Monarch Return

The monarch butterflies are back! We had our first sighting on May 22, right in the middle of a soccer game. It’s exciting enough to us that Marina stopped the game to shout it out to us!

The monarch butterflies that arrive in Wisconsin are not the same butterflies that flew south last fall. The fall monarchs are the ones who make the 2,000-3,000 mile trek south to just a few mountain hills in central Mexico. In the spring, the northward bound migrators stop along the way, lay eggs, and then their offspring are the ones who continue migrating back to our area.

If you’re interested in learning more about this migration, the Journey North program uses citizen data to tag and track monarchs in both directions. You can get involved too!

Finally, a great book to tie to this experience is Mr. McGinty’s Monarchs by Wisconsin author Linda Vander Heyden. It includes information and action ideas tied into a great storytime read!