First "official" Monarch sighting in Wisconsin at Pleasant Valley Conservancy

According to Prof. David Hogg, Monarch specialist at UW-Madison, the first "official" 2016 sighting of Monarch butterflies in Wisconsin was made Thursday May 19 at Pleasant Valley Conservancy.

Here is the report: The first “official” 2016 sighting of Monarch butterflies in Wisconsin was made yesterday at Pleasant Valley Conservancy, specifically in the oak savanna habitat on the south facing hillside.  I’ve attached photos of the adult (female) and one of the eggs she deposited.  We (Cameron Fullerton and me) watched her flit from milkweed to milkweed, and it appeared that she laid eggs on a dozen or more stems.  We examined a number of milkweeds after she left, attempting to target those she had visited (not easy to do with the large number of milkweed stems in the patch) and were able to find four of her eggs on stems ranging from 4 to 9 inches tall.

The sighting was recorded with the Southern Wisconsin Butterfly Association  <https://wisconsinbutterflies.org/butterfly/sightings>.

Monarch season has begun!

Monarch butterfly on shoot of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). David Hogg photo

Monarch egg on milkweed leaf. David Hogg photo

Those interested in helping further the Monarchs at Pleasant Valley Conservancy are invited to be volunteers Sunday May 22, 2016 from 10 AM until 4 PM (or any fraction thereof). We will be planting swamp milkweed and meadow blazing star "plugs", favorite Monarch plants.