(State) A butterfly tagged in Central Iowa less than two month ago has been located in Mexico.
Bryan Hayes with the Iowa DNR details this monarch’s journey. “This butterfly was tagged in Dallas County on September 23rd. It’s a monarch butterfly. Over the next 39 days it made it’s way down to Mexico covering 1,800 miles. Roughly a 46 mile per day migration for this monarch butterfly.”
As part of the Monarch Watch, butterflies are tagged annually. Hayes comments on the importance of this tracking effort. “Mainly to protect their habitat. That’s a sanctuary down in Mexico where these monarchs gather to over winter. We have to protect that. The population has been on the decline with declining grassland habitat and the decline of the milkweed.”
Hayes says it’s not uncommon for monarch butterflies to cover so many miles in their migration.
