I'm waiting at a red light on the way home from work. I am getting ready to cross 4 lanes of traffic and merge onto the highway. I see a monarch butterfly flying south through the intersection at a level about 5 feet above the ground. A SUV goes by and although the monarch isn't struck, the wind from the SUV whirls the monarch up into the air where it makes a couple loops before heading south again. And I worry. The monarchs I see now are probably going to migrate to Central America. These monarchs are going to take advantage of the winds and stick to the shorelines rather than fly over big lakes. And because monarchs as a species are in decline, it is very important that enough of them make the trip where they will rest in their sexually immature state, live through the winter in a colony, and propagate the species so that we Minnesotans can enjoy monarchs next year. The monarchs that make it to Minnesota are the fifth generation from those that overwinter in Central America. So it is very important that as many monarchs make it to the wintering grounds. How many of the Minnesota monarchs will be struck by cars today alone? Worrying doesn't help anything. Better to spend my time enjoying the presence of the orange flying beauties.
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