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WNC -- October 20, 2023: Grandfather Mountain: "This week, our conservation and education staff tagged and released four monarch butterflies after their recent transition from chrysalises!
As part of the Monarch Watch Tagging Program, a large-scale community science project, these butterflies were uniquely coded with lightweight, circular stickers that were strategically placed on the discal cell so as to not inhibit flight or cause any harm.
These insects took off from Cliffside Overlook to head south to Central Mexico, where they will hopefully be monitored and recorded to help in understanding the dynamics of the monarch's fall migration. Grandfather Mountain" Grandfather.com
In the western region of North Carolina, an annual natural phenomenon takes place wherein the vibrant and fragile monarch butterflies commence an extraordinary migration.
The monarch butterfly migration in Western North Carolina is from September through early October.
Their migratory process each year serves as a compelling example of the incredible things in nature, captivating both experienced naturalists and casual observers. Millions of monarch butterflies undertake an extraordinary journey of more than 2,000 miles, spanning from their breeding territories in North America to their wintering habitats in Mexico.
Western North Carolina University:
"The North Carolina mountains are a corridor along the “Butterfly Highway,” an annual migration route of monarch butterflies from the eastern United States and Canada to Mexico, with Western Carolina University a frequent stop along the way.
“The monarchs are on the move already through our area - and will increase in numbers over the next several weeks,” said Jim Costa, executive director of WCU’s Highlands Biological Station and professor of evolutionary biology. Every fall, monarchs will cover thousands of miles to warmer climes for the winter, he said. The distinctive butterflies, with orange wings edged in black dotted by white spots, travel to locations they haven’t visited in their lifetimes.
After the young of an overwintering population matures in a small, mountainous area of Michoacan, Mexico, northern migrations begin in the spring and summer. The trip to the U.S and Canada, unlike the fall migration, will take several generations to complete. Vital for monarch survival and multigenerational development is the milkweed, a perennial often eradicated from lawns and gardens.
WCU, however, has areas across the Cullowhee campus and at the botanical gardens of the Highlands Biological Station set aside for milkweed (the only plant monarch caterpillars eat) and other native plants to flourish.
“We have spots across campus that we tend by, well, not really tending that much at all, at least in terms of mowing or weed-eating,” said Vicky Heatherly, an agriculture and horticulture specialist with university Facilities Management. “We plant milkweed specifically to attract monarch butterflies and it benefits other species, too. Other insects feed on it and it’s the only thing that provides habitat for monarchs to lay eggs, develop into caterpillars to chrysalids and then emerge as a butterfly. Plus, having native plants supports birds and other species." WNC University
For more information about the Monarch Watch Tagging Program
WNCTimes
Image Credit: WNCTimmes
