Good News

Monarchs have been spotted in Portland this summer in greater numbers than we have seen in years. Documented sightings have come in from Sellwood, Mt. Tabor, Gresham, Woodstock, North Portland, and more! We can only wonder how many Monarchs are in the area that aren’t being reported. Portland may be on the fringes of the migration route, but it does provide breeding habitat for the Monarchs as they move through. Summer Solstice generally indicated to the butterflies that they no longer need to travel north. Therefore, Monarchs that were in area by June 21st will stay and breed, producing the Super/Methuselah Generation that will make the long journey back to the Californian over-wintering grounds which it has never seen. In order for this to happen, there needs to be abundant milkweed for the caterpillars and plenty of nectar-rich flowers for the newly-emerged butterflies to fuel up on before heading south. Perhaps one reason for the increased sightings in the area is that Portlanders have planted lots of milkweed. Since last autumn, 3,000 packets of milkweed seeds have been picked up from the Free Seed Station on NE 24th Ave. That’s a lot of potential milkweed!