Help Track Monarch Butterflies as They Migrate to the South
Fall migration has begun. Help track monarch migration and the presence of milkweed. Read through protocols and then submit your observational reports.
Monarch numbers reach their peak by fall migration. At no other time of year is the population as large as it is now. Monarchs produce four generations during the typical breeding season and the population grows with each new generation. By mid-month, the first members of the migratory generation will emerge in the north. These butterflies are the great-great-grandchildren of the monarchs that left overwintering sanctuaries along the coast of California in the United States and the Monarch Biosphere Reserve in central Mexico last spring. This generation has a long and challenging life ahead: they will migrate to their overwintering locations this fall, survive the winter, and return to their breeding territories in spring 2024.