The first monarch butterflies of the season have reached Illinois.
Journey North , which gathers reports from volunteers across the country, has been tracking the butterfly’s movement since the endangered insects began their
push north from Mexico in late March . The butterflies that set out from the wintering site are the same ones that migrated last fall. After stalling in Oklahoma in early April as they waited for milkweed to emerge — monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed, and monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed (genus
Asclepias ) — the butterflies have now crossed into Kansas, Missouri and Illinois, according to Journey North. (The ones that reach Illinois are often a
second generation — the offspring of the monarchs that left Mexico.)
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In addition to milkweed, monarchs are also
dependent on weather conditions . Rain will force a ground stop, but on the flip side, favorable winds will help the butterflies cover greater distances — from 40 to 100 miles a day. At that pace, monarchs should reach Chicago in the next few weeks. This winter, the annual count of the monarch population in Mexico
showed a rebound from a near-record low in 2024. But while the numbers for the 2024-25 hibernation season are nearly double last year’s, the tally still remains well below the target scientists have set for maintaining a sustainable monarch population. Conservationists have been urging people to plant more milkweed to help boost the butterfly’s dwindling population. Every stem counts, even in urban areas,
research has shown . As monarchs begin to arrive in the Chicago area,
learn how to participate in Journey North’s observation project.
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