• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Human Interest / Butterflies to float through Iowa on annual migration

Butterflies to float through Iowa on annual migration

September 20, 2013 By Radio Iowa Contributor

Saturday is the final day of summer and an annual indicator of fall is the emergence of the year’s last generation of monarch butterflies. Iowa sees many of the earlier generations throughout the summer, but this last batch of orange-and-black butterflies is unique as they undertake a 3,000 mile journey.

Mitchell County naturalist Chelsea Ewin says they’re headed for central Mexico. “Nobody has quite pinned down exactly how the monarchs know when to start traveling but usually the end of August into September is the best time to start looking for them,” Ewin says. It’s a remarkable trip these creatures take, she says, and the migration is still somewhat of a mystery, even to the experts.

“Butterflies that fly south to Mexico will only, next spring, come up to about Texas and complete their life cycle there,” Ewin says. “It will be a couple of generations later that finally make it up to Iowa.” Ewin says the monarch is the only known migrating insect.

In order to learn more about the migration, the Mitchell County Nature Center is helping residents tag monarchs to track their final destination. “If you do find an adult monarch, you can actually put a tag on the butterfly with a special code and then they’ll fly to Mexico and if somebody finds that tagged butterfly, they can trace it back to you here in Iowa,” Ewin says.

The monarch population has taken a hit in recent years. Ewin says tree logging in Mexico as well as the removal of milkweed, the monarch’s main food source, have lead to fewer returning butterflies.

(Reporting by, Angela Barton, KCHA, Charles City)

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Human Interest, News, Outdoors

Featured Stories

Exhibit features lesser known works of Grant Wood

Testing finds 21 new CWD cases in deer

It may become a crime in Iowa to use fake urine in workplace drug tests

February trending 18 degrees below average temperature

Iowa House Education Committee votes to end tenure at UI, ISU, UNI

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Drake falls to No. 20 Loyola in MVC Championship

Confusion at MVC Tournament as UNI exits prior to quarterfinal round game

Iowa State looks to avoid winless Big-12 season

New look and new format at girls’ state basketball

Youngstown State takes action against assistant football coach

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2021 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC