Not every week brings with it as much excitement from monarch enthusiasts as the International Monarch Monitoring Blitz, and that’s been especially true this year, as we’ve already surpassed last year’s total Journey North blitz reports with the weekend still to go.

Monarchs are now covering the entire West, soaring all the way into Washington and settling into milkweed thickets to breed and lay their eggs. Community scientist reports are hopeful as a new generation of monarchs covers the land. Ideal temperatures in the 80s and precipitation will help milkweed flourish, supporting an expansion of the monarch population over the next month until the fall migration grows near.

Recent Sightings

July began with monarchs sighted in new states as they moved into the summer breeding grounds. Here is a sample of their reports.