Western Monarch Day

Western Monarch Day is February 5th

This day celebrates the return of Western Monarch butterflies to California, where they spend their winters. It is an official holiday in California, and many parks hold special events to celebrate! If you live in California, celebrate by going to a local park to see the thousands of butterflies that often gather there. If you don't, you can still celebrate by supporting conservation efforts that help this steadily disappearing butterfly species stick around.

Western Monarch Day was established by the California state Legislature back in 2004. The day celebrates the annual migratory return of the Western Monarch Butterfly to the central coast of California to spend the winter during October through March.

Facts About Monarchs

• They are denoted by their coloration of orange, black, and brown, a warning sign to other animals that they are poisonous
• Wing span: 3 ⅜  - 4 ⅞  inches (8.6 - 12.4 cm)
• The Monarch are found in open habitats such as fields and marshes in places like Southern Canada, south through the United States, Central America, and most of South America. Monarch are also present in Hawaii, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.
• They eat milkweed plants
• Monarchs migrate over 3,000 miles
• Monarchs are toxic to birds
• The only butterfly that has a life cycle longer than six weeks (Monarchs can live up to 8 months)

Celebrating the Monarch

Get involved with conservation projects such as: the National Wildlife Federation, Monarch Watch, Xerces Society, and Southern Oregon Monarch Advocates or by simply planting milkweed plants and other floral plants, support GMO-free agriculture and avoid using insecticide
Viewing of the Monarchs after they migration

Even if you aren’t located in California you can follow the Monarch Count during their migration patterns.