A monarch tagged with a Monarch Watch identification tag. The tags are used by citizen scientists to help researchers gather information about monarch migration. Courtesy of the Texas Butterfly Ranch. Read more about tagging monarchs.

Sept. 19, 2016

Monarch butterflies have been making an annual migration across North America for thousands of years. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas is an important state in monarch migration because it lies between the principal breeding grounds in the north and the overwintering areas in Mexico. Thousands of monarchs funnel through Texas both in the fall and the spring. However, in recent decades the North American monarch population has declined by around 90 percent due to loss of butterfly habitat.

Monarch butterfly migration mapFolks in the North Texas area are doing their part to raise awareness about the butterflies and promote planting milkweed, necessary for their survival, while giving them a good sendoff. 

Both the cities of Grand Prairie and Grapevine hold annual events sending the butterflies on their way to the overwintering grounds in Mexico. In addition, this year, the Native Plant Society of Texas is hosting a celebration at the I-35 rest stop south of Hillsboro, following the installation of a new monarch waystation.

Monarch Migration map courtesy of Flightofthebutterflies.com.

Grand Prairie Flight of the MonarchFLIGHT OF THE MONARCH, GRAND PRAIRIE

Grand Prairie's Flight of the Monarch event will be held on Sept. 24. 

Mae Smith, administrative supervisor for the city of Grand Prairie’s Parks, Arts & Recreation Department, said the Monarch fest began in 2012.

This year, there will be 650 monarchs released at the event. About 50 of those will be tagged with stickers from Monarch Watch, a nonprofit education, conservation and research program based at the University of Kansas that focuses on the monarch butterfly, its habitat and its fall migration. The tags are recovered at the overwintering sites and used to track migration patterns.

Butterfly releases will be at noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. There will also be a Kid Zone with arts and crafts, games, climbing wall and bounce houses as well as a costume contest, business expo and music by the four time Grammy nominated Trout Fishing in America.

Flight of the Monarch
Hosted by: City of Grand Prairie:
When: Sept. 24, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Grand Central, 2975 Esplanade, Grand Prairie, (State Highway 161 between Arkansas Lane and Warrior Trail.

 

BUTTERFLY FLUTTERBY, GRAPEVINE 

The city of Grapevine’s annual monarch butterfly event will be held on Oct. 15.

Grapevine FlutteryCalled the Butterfly Flutterby, the event began in 1997, said Robbie Hoy, communications coordinator for the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau

Like in the city of Grand Prairie, Grapevine will release about 650 Monarch butterflies and Hoy said “Every butterfly is being tagged.”

Hoy said that the city of Grapevine has been notified in the past that its butterflies have been found and in 2013, a sanctuary in Mexico notified city staff that they had found one of the city’s butterflies as well.

The Butterfly Flutterby will begin with a Butterfly Costume Parade that starts at East Wall and Jenkins Streets and ends at the Grapevine Botanical Gardens at Heritage Park. Hoy said children and pets are encouraged to wear their favorite butterfly costumes.  

“There will be a contest for the best costumes in different age groups and there will also be butterfly exhibits, GCISD's Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District’s Kid's Art Contest and butterfly arts and crafts.” 

19th Annual Butterfly Flutterby

Hosted by: Grapevine Convention & Visitor's Bureau, City of Grapevine, Grapevine Garden Club 
When: Oct. 15, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Grapevine Botanical Gardens, 411 Ball St.

 

WELCOME THE MONARCHS FIELD DAY

MilkweedIn addition to the two North Texas festivals, the Native Plant Society of Texas is hosting the Welcome the Monarchs Field Day at the Northbound Hill County Safety Rest Area on I-35, south of Hillsboro. The event follows the planting of a monarch waystation at the rest area. Read more about the event here.

When: Oct. 13, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Where:  Northbound Hill County Safety Rest Area on I-35.

FROM NORTH OF HILL COUNTY: From DFW, take Interstate 35 south and exit at Exit 356 and cross under the freeway and get back on Interstate 35 north and take the 362A exit to the Hill County Safety Rest Area. 

FROM SOUTH OF HILL COUNTY: From Waco and other areas south, take Interstate 35 north and exit at 362A to the Hill County Safety Rest Area. 

RELATED ARTICLES & RESOURCES

Native Plant Society of Texas to plant monarch waystations on I-35 in October

Texas Parks and Wildlife Monarch Information


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