The season has officially taken flight and
our technicians are hard at work counting and tagging Cape May’s beloved
monarchs. We have observed several gravid (egg-carrying) females beginning to
lay their eggs on milkweed plants, and several small caterpillars have already
started to emerge. It’s hard to believe that these tiny creatures, which are
now still smaller than a matchstick, will grow 3,000% bigger in the next few weeks
and eventually metamorphose into the “super generation” that will fly all the
way to Mexico in October.
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| Tagged monarch |
If you are
interested in learning more about these intrepid insects, please stop by the Cape
May Observatory, Northwood Center where several of our little friends are busy
munching and growing fat surrounded by a beautiful, educational display. Also,
look for our research technicians, Katie and Lindsey, as they flit around the
point (the butterfly nets make them easy to spot). They would be thrilled to
speak with you! You may even get to see them tag a monarch or two.
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