Monarch butterflies will be the topic of Audubon's monthly program
Friday Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. in Harlan Hall with butterfly expert Steve Cary.
Photograph by Mike Fugali.Monarch migration is well documented in the eastern U. S. and on the West coast, but many questions about Monarchs in New Mexico remain unanswered. Steven Cary, who is known as New Mexico's "Butterfly Guy" has been studying butterflies for nearly 30 years and is the author of Butterfly Landscapes of Mexico.
Cary will present "From River to Mountains: Silver City Monarch Aware" at Audubon's monthly program meeting on Friday, October 6, at 7:00 pm in Room 212 of Harlan Hall at WNMU, corner of 12th and Alabama Streets. Light refreshments follow; the program is free of charge and the public is welcome.
Among the questions Cary will address are: "Do Monarchs breed here in New Mexico or only migrate through? How many do we have? Who is doing restoration for Monarchs? What are the conservation gaps and what opportunities exist for citizen science projects on Monarchs?" He will also show his stunning photographs of these beautiful insects.
Cary is originally from Wisconsin where he received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Since arriving in New Mexico in 1980 he has worked for the NM Environment Department and was a Natural Resource Planner and Chief Naturalist for NM State Parks until his recent retirement.
As part of Cary's visit to Silver City, two workshops sponsored by Monarch Aware-Butterfly Way Project. are also scheduled. Monarch Butterfly Tagging and Release at the Silva Creek Botanical Garden in Silver City (across from Virginia Street Park) will be on Friday, October 6, from 3:30-4:30pm. Everyone is welcome and will receive free milkweed plants.
On Saturday, October 7 a Monarch Aware tagging and citizen monitoring field workshop will be held to learn to identify, net, tag and release Monarch butterflies in the field. This four-hour workshop is free but registration is required. Email: butterflywayproject@gmail.com for information.