Although I am in New Zealand, I have followed the work undertaken by the Cape May Monarch group in the USA, for some years now. They are a special group of volunteers who monitor the number of Monarchs flying through their town. This year their Monarch programme ended later than usual, due to the numbers of butterflies still coming through Cape May at the end of October.
I quote -
" A good number of monarchs arrived into Cape May Point on October 31, with most continuing along on their migrations and leaving the Point on November 1. It's rare to see a big roost of monarchs so late in the fall. Our field season normally ends after October 31, but these monarchs convinced us to continue our census and tagging work for an extra week. Monarch numbers declined quickly once November began, so after today (Nov 8) our extended 2017 field season will be complete."
Even the local newspaper rejoiced at the sight of Monarchs still coming through.
Click on the picture below to see the full article and video.
Congratulations to the endeavours of the volunteers at the Cape May Monarch Programme.
We salute you. 🦋