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.
Here are some ways you can help monarchs:
• Turn a portion of your lawn into a wildflower meadow by planting milkweed or other native wildflowers to provide food (nectar).
• Delay mowing areas with milkweed until later in the fall.
• Avoid using pesticides—they kill all life-stages of monarchs (egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult).
• Report sightings of adults online. View a map of the sightings so far this year.
• Not sure when their migration peaks in your area? Check a chart.
Chrysalis Stage
If you have 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 9-14 days. Sometimes they will pupate hanging under eaves, decks, other garden plants, or even on window screens.
