Have you ever seen a monarch butterfly in your neck of the woods during the winter? While most folks have never done so, some 6,700 sightings of the colorful butterflies have been made during the past two decades in Georgia and the rest of the Southeastern United States during the harshest season of the year. These observations suggest that an unknown number of monarchs are overwintering each year far from their traditional winter home in central Mexico. In an effort to determine how many monarchs are actually spending the winter here, and how this behavior might it might affect the butterfly’s future population, butterfly experts need our help.
A partnership composed of universities, state wildlife agencies and private conservation groups has launched a study to investigate the importance of these sightings. This survey relies of the public reporting any sightings they make of monarchs from November 1 – March 1 in the states of Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana and Texas.
According to Susan Meyer, a volunteer with Monarchs Across Georgia, “Volunteers are vital to this effort. It you enjoy being outdoors and exploring your local ecosystem, this is an easy activity that can be done alone or with your family.”
Georgia Wildlife Conservation wildlife biologist, Anna Yellin, went to say, “When we come together as a community as we have with this effort, we stand a better chance of protecting the monarch butterfly for future generations.”
