across several generations of butterflies.
• Monarchs have an orange and black pattern that makes predators think they are poisonous. The coloring comes from eating the milkweed, the only food the larvae can eat.
• Certain monarch butterflies may live up to nine months.
• Some experts believe the use of pesticides has had a negative impact on the declining population of monarch butterflies. That’s one of the many reasons we use the integrated pest management angle, which is the use of natural insect predators (e.g. ladybugs) to remove harmful pests from crops.
• Many organizations in Ontario and North America, such as the Canadian Wildlife Federation, are working hard to save the monarchs. Check out tips on how you can help on the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s website.