Monarch Day at Delhi Park

Celebrating the magic of monarch butterflies

The South Shore Joint Initiative (SSJI) celebrated Monarch Day on Saturday at Delhi Park in Picton with a range of activities and events to bring attention to the monarch butterfly and the conservation efforts to help protect this migrating insect. The family-friendly event, hosted by the Department of Illumination, offered hands-on activities for children, learning opportunities and a scavenger hunt. One of the displays was a 100-metre trail depicting the monarch butterfly’s 4,200-kilometre migration path from Prince Edward County to the Mariposa Monarca Biosphere Reserve in the Mexican state of Michoacán. Waypoints along the trail showed information about hazards or local conservations efforts, such as bylaws to help protect monarch habitats. Cheryl Chapman, outdoor education specialist with SSJI, was thrilled with the turnout and participation. “We’ve had well over 60 kids here,” she said. “It’s beautiful down here in the park. There’s a nice breeze and we’ve got shade. Our hands are busy and our minds are engaged because we are keeping the learning happening while we’re crafting.” Children— and adults—had the opportunity to make a paper butterfly that could flap its wings, a monarch caterpillar made of yarn that could inch along, or try their hand a needle felting. Learning opportunities included creating a life-cycle model for the monarch, preparing a milkweed seed bomb, and observing butterfly wings through a microscope. Emily Scott, a fourth-year Queen’s University student hired by the summer by SSJI, was kept busy helping kids and their families during the day. “We are helping to advocate for the monarch butterfly and for environment and conservation by doing these crafts and art activities,” she said.

Siblings Althéa, Vincent and Adrien said they had a lot of fun at the Monarch Day event. Althéa said she had made a caterpillar, a badge and a flying butterfly. Adrien said he thought that monarch butterflies “are quite rare and very beautiful”. Vincent said that more should be done to help the insects. “We should give them more reserved space, to be able to migrate and have space without humans interfering.”

Cheryl Anderson, SSJI president, said that the monarch is an extraordinary insect and deserving of conservation efforts. “What’s impressive about monarchs is the fact they are a migrating insect. The monarchs that are hatched here in Canada migrate all the way to Mexico. They spend the winter there and when they start back from Mexico they have about three or four generations to get back to Canada. The monarchs that migrate down to Mexico are not the same ones that come back, but the ones that come back somehow know how to come back. How that happens is one of those wonderful mysteries of science.” She noted that the monarch butterfly is entirely dependent on milkweed plant species for survival. Habitat loss and herbicide use has led to a huge decline in milkweed and a corresponding decline in the monarch butterfly population. However, thanks to better awareness and extensive conservation efforts, the number of milkweed plants is on the rise and there are indications that the monarch population is slowly increasing. A complicating factor is the effect of climate change. “There’s an earlier growth of milkweed, sometimes before the monarchs return. But this is a long-term process and we need 20 or 30 years of data to make any kind of prediction,” she said. It is estimated that since the 1980s there has been an over 80 per cent decline in monarch populations. While adult butterflies can feed on the nectar of many different plants, the larvae are entirely dependent on the milkweed plants. Monarch females lay their eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves, and can lay up to 500 eggs during a month-long span. However, there is a very high mortality rate. Not only that, the butterflies themselves are subject to predation. In Canada, the monarch butterfly is listed as an endangered species, whereas in Ontario it is listed as “a species of special concern”. Conservation efforts, such as the Monarch Point Conservation Reserve, are helping to stem the decline of this beautiful and important pollinator species.