NEW YORK — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is encouraging wildlife enthusiasts to help Monarch butterflies on their yearly flight south to warmer climates.
In New York, Monarch butterflies begin their annual fall migration in mid-August. These butterflies are the great-great-grandchildren of the monarchs that migrated to Mexico last fall.
Monarch butterfly migration is a multi-generational, long-distance journey where millions of butterflies fly from the United States and Canada to the fir forests of central Mexico to overwinter, and then a new generation makes the return trip north in the spring.
This feat requires a relay of several generations to complete, as the wintering monarchs lay eggs and then die, passing the baton to their offspring. Scientists are still working to understand how the butterflies navigate this complex path.
Here are some ways you can help monarchs:
– turn a portion of your lawn into a wildflower meadow to provide food nectar by planting milkweed or other native wildflowers.
– delay mowing areas with milkweed until later in the fall.
– avoid using pesticides—they kill all life-stages of monarchs including egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and adult.
– report sightings of adults or caterpillars online at https://ift.tt/j1mA96F.
– not sure when their migration peaks in your area? Check out this chart at https://ift.tt/vsd9o1w.
Have you seen a small green pod about an inch-long? This is a monarch caterpillar larva after it enters the pupa stage and is now in a chrysalis. If you see one, try not to disturb it. They will find a safe place, often under a milkweed leaf to enter this stage in their development, which lasts about nine – to – 14 days. Sometimes they will pupate hanging under eaves, decks, other garden plants or even on window screens!
