The Monarchs Are Here!

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You don’t need to leave Olney for something special that happens every autumn. With an abnormal number of butterflies in the air, the Monarch Butterfly Migration is passing through town.

These monarchs travel thousands of miles to their winter residence in the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico. In the spring, they make their journey towards the northern U.S. and Canada. Monarchs on the other side of the Rockies have a different migration pattern: they overwinter in various sites in California, primarily between Santa Cruz and Los Angeles.

The monarch butterflies in the winter and summer live very different lives. The ones traveling now have a lifespan of six to eight months.

But those in the summertime only live for four to six weeks, laying eggs on milkweed. Those eggs hatch, the caterpillars mature into butterflies, and their journey northward resumes.

Using the earth’s magnetic field and the position of the sun to help guide their journey, they will arrive in late October or early November. The butterfly colonies shelter in trees until it is time to depart in March.

There are numerous plants known to attract butterflies. Consider planting some in your yard. If you send a self-addressed stamped envelope to P.O. Box 1339, Blairsville, GA 30514, the Live Monarch Foundation will send you free milkweed seeds, depending on availability.

Not all milkweed does well in all zones. Olney is in USDA Hardiness Zone 8a; Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is recommended. When mature, it grows 3-5 feet tall, but can reach heights of up to 8 feet.

If you’d like something smaller, go to one of the local garden centers or nurseries and ask them what they would recommend for a butterfly garden. They’ll be happy to advise you on smaller flowers appropriate to our climate.

The butterflies will be gone soon as the cold weather approaches, but they will always return.

The Scenic Route