Monarch buterflies traveling across North Florida

As it gets chillier we can expect to see more of the Monarch Butterflies start to pass through our area and make sure to keep your eyes open for them, especially for ones with tags on them. As the chilly weather hits the northern United States and Canada every fall, monarch butterflies begin a migration south that takes them across North Florida. Millions of monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains spend their winters at a specific forest in central Mexico—encompassing just 70 square miles and to get there, they use Florida’s river corridors and coastal barrier islands. Groups like the Nature Conservancy have helped protect almost 40,000 acres across this Panhandle pathway to make sure the monarchs have a safe trip. They also tag some of the butterflies to see if they can follow the migration pattern. Last year they tagged almost 2900 monarchs in St. Marks. They hear back about only a handful of their tags each year. Anyone who observes migrating monarchs is asked to phone it in at 850/925-6121 or email the information at saintmarks@fws.gov.

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