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Recently I was speaking with a client of mine about the migration of the Monarch Butterfly. He asked if I had seen them this year since he was hoping to time their migration over the Sierras. Several times I have seen the Monarch Butterfly’s migration here at Tahoe/Truckee, a path that seems to run right along the Hwy 267 corridor and over the Sierras. Although catching them in the act is often a catch as catch can scenario, I have been fortunate enough to witness this phenomenon while I was traversing between Truckee and Lake Tahoe. Sometimes it’s a few here and there flitting amongst the plants at Northstar, and sometimes it feels like a blizzard of butterflies swirling around my car in a thick, ethereal dance of black and orange gossamer wings.
The Monarch Butterfly migrates back to its wintering grounds in Mexico, where it will spend winter’s frigid months. Recent reports claim that the Monarch is having a rough year of it, with their numbers not what they normally are. I haven’t been traversing Hwy 267 recently, so I couldn’t tell you if that claim seems true or not, and like I said, it’s a catch as catch can thing anyway. But for those of you out and about enjoying the fall colors, be sure to be on the look out for these beautiful creatures. Who doesn’t feel pleasantly serene when a butterfly crosses your path?
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Arrival at wintering grounds in Mexico
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For more images of the Monarch butterfly migration or to read more about the plight of the Monarch butterfly, and what you can do to help, go to these links:
http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-09-30/monarchs-were-missing-summer-and-we-and-weather-were-blame
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/monarch/gallery_mx.html
YOUR FRIEND IN HIGH PLACES 
The migration through Tahoe Donner seems impressive this year.
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