A monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) on butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa).
Photo Credit: Jessica Parrish
Butterflies play a key role in our ecosystem by pollinating trees and flowers, as well as many of our food plants.
These species exhibit magnificent transformations in their short lifespans. Every butterfly begins as an egg, which a female butterfly lays on the species’ host plant. It then hatches into a caterpillar (larva) and feeds on the leaves of this host plant, makes a chrysalis (pupa), and then emerges as a butterfly (adult). Some butterfly species remain in their chrysalis over winter before emerging as an adult in early summer. Some butterfly species remain local, while others migrate long distances. For example, every year, the last generation monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) migrates up to 3,000 miles to a warmer climate to overwinter. To learn more about the annual migration of the monarch butterfly, a candidate species for the Endangered Species Act, scroll through the following storymap: Monarch Conservation Database (arcgis.com)
Ranger Jess's Top Tips for Butterfly Watching:
Butterflies are easy to sight around the park on warm days, especially on warm, sunny summer days. You might enjoy bringing a nature journal with you, or art supplies!
Go to a natural space
Locate an area with flowers
Walk slowly and avoid sudden movements and loud noises.
Notice a butterfly’s size, coloration, patterns, and the flowers you find them on.
View from all angles! You may notice that the pattern and coloration on the top of their wings are often quite different than the underside.
Look for caterpillars, the larval phase of a butterfly, on their host plants.
Never try to pick up a butterfly, this could damage the wings!
