In the Fall of 2021, we tagged and released 50 Monarch butterflies from Concord Village’s Monarch Butterfly Way station. These creatures were either passing through Brooklyn on their way to Mexico, or they were found as caterpillars on milkweed and raised by us. The organization Monarch Watch tracks the migration every year to help gauge the health of this endangered species.
First Sticker Sighting!
For the first time ever, someone reported seeing a butterfly with the tag that we placed on it!
A Monarch wearing a sticker that read “ACUS 734” was spotted in Brooklyn Bridge park on September 11, 2021, just a few days after we caught, tagged, and released it. Arend reported: Found in Brooklyn Bridge Park feeding on a flower. Taking macro shots and saw the tag afterwards in my photo
The distance, or lack thereof, is a bit disappointing at first. However, this news doesn’t mean that ACUS 734 or any of the other Monarchs tagged in Concord Village haven’t been recovered in Mexico! It is still early days in terms of reporting; the tags found in Central Mexico aren’t even posted yet.
“Recoveries from Mexico are typically reported to us in February/March and will be posted as soon as everything has been verified. Recoveries within the U.S., Canada and northern Mexico are reported here in February, according to MonarchWatch. “Data regarding tag 2021 recoveries from central Mexico will be posted in the spring of 2022.”
While the kids gave most of the tagged butterflies nicknames such as Flyer or Applegate, it is likely that ACUS 734 was tagged and released before we started the naming tradition, unfortunately.
Get More Information About Brooklyn Monarchs
Stay tuned for more information! You can learn more about the efforts at CV here. And if you’d like to be involved in Monarch conservation at CV, or to catch and release butterfies this summer and fall, be sure to follow this blog or send your name and contact information to cvearthlab@gmail.com
Related posts: Monarch Butterfly was Tagged, Released Today (2019) ; CV Has Monarch Caterpillars! (2018) ; What’s In Our Butterfly Garden? (2014)
Concord Village EarthLab 