Female monarch butterfl
As fall approaches, the monarch butterflies are getting ready for their annual migration to Mexico. This year, take your kids to the Richardson Nature Center in Bloomington, on Saturday, September 5, from 2 to 4 p.m., to catch and tag butterflies.
During Saturday's presentation, Three Rivers Park District Naturalist Valerie Quiring will discuss the migration route of the monarchs and provide volunteers with a net to catch the colorful insects. She will then put a small tag on the underside of the monarch's wing in order to track the butterflies migration. The tags contain letters and numbers that are issued by the group Monarch Watch, based at the University of Kansas. Each tag is listed by date and location on the Monarch Watch website. The group then offers $5 for each monarch tag found in Mexico and indicates the time and distance traveled on the website.
Richardson Nature Center is located in Hyland Lake Park Reserve at 10145 Bush Lake Road in Bloomington. No reservations are required for the event, but there is a cost of $5. The University of Kansas also sells tags at monarchwatch.org if you would like to catch and monitor the monarchs from your own yard.
For more information, read the full article in the Star Tribune.
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