It is the middle of the migration peak, and we’ll be outside trying to catch and tag butterflies Saturday afternoon. All are welcome to watch/spot and help. Parents: be aware that while we often catch something, it won’t necessarily happen quickly. In most cases, seems best for kids to play or do other activities while keeping an eye out for Monarchs.
I am no expert, but can point you to lots of information here. To answer some FAQs:
-The Monarchs are en route to Mexico. They fly as far as 3000 miles during lifespan.
-Monarchs are an endangered species and this type of monitoring helps measure the health of the overall migration.
-Monarchs visit Concord Village because we have many native plants they visit for nectar (food), as well as milkweed — the sole Monarch host plant. Female Monarchs lay eggs on milkweed only (any caterpillar found on milkweed is a Monarch).
After naming, tagging, and releasing 13 newborn Monarch butterflies on Friday, we had more insect fun on Saturday. Two females, Lola (above) and Flyer (below), were netted, tagged, and released.
We watch, we wait, and eventually catch the butterflies with nets — swooping down when they’re feeding from one of the white butterfly bushes in the play area.
We capture caterpillars that we spot on milkweed plants. This is the only plant that hosts them, the only place a female will lay eggs, so when we see a caterpillar on milkweed, we know it’s a Monarch.
Marley, shown above, was discovered, named, and placed inside a habitat. She’ll eat milkweed leaves for the next week, until she’s big enough to go into a chrysalis in which she’ll transform into a butterfly over 7-10 days. You can see the lifecycle here:
We found and housed 4-5 swallowtail caterpillars in a habitat, but we don’t study or tag these, typically. We’re working with Monarchs as part of a citizen science project from MonarchWatch, a group that helps conserve the important pollinators. Learn more here.
The Monarch Migration is forecast to continue to move through Brooklyn until about Sept 26th — we’re smack in the middle peak season! Stay tuned for more local reports. –Denise
We plan to tag and release 13 Monarch butterflies from the garden tomorrow. All are welcome to watch — and we’d love help taking photos and video! See pics from a previous release here.
I spotted a couple today, around 1pm. Since I was in the garden alone, I called Benji to help me tag. I was able to hold onto the body through the net while Benji attached tagging sticker. After tagging each with ACUS 732 and ACUS 733, we released the two females.
Esp with the big net, it seems fine to let’em hang for a bit.
@1pm seems to be THE TIME for Monarchs to visit the play area. Check it out on the next sunny day! Just a couple weeks left before migration peaks. — Denise
