Many thanks to Clarence Hickey for his wonderful presentation on the Eastern Monarch Butterfly. We heard about the Monarch’s long trek from Mexico, and its life cycle. The Monarch caterpillar eats only one thing and the loss of their milkweed feeding grounds have contributed to diminishing Monarch populations.
Mr. Hickey, a retired biologist, became a citizen scientist by collecting and caring for Monarch caterpillars, then tagging, and releasing the eventual butterflies. He showed us how to differentiate male from female butterflies and identify monarchs in the egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult stages of life, and ways to help them survive.
Watch the recorded event on our Facebook and YouTube channels to get all the details.