Help sought tracking butterfly

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is seeking the public’s assistance with a science project to help the agency learn where and when people see monarch butterflies in Arkansas.

Monarchs have begun migrating through Arkansas as they make their way from northern U.S. and Canada to their overwintering grounds in Mexico. Peak fall migration is typically around the first and second weeks of October, but this may change slightly from year to year depending on weather patterns.

Monarchs will spend winter in Mexico. In spring, they will begin migrating north, making their way into Arkansas in early April. Many will stop and breed here wherever they can find milkweed plants.

Data gathered from this project will help identify important breeding areas and migration corridors for monarchs.

It will also help the AGFC better understand the timing of both spring and fall migrations. This will allow biologists to tailor conservation and management strategies for this species, which has seen significant population declines in the past several years.

Identifying monarchs is fairly easy given their striking orange and black coloration. However, the viceroy does mimic the monarch and beginners may need help distinguishing the two. The most noticeable difference is the presence of a black line across the veins on the hindwing of the viceroy that is absent in the monarch.

The viceroy is also noticeably smaller than the monarch, but this may be difficult to discern without seeing the two side-by-side.

To report sightings, visit the iNaturalist website and create a free account. Then navigate to the Arkansas Monarch Mapping Project page. Click on the red banner that says “add observations” and complete the information fields.

Participants may also upload a picture. If you upload a picture taken with a smartphone, the iNaturalist platform automatically gathers data on when and where the photo was taken.

People who want to report observations but do not want to use iNaturalist can send their observations directly to Allison Fowler at Allison. Fowler@agfc.ar.gov. The email should include: when it was observed (date and time); location where it was found (GPS coordinates are best, but a detailed location description is acceptable); and photo for species identification verification (preferred but not required).