A group of 12 monarch butterflies in Wisconsin are emerging from their chrysalises several months later than normal, delaying the usual migration pattern that protects the endangered insects from the cold of the north. But conservationists have a plan: The monarchs are taking an expedited route to Texas, via a FedEx package, to catch up with their fellow migrators.
The shipping plan, paid for by the nonprofit Friends of Butterfly Gardens Inc., will save the monarchs from a chilly journey, with little nectar to sustain them along the way — and it has implications beyond helping the dozen butterflies.“If we can save 12 monarchs, and half the monarchs are females, each one will lay 400 eggs next spring,” the organization’s president, Jack Voight, told The Post-Crescent. “So we’re going to increase the population.”
Once they arrive in Texas after a 1,600-mile overnight flight, the butterflies will hopefully head to their final destination in Mexico for the winter. Alicia Griebenow, who found the late-season monarchs as eggs on her property in Wisconsin, said watching them prepare for the trip was particularly meaningful. “This is emotional for me,” she said.
