EDELSTEIN, Ill. – As fall begins, Monarch butterflies are making their way through Central Illinois on an epic journey to Mexico.
The Peoria Park District’s Kristi Shoemaker says adult Monarchs and their offspring have been spotted at Tawny Oaks Visitors Center the last few weeks in Edelstein.
“I’ve seen caterpillars and chrysalises. Those ones are the ones that if they make it before the end of the season, and there’s a cold snap, they will be moving on to Mexico,” Shoemaker says.
Tawny Oak’s prairies are providing the Monarchs with not only Milkweed, but also varieties of Goldenrod and Asters.
“It’s important to have a mix of species of flowers that are blooming throughout the season, so that they can have food for reproduction and their journey,” Shoemaker says.
If the Monarch offspring survive the beginning of fall in Central Illinois, they will join millions of other Monarchs making the long journey to Mexico where they winter, then start the migration to Canada all over again. It takes several generations of Monarchs to make the trip.
The Monarch’s fall journey south begins in August, passing through the central U.S. in September and October, arriving in Mexico by late October to early November.
Sign welcomes the public to the Peoria Park District’s Tawny Oaks Field Station. (1470 & 100.3 WMBD-Julia Bradley)
A prairie full of Goldenrod for the Monarch butterflies at Tawny Oaks Visitors Center. (1470 & 100.3 WMBD–Julia Bradley)
Sign at Tawny Oaks Visitors Center. (1470 & 100.3 WMBD-Julia Bradley)
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