The Monarch Butterfly Crusader

My new granddaughter is wrapped up in a monarch blanket, of course.

Do you remember this from 2021?

Fly Monarca - Official Trailer - 2835 km World Record Paragliding Journey In pursuit of a dream, and inspired by a butterfly, an ambitious paraglider pilot attempts to fly across the United States, from Mexico to Canada, relying so...

This just in!

We are learning that some monarchs do fly back from Florida! 🦋

Monarchs are famous for migrating to their overwintering sites in Mexico and California, but every year, some actually end their journeys in Florida. It’s always been a bit of a mystery what happens to these butterflies. One idea is that they and their offspring stay in Florida and get absorbed into a year-round residential population that never leaves.

But thanks to new Bluetooth radio tags, Xerces scientists discovered that monarchs that overwintered in the panhandle and north-central Florida had offspring that flew north this spring, with one making it as far as Alabama!

Depending on the numbers of monarchs emerging and migrating north from Florida, these migrants could add to populations in the Northeast, but there is a risk. A high percentage of monarchs in many Florida cities and suburbs are infected with a protozoan parasite called OE. OE is spread largely from non-native tropical milkweed. Native milkweeds die back each winter, killing off the parasites, but tropical milkweed does not, leading to a buildup of parasites.

Thankfully, we’ve found that monarchs overwintering in Florida’s natural areas with native plants had low levels of OE! Floridians should continue to support the conservation of public lands in their state, and replace tropical milkweed with native species.

Learn more about this discovery ⤵️

https://xerces.org/press/florida-may-play-bigger-role-in-monarch-butterfly-survival-than-previously-thought

(We corrected a mistake in this post: Originally it said that the monarchs that overwintered in Florida flew north, but it was in fact those monarchs' offspring, as stated in the press release.)

We're kicking off a monarch biology series, where we're sharing more about the monarch life cycle, anatomy, and other fun facts!

First up: the monarch egg.

Monarch eggs are tiny (smaller than the size of a pinhead), creamy white, and shaped like a miniature football. If you look closely, you’ll notice ridges along the egg and small structures on one end called "micropyles," which allow fertilization to occur.

Female monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed plants, and in about 3 to 5 days, a tiny caterpillar will emerge from each egg. One of the first things it does? It'll turn around and eat its own shell!

Stay tuned for the next post in our monarch biology series!

Photo credit: Rebecca Wagner

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