Spring 2024 eastern migration report #3: Monarchs on the move

Monarch enthusiasts in the Eastern United States have begun to report monarchs laying eggs since our last report on April 24.

Eastern sightings

Toni in Falls Church, Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C., reported on May 1, “This beauty was laying eggs on common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Yaaaaay!”

A little further south in Asheville, North Carolina, Renee reported a monarch depositing eggs on common milkweed as well.

North of New York City in Rye, New York, William submitted photos of a monarch landing on a blooming apple blossom tree at Marshlands Conservancy.

Peabody, Massachusetts and Nashua, New Hampshire each received one report, but much of the Northeast still awaits the year's first arrivals.

Moving in the Midwest

Moving to the Midwest, Cindy Kirby spotted a monarch laying eggs in Tuscola, Illinois:

“If you plant it, they will come. My wife today (4.30.24) spotted our first monarch butterfly of 2024 in our backyard prairie in Tuscola. And it was a pretty fresh-looking female laying eggs on the common milkweed growing. We didn't look on every single leaf, but we counted 23 eggs. The common milkweed at our house came up really early this year because of the mild winter, so this female didn't have to look hard at all to find milkweed for her eggs.”

Other sightings filled the map from Iowa, northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. On May 3, Mary in Iowa City wrote, "I noticed the monarch as it was chased off a lilac bush by a bee. I was able to take a photo when it retreated to a hydrangea tree."

The furthest north sighting with a photo came from near the shores of Lake Huron, in Kemble, Ontario, where Audrey spotted an old-looking monarch on May 6 before the emergence of milkweed:

“A very old female monarch was basking in the sun on our lilac tree at 4:20pm She might have made the round trip! Note the faded wings, but no tag! My husband spotted it and called me from the garden to see it right away. I have seen a round trip monarch in the past and feel like this is one too! We don't have any milkweed up yet, I wonder if she will lay eggs here?”

It shouldn’t be too long, as milkweed reports have come in from further north in Ontario, including from Teresa, who sent in a photo of a recent emergence from a milkweed garden on May 4.

Also on May 4, Edward in Whitby, Ontario sent in a first sign of milkweed, writing, “First sighting of perennial milkweed seed germination. Seedlings are popping up in numerous locations throughout my yard, plus healthy spread through the roots, so I anticipate my milkweed gardens to quadruple in size in 2024. The weather in Southern Ontario has been holding at 20 degrees Celsius daytime temperature or better, so I have planted several annual milkweed plants outdoors as well, and they are flourishing.”

Verifying species

As anticipation builds for the first monarch sightings of the year, now is a great time to double-check some species that look like monarchs to make sure you're identifying them correctly. 

One of the species commonly confused with monarchs is the red admiral, with similar colors to monarchs but less orange color and lacking the famous stripes of the monarch. View a red admiral by clicking here.

Others include the painted lady, queen and viceroy butterflies, all of which are mostly orange in color. The viceroy is the most similar to the monarch, but keep an eye out for a stripe across the hindwings that the monarch lacks. You can learn more about these other monarch lookalikes here.

If you see one of these butterflies, you can still report it to Journey North for inclusion on our migration maps. All other butterflies can be logged under "all other signs of spring."

Keep reporting

Whether you live along the Atlantic, in the Midwest or anywhere in between, keep reporting your monarch butterfly and milkweed sightings to Journey North here. 

Keep the sightings coming, and don't forget to include a photo, if possible.