Some people are seeing the butterflies transition through their annual cycles already. In some cases, it’s more evident to see which butterflies are where on their short journey through life at their breeding grounds.
Eastern monarchs typically go through four or five generations in a single year. The monarchs from Mexico migrate into the South, laying eggs beginning in mid-March. The offspring of the first generation from Mexico then migrates north to lay eggs.
Happy Pollinator Week! As the Summer Solstice draws near, monarchs are surging into Oregon and Idaho with reports they are touching the Washington state border. Monarch movement now gradually stops as they set up breeding grounds across the entire West. Keep your eyes open for monarchs as you celebrate the warm days of summer!
Growth of a Program
Journey North began at the dawn of the internet. Early efforts to track wildlife migrations were done the "old-fashioned" way, via phone, letters, and emails. Online data entry systems were in their infancy. Experts in the field provided detailed information to Journey North staff, who then displayed this information on static maps and shared updates with the public through emailed news stories. Many educators and students, the early audience of these migration stories, benefited greatly from hearing directly from experts.
by Nancy Sheehan, Program Coordinator
Dear Journey North readers,
As June begins Monarchs are expanding their range with first sightings reported in Oregon, Idaho and across Utah. Monarchs will now begin to lose their urge to migrate as we near the summer solstice. They’ll become more stationary with increased activity in breeding grounds. Summer heat will begin to simmer this week as a high pressure dome settles over the West. Record high temperatures are likely across much of the monarch breeding grounds.
Some participants are reporting monarchs earlier along in the process than usual at this time of year. Michele in Erie, Pennsylvania photographed a caterpillar on May 23, writing, “Very early sighting for me. I usually do not get monarch cats until July. It has been an unseasonably warm spring. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.”
Jon in Lenhartsville, Pennsylvania, farther east, wrote on June 1, “This is the earliest I’ve ever seen caterpillars on my milkweed! Normally, I see them in August.”
More and more people continue to spot monarchs, and with those sightings increasing, reports of eggs and larvae are on the rise.
The northernmost larva reports came from Jane in Mankato, Minnesota on May 14, and Melissa in Apple Valley, Minnesota on May 19, with photos of caterpillars just getting started in the world.
Another photo of a slightly larger one nibbling on milkweed came in from Joseph in Clinton, Iowa, near the Illinois border, on May 19.
