The autumn air is filled with flutters of red, orange, and gold—but not just from falling leaves. Some of those bright colors belong to monarch butterflies making their seasonal migrations.
Monarchs travel hundreds of miles in the spring and fall, following the sun’s warmth. Cooling temperatures and the changing angle of sunlight tell them when it’s time to head south for the winter.
Tracking their journeys is the goal of the Southwest Monarch Study. It’s a research collective that recruits community scientists from Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, and California. Volunteers report monarch sightings to the group and tag the butterflies they’re able to catch with tiny identification labels.
That data collection has led to some surprising findings. For example, some monarchs breed throughout the winter, while others do not. You can tell the difference by how they behave. Monarchs that aren’t breeding flock together for flower-sipping frenzies. Breeding males become territorial, while females seek out milkweed plants on which to lay their eggs. Their lives are short once they’ve mated, so there’s a lot at stake for these beautiful butterflies.
Like many other insects, monarchs are struggling with climate change. In the last two decades, their numbers have plummeted because of erratic weather patterns, habitat loss, and widespread use of pesticides. But people can help—not just community scientists, but gardeners, too. Planting milkweed and other native flowers can create “waystations” to aid monarchs in their migratory voyages.
You can find tips for how to grow a monarch waystation at S-W-MONARCHS DOT ORG.
