How to Track Spring Monarch Butterfly Migration Report the FIRST adult monarch butterfly you see this spring to Journey North! Journey North tracks the monarch migration each year by collecting sightings of the FIRST monarch butterfly an observer sees in the spring. A live migration map provides a snapshot of the migration as it progresses. This study is important because it helps scientists learn where monarchs are during spring migration, in time and in space. Our goal is to understand how the monarch’s annual spring recolonization of North America proceeds, and to explore the factors that influence its timing. Before the Internet, it was not possible to conduct an annual, large-scale study of monarch butterfly migration like this. Now—with the help of volunteers like you—we can gather data spontaneously from hundreds of observers throughout the migratory pathways. We can compare migration patterns to climate and weather patterns. We can analyze the pace of one season’s migration and compare it to the next. All migration records and maps are stored permanently on the website where they are available to scientists as well as to educators and the general public. We have been building this long-term database since 1997. Its value has added importance as scientists explore the effects of our changing climate on the size and health of monarch butterfly populations. Also report your first... Milkweed to emerge Monarch egg Monarch larva Notes for Journey North Field Observers Monarch Butterfly Migration Checklist >> Please print this checklist and take it with you in the field. Take notes on the topics listed. When you report your monarch sightings to Journey North, please include as much of this information as possible in the "Comments" section. Monitor Monarch Habitat While You Wait >> Long before the migration begins, watch how the monarchs' habitat changes. Monitor your local monarch habitat regularly. Each time you visit, predict when milkweed will emerge, when the first flowers will bloom and the when the first monarchs will arrive. Use this checklist for your observations. Watch for Monarch Eggs! If you can't spend a lot of time watching for the first butterfly, watch for the first monarch eggs. When you see monarch eggs, you'll know monarchs have arrived in your region! Monarch eggs are usually found underneath the young leaves. (See photo below.) If you're not certain that you can identify monarch eggs correctly, please do not report sightings of eggs. PLEASE Don't Report Observations Monarchs Raised Indoors or in Captivity: The purpose of Journey North's study is to follow the natural migration. Please do NOT report observations of monarchs that you have raised and released, unless they were raised outside! Milkweed Observations How closely timed are the arrival of monarchs and the appearance of first milkweed? Please observe carefully and let us know! Dr. Lincoln Brower explains why this study is important: "By collecting spring migration and milkweed data, we should definitively answer the important question of whether monarchs are prematurely getting north of their milkweed food source in the spring." Please learn to identify milkweed now. The Monarch Watch Web site has a photo guide for milkweed identification. Monarchs Wintering Outside of Mexico: Residents of the Gulf States and California: Please help us document whether monarchs have remained in your region throughout the winter. Report NOW if monarchs are present. California Monarch Overwintering Sites: Various factors make tracking migration from the West Coast overwintering sites much more difficult to track than the migration from Mexico. (There are several hundred sites, many are very small, they are spread over many hundreds of miles along the coast, they break up at different times, etc.) However, we encourage our California readers to help us improve this effort. If you visit the California sites or have information about their spring break-up, please report your observations. Monarch Eggs It's unusual to see milkweed with so many eggs. A monarch laid these eggs early in the season when the milkweed was just emerging. Photo by J. Gallion   This Season Teachers Kids Orientation Registration Search Copyright 1997-2008 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Questions or comments? Contact us.