The horticulture staff was asked to take on a very important project that has nothing to do with horticulture or plants for that matter. The object of this dangerous hunt is very elusive and quiet. Having never hunted this species before I had no idea about what its habits are or how best to handle the situation. Choice of weapons was also in question.

“Look over there, yes that is one!” Swoosh I missed it. Swoosh missed again. The first day we had no game to show for our work. The second time out, another miss. One more try. Swoosh Hey, I got one. Finally, we had our first Monarch butterfly.

Why were we trying to catch Monarch butterflies? We are planning on expanding our Monarch Zone educational programs next year. This year we are experimenting with the tagging of Monarch butterflies. The Monarchs that we tag this fall, if they can make the trip, may be captured in Mexico this winter when they have completed their migration. Our followers on Facebook may remember last year about this time, we posted several pictures of Asters in Tim’s Garden that were covered with Monarchs. This year is a different story. People that we have talked to say that 60 percent of the Monarchs last year didn’t live to finish the migration due to drought south of here. There was no forage for them to live off of during their trip. This has left us with very few Monarchs to lay eggs and multiply this summer. We have a few at the arboretum, but it will be hard to use up all of the tags. We are hoping to raise some Monarchs at the arboretum next year.

Hopefully, we will get a little extra funding to be able to work on raising these now-endangered iconic butterflies.

We will also continue our hunt this fall.

Wish us luck!

The Horticulture Staff

Cedar Valley Arboretum and Botanical Gardens