Monarch butterflies are truly a marvel that baffled the science community for many years as to where these beautiful insects came from and went to each year. In 1940, Fred and Nora Urquhart made a giant leap forward in understanding the monarch migration journey by using small stickers with number codes to track their movement all the way from Canada to the forests of Michoacan, Mexico (wildcenter.org).
The efforts of these scientists and those that joined them in their efforts helped to form the organization Monarch Watch which undertakes the massive task of tagging and documenting the monarch butterfly population every year. Monarch Watch relies on citizens who care about the survival of the monarch butterfly and will contribute a small portion of their time to learning how to tag these insects for data collection. On Saturday, September 7, 2024, the Missaukee Conservation District (MCD) will be hosting a no-cost workshop for anyone who would like to learn the proper technique for tagging monarch butterflies.
Demonstrations will be given by MCD staff regarding how to create butterfly nectar and proper net capturing methods. All supplies will be provided and participants will leave with their own monarch tagging kit so that they can put their new knowledge into immediate action. This workshop will be held at the Missaukee Ski Mountain located at 6500 W Walker Road, Lake City, from 8 to 10 a.
m. If you are unable to attend the event but would like to receive a no-cost monarch tagging kit from Monarch Watch to participate in this year’s program, please visit the MCD downtown office at 101 S. Main St.
, Lake City, or call 231-839-7193. Videos are available at to provide all the instructions needed to participate. There are three to five generations of monarch butterflies in the full cycle of migration.
Monarchs that are born in Michigan and will migrate back to Mexico in the fall are part of a “super generation” that differ from their parents and grandparent generations in that they will live eight times longer and will travel up to 10 times farther (fws.gov). The opportunity to tag monarch butterflies right before the longest leg of their journey so that scientists can document whether or not they survived the entire trek is a great honor.
Any individual who participates in monarch butterfly tagging can check if their butterflies made it to the final destination on the website. Citizen science projects are available for many different avenues of interest if any person wants to contribute their time to helping collect valuable data. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has multiple projects for citizens to begin tracking data on different species of birds all over the world.
Conservation Districts all over Michigan utilize the support from citizens to help track the health of our lakes and streams as part of the MiCorps Lake and Stream Monitoring program. It was due to the efforts of citizens helping to tag monarch butterflies each year that scientists were able to determine monarchs as candidates for the endangered species list (fws.gov).
In 2023, the decline of the species was prominent with the second lowest population ever recorded. The final determination for placing monarchs on the endangered species list will be made by the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife in December 2024 (biologicaldiversity.org). • Mecosta Conservation District — Autumn Olive Workshop Friday, September 6, noon to 4 p.
m. Location: Chippewa Lake Township Community Building, 10467 19 Mile Road, Rodney, MI 49342 For additional information, call Brook Bauman at (989) 309-9229 • Missaukee Conservation District — Monarch Tagging Event Saturday, September 7, 8 to 10 a.m.
Location: Missaukee Ski Mountain located at 6500 W .Walker Road, Lake City Registration required. No cost.
Registration is not required by encouraged. Visit or call 231-839-7193 for more info. • Missaukee Conservation District — Mulch Ado About Nothing: Soil Conservation Workshop Saturday, September 21, from 10 to 11 a.
m. Location: MCD office: 101 S. Main St.
, Lake City Registration required. No cost. Registration is encouraged but not required.
Visit or call 231-839-7193 for more info. • Kalkaska Conservation District — Adopt a Highway-Fall Wednesday, September 25, noon to 3 p.m.
Location: KCD Office, 406 South Cedar St,, Kalkaska Volunteer opportunity. Registration encouraged — call 231-258-3307 or visit:.
