Monarchs heading South from the Little Castle Library

Photo:

BUTTERFLIES — Eleven-year-old Shelbi Whitman of West Paris released a butterfly that she had tagged. Her parents are Toby and Shari Whitman.

WEST PARIS — Monarch butterflies have begun their migration South, and 60 of these beautiful travelers were tagged at the West Paris Library in late August, before they began their journey.

Ten children and eight adults learned how to place the extremely small paper tag, carefully, on a special part of a butterfly's wing. The quarter inch square sticker said “Maine Monarch Project: WParis Library; PO Box 307; 04289; 207-674-2004.”

Not everyone had the dexterity to place the tags, but all enjoyed carrying a tagged butterfly outdoors, and providing a resting place for it on a hand or a finger, until it flew away into the tall trees.

Monarch butterfly experts and West Paris residents Sandra Hamlin and George Cassidy guided the group in this delicate procedure. They explained that a monarch 's wing is quite strong and that the tagging does not remove cells or hurt them in any way. It is thought that the Maine monarchs have a unique migratory route.

They fly along the shoreline to Florida, and then along the Gulf Coast to Belize, in Central America, (rather than Mexico, where the majority of monarchs spend the winter on a certain mountain top.) If any of these butterflies with the West Paris Library tag are found, they will help determine the migratory pattern for Maine monarchs.

The tagging was the climax to weeks of learning about Monarchs at the library. Members and visitors observed many monarch caterpillars feasting on milkweed leaves in terrariums at the library.

These caterpillars had hatched from eggs laid on a milkweed plant by an adult monarch butterfly. The caterpillars eat only milkweed leaves, so it is important to allow milkweed plants to grow in flower gardens and fields.

When the caterpillars got big enough, and after shedding their skin four or five times, they transformed into a chrysalis, which looked like a pale green jewel, adorned with gold. Inside this waxy jade envelope, the caterpillar now changes into a liquid, and rearranges itself into a monarch butterfly, which emerges in two weeks.

The cycle begins all over again, until the fourth generation of monarchs emerge from their chrysalis. They are the ones who migrate over 3,000 miles, to either Mexico or Central America.

Sandra and George believe that knowledge is the best guide in preserving and protecting our natural resources. As we learn more about monarchs, we can ensure that our children and all the generations that follow, will be able to enjoy the magical flight of the monarch butterfly.