CHARLOTTE, N.C. — We’re not the only ones sensing the impact of shorter days and winter is coming. You may not have noticed this, but the Monarch butterfly migration is already underway.
Catching a glimpse of the iconic monarch butterfly fluttering around is not by coincidence. The Monarch Migration occurs annually from August to October as they travel from Canada to Mexico.
City of Charlotte arborist Laurie Reid says the monarchs that make it to Mexico are the great-great-grandchildren of the ones that started in Mexico.
"They don't lay eggs along the way," she said. "They are just fueled and driven just to get down to Mexico to spend the winter, and then in the spring -- usually, like March, April, May -- is when they're going to come back. Now, the ones that spend the winter in Mexico, they'll come up north and lay eggs along the way, but they're not going to make it all the way back to Canada. So, they'll lay eggs. Their babies will grow, change into butterflies and continue to go north throughout the summer."
And changing seasons can have an impact; Reid says Mexico provides a good microclimate for overwintering with temperatures between 32 to 59 degrees.
"It's cool to help them conserve their body fat. If they're going somewhere that's super-duper hot, they're going to be using a lot of their energy reserves," Reid noted. "But they're going somewhere that's a little bit cooler, those fir forests -- they're higher up in elevation. They've got good fog, so they've got good moisture. That area is just perfect for them to be able to stay in the winter."
Reid says we can have a positive impact on the butterflies.
"Just planting a couple milkweed plants and a couple plants that have nectar provided for those adults, it really does help," she said. "You don't have to have acres and acres of property to be able to help the monarchs."
Conversation efforts are in place to protect their habitat during migration and overwintering in the oyamel forests in Mexico. According to the US Forest Service, the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve was created in 1986 by the Mexican government for this purpose.
When it comes to navigation or directional aid, it is believed that these butterflies use the position of the sun and the magnetic pull of the Earth among other signals.
A Monarch Celebration is on the calendar for September 28 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Reedy Creek Park in Charlotte. Expect crafts, education about monarch, and milkweed seed giveaways.
Contact KJ Jacobs at kjacobs3@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.