As we progress through April, your Journey North reports continue to paint the picture of the earlier-than-usual monarch butterfly migration from the Midwest to the East Coast.
In mid-February, we received word that monarchs were being seen flying north earlier than expected, and that has translated into early sightings along the migration path. In the past week, reports of monarchs in the Midwest have reached the doorstep of Lake Michigan’s southern shore, as well as Iowa and Nebraska. To the east, monarchs have reached New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
A monarch was reported in Valparaiso, Indiana, on April 15. That’s fewer than 15 miles south of Lake Michigan.
That’s at latitude 41.396, and it’s hardly the only sighting from that far north. Two states west, in Iowa, reports have been rolling in. The first report came in on April 14, with the first photo-verified sighting in Glenwood, near the Nebraska border, coming in the following day.
In Earlham, Iowa, near Des Moines, one observer spotted one on April 16, writing, “Saw it on the trail, down by the prairie valley along the river. Was fluttering low, searching for something, I presume. Saw it land briefly, and could definitely tell it was a female.”
Our first report from Nebraska was received on April 15 in Endicott, Nebraska.
“Looked to be a faded adult, just fluttering in the wind while we were out on a prescribed fire,” Jake wrote.
Last year’s first report from Nebraska was on May 19. In 2024, Nebraska had its first photo submitted on April 30.
Journey North has been collecting monarch migration data since the 1990s. In the past 20 years, only two years have had an earlier report than April 15 in the Cornhusker State: 2017 and 2023. With Journey North's new data portal, you can now filter and see sightings for your state across the years.
Some milkweed should be available to these monarchs as they continue to press onward.
Our northernmost milkweed report is from Mary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mary reported a common milkweed sighting on April 19, writing, “Located against the foundation of a park building on the south side. This same plant is always the first one I see in the neighborhood.”
If monarchs elect to take a slightly more eastern route from Iowa, they could find themselves on Kirsten’s milkweed in Highland, Wisconsin. Kirsten reported common milkweed in a school butterfly garden in western Wisconsin on April 16.
Of course, they’ll also need to find nectar resources for themselves, in addition to milkweed needed to lay eggs and feed larvae.
In Lakeshore, Ontario, Laura reported milkweed emerging on April 16, writing that it’s always her first plant to emerge.
“It reliably comes up in the same location every year for the past three years, where the concrete meets the brickwork with a southern exposure,” Laura wrote. “The only nectar sources available right now are blossoms on blue plum and apricot, plus dandelions and Creeping Charlie in the lawn.”
On the East Coast
Out east, milkweed has been reported in New York and beyond.
“A couple of very warm days and black mulch behind the office building assisted,” Adrienne in Beacon, New York, wrote on April 15. That’s our northernmost photographed milkweed report so far this season, at latitude 41.52.
It’s just ahead of our northernmost East Coast monarch report, from Wyckoff, New Jersey, on April 15. That report included notes about egg laying, and we received a report of monarch eggs on April 17 in New York City.
“There was also swamp milkweed planted nearby, along with more butterfly weed re-emerging, so there could be more eggs laid on them,” a volunteer wrote. “I planted them in Tompkins Square Park in New York City last year, along with other native wildflowers.”
Further inland, we received a photo of a milkweed plant covered in eggs from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, on April 16. Pennsylvania’s first egg report was received on April 14.
For comparison, our first reports of monarch adults in New Jersey came in on April 30 last year. Pennsylvania and New York’s first egg reports were on April 26 and May 8, respectively.
Whenever you see milkweed or monarchs, don't forget to report them to Journey North.