By Carol Marsh – DarkeCountyMedia.com
DARKE COUNTY – As busy families anticipate the start of the school calendar, changing twists and sunscreen for pencils and backpacks, persistent summer days still bring some surprises for nature lovers of all ages in Darke County. The autumnal migration of the monarch butterfly, which begins in mid-August and continues until early November, follows a flight path that allows Ohio citizens to be at the forefront of one of Mother Nature’s most astonishing exhibits.
Although at least 3 or 4 generations of butterflies have made their spring adventure north of the mountains of central-north Mexico, the monarch’s autumn migration is an almost miraculous feat, with individual butterflies living up to 8 months while traveling the dangerous 3,000 kilometers. . return to the same winter resting spaces in the fir forests of Oyamel near Michoacán, Mexico, located about two or three miles above sea level. Once there, the monarchs regroup and “rest” until the end of February, when they migrate north for spring. In mid-March, this Nordic trek, the monarchs go through at least 3 cycles of mating and spawning. Then, he begins his one-month metamorphosis from larvae to caterpillars, chrysalis and fully winged creatures, with wings reaching between 3 and five inches long.
Monarch butterflies, this autumn migration, can travel up to 22 miles per day during the day, while resting in groups at night to protect and warm up. During the first week of September, regularly until October, if you are hunting north, you can see teams of monarchs flying southwest, infrequently up to 250 per day. On a clear and sunny day, heat-producing thermals allow butterflies to “relax” allowing them to fly in the wind instead of flapping their wings, giving them a well-deserved rest for their travels.
According to Darke County Parks naturalist Mandy Martin, the migration peak and many other people can be noticed in one day. “There are even several other people who have had the opportunity to welcome a night’s rest from the migrant monarchs. What I’ve observed is that most of those who witness giant numbers in night huts are near fields of blooming clovers. I have won several messages from citizens of Darke and Mercer County who have noticed that thousands of monarchs land in their fields and forests … It’s magical to live.”
Some of the places to witness the autumn migration occur here in Ohio, and more particularly in Darke County. Martin offers some tips on where to find monarchs on the go, whether at home or outdoors. “Wherever you can have a beautiful view of the sky, from your local park to your backyard. Lie on your back and look north and see how many monarchs you can see migrating.”
Martin added that due to the peak of migration from mid-September to September overdue, “if you’re in a position to take a drive, Lake Erie Metropolitan Park in Brownstown, Michigan, is a wonderful place to see thousands in a day. Monarch butterflies migrating from Canada are bottlenecks for migrating to Lake Erie. It’s a short three-hour trip and we value it very much.”
Conservation efforts to help monarchs are a vital component of autumn migration. Many points can potentially threaten the longevity of the monarch as a species. Several points threaten wintering areas in Mexico, adding the logging of fir trees through logging, the use of herbicides and insecticides in poultry and the accidental consequences of ecotourism. Although limited, the public can help plant and cultivate the monarch’s main food source, cotton, of which at least five species are local to Darke County.
According to Martin, it’s not unusual cotton traditionally spread. It grows gently on fields, road edges, railways and courtyards. Several points have led to the decrease of cotton, adding the application of herbicides in the fields, greater cutting of the edges of the roads, widespread fumigation along the edges of the railways and the preference for having grasses free of weeds. As the cotton has disappeared from the landscape, the monarch butterfly has disappeared. Cotton is the only plant where the feminine will lay its eggs. The larva (track) depends on the cotton for its survival. Many wildlife organizations and agencies are campaigning vigorously to raise public awareness of the desire to repair cotton communities.
Martin added: “By planting cotton and local nectar, offering plants such as New England aster, inflexible gold rod, coeopsis, echinacea and joe pye. There are several annual plants that attract butterflies, adding lanthanum, penta, sage, Mexican sunflower and zinnia. Limit or use of destructive pesticides. Participate in citizen science projects, adding MLMP (Monarch Larvae Monitoring Project) and OPHI (Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative). »
As a result of these public conservation efforts, cotton wool is dotted along roads along national roads, flourishing in backyards and planted in CRP’s Midwest lands. The Cincinnati Nature Center created the Monarch Milkweed initiative to help repair impoverished habitat. In addition, Martin recommends other initiatives. “We participated in the MLMP, marked the MonarchWatch monarchs and supplied cotton pods to OPHI.” He added: “We established Monarch Waystation certifications and worked with several local schools on The Journey North’s Symbolic Migration Class Project.”
For more information about monarch butterflies, contact Mandy Martin at Darke County Parks by calling (937) 548-0165 or emailing [email protected]
By Carol Marsh
DarkeCountyMedia.com
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