Date: 07/30/2017

Number: 1

I work at the University Park Airport in State College, PA. Today was my first sighting of a Monarch butterfly traveling across our ramp this year.* More accurately, it was struggling to cross the ramp. It appeared to be trying to head east, but was flying into a steady breeze from the southeast, so its actual flight path took it more toward the northeast. It flew up and over the jet we were loading, and eventually up and over the airport terminal. It was never close enough to determine its gender.

This occurred at about 11:05 AM, while we were working AA flight 4863. The sky was clear and the temperature was about 70F degrees, with the breeze blowing from the southeast.

Over the course of the afternoon, a few other butterflies came by, but never close enough to determine if any of them were Monarchs.

*  Last year we didn’t notice any Monarch butterflies at the airport until September (e.g., 9/4/2016), and by that time of the year they were all mostly headed west.

Lat. 40.85 & Long. -77.85

State College, PA

Latitude: 40.9 Longitude: -77.9

Observed by: R. Timothy
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