The 13th annual Monarch Butterfly Tagging and Release took place at Dorothy’s House Museum in Garden Hill on Saturday, August 27, 2022.
Don Davis who describes himself as a citizen scientist and is also a member of the Monarch Watch Program and other volunteers tag and released a number of butterflies on Saturday as part of their migration to Mexico.
Monarch that emerge this time of year are not fully mature and are not capable of reproducing.
During the span of their nine-month life, they will fly to Mexico where they will spend the winter and in the Spring, they will mate and migrate to the southern United States where they will lay their eggs and die.
The next generation of monarch’s will reach Canada and repopulate the northern breeding area.
The monarch’s volunteers tagged on Saturday will fly over 3,400 kilometres to the wintering sites of Michoacan in Mexico.
Saturday’s event was held in support of Dorothy’s House Museum and in honour of Rod Parrot who passed away in 2018.
Davis said Parrot was a, “tremendous butterfly enthusiast in Port Hope.”
But Davis said it was also to celebrate the migration that is happening now and each year during this time.
In 1985 Davis was recognized by the Guinness World Records for tagging a butterfly in Ontario and it was recovered in Mexico stating it was the longest migration of a monarch butterfly.
A number of people stopped by the museum and had the chance to release butterflies after they were tagged.
Three-year-old Ella from Durham Region caught on quick how to gently hold the monarch and then release it for their flight south.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
