October 17th – 18th, 2009 Wildseed Farms
Monarch Celebration at Wildseed Farms is held each year in October to coincide with the Monarch butterflies’ migration stopover in the Texas hill country. Held in conjunction with the University of Kansas project known as “Monarch Watch”, Wildseed Farms participates in “tagging” monarch butterflies to track their migration patterns and pathways. Celebration visitors will be able to assist Wildseed employees in placing a tiny circular paper tag on the wing of a butterfly, and will receive a card with that butterfly’s gender and tag number. The tiny circle in no way effects the butterfly’s flight, but allows researchers to study the butterfly’s movement across the country. Months later, the visitor can check online to see if and where that very butterfly was recovered!
This year’s Monarch Celebration will be held October 17th and 18th. Tagging begins at 9:30 a.m., and tagged butterflies will be released at 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day. There is no fee to participate! Tagging will take place in the Wildseed Farms courtyard area. Visits to the Butterfly Haus located at Wildseed Farms are optional and subject to an admission fee.
Wildseed Farms’ staff will be on hand both Saturday and Sunday to answer questions about the butterflies, their habitat, life cycles, migration patterns, host plants, and to offer suggestions for creating a butterfly habitat in the visitor’s own backyard!