July 31, 2009

It has been apparent to both NBNC staff as well as other members of the community that Monarchs have been strangely absent this summer; That is, up until today. While our summer campers were discovering insects as they hid from raindrops under the broad leaves of milkweed plants, we discovered the first Monarch caterpillar of the season. From its small size, it seemed to be a very young instar. In a few short weeks, when Monarchs begin their southern migration, we will be tagging them to track their progress towards Mexico. A wetter-than-average summer may have hindered butterflies, but this discovery is promising that we may yet have a productive tagging season.