In the past week I’ve noticed many monarch butterflies in flight and they’ve all been heading south.
When you see a monarch, pay attention to the direction it’s heading. Right now is the peak period for them to pass through Pittsburgh on their way to Mexico.
Monarch butterflies are on the move!
(photo from Wikimedia Commons; click on the caption to see the original)
Saw 3 on one orange coneflower shrub this morning, including 2 on the same flower. Looks just like the coneflower in the photo above.
Got a photo of one – a male. And yes, I’ve seen Monarchs flying south over the past week.
Watching one after the other heading south in Erie!!! So awesome.
There have been lots of caterpillars on my milkweed for the past week or more. 3 chrysalis turned up by my garage door 5 days ago. Hoping to see the butterfly emerge, but they always do that while I am at work.
Do we know what triggers a monarch to migrate south?
Mary Lawrence, yes we do. It’s explained at this link: https://monarchlab.org/biology-and-research/biology-and-natural-history/migration/
Hope they were spared in Dorian. A number of years ago we viewed them stopping in Cape May on their migration. Amazing sight!