Posted in Illinois Nature, Seasonal, Spring February 10, 2022 by

Up To 200 Million Monarch Butterflies Are Headed Straight For Illinois This Spring

If monarch butterflies are your favorite of the species, you’ll be pleased to find out that a slew of these black and orange beauties are making their way to the Land of Lincoln as we speak. You don’t have to go to an enclosed garden to attract a myriad of these winged insects. They say that if one of these lovely critters lands on you, it’s good luck. While it’s hard to project the exact number of Monarch butterflies in Illinois, you can rest assured they’ll put on quite a show. A record low occurred in 2014 with only 34 million migrating north.

Scroll on to find out your best chances of encountering this beautiful phenomenon in the wild.

Every spring, millions and millions of monarch butterflies make their way from Mexico to Canada navigating what are known as "flyways." These paths go right across the good ol' state of Illinois, meaning you'll soon be seeing a sea of orange of black everywhere.
Flickr/USFWS Midwest Region
Monarch butterflies are the only butterfly known to migrate, and they make a two-way trip all the way across North America each spring in order to avoid cold temperatures. It takes multiple generations of butterflies each season to complete this massive migration.
Wikimedia Commons/Harald Süpfle/B kimmel
The above map shows typical migration patterns for the monarch. The first three panels express the flyways taken March through part of April while the fifth panel shows the migration patterns typical for April through August. The final panel expresses patterns for September through November when the butterflies are returning to Mexico.
The critters travel between 50 and 100 miles each day, and it can take up to two months to complete the journey. Monarchs pollinate along the way, meaning they are not only beautiful but also important to our ecosystem.
Wikimedia Commons/Captain-tucker
Monarch butterfly populations have declined by about 80 percent in the past 20 years, though recent efforts have brought about a resurgence. One major reason for this decline is a drop in the butterfly's main food source: milkweed.
Flickr/USFWS Midwest Region
Not only a food source, but milkweed is also the only place monarch butterflies will lay their eggs. Many people choose to kill the plant along with other weeds in their yard because it is not aesthetically pleasing. The more you keep around, though, the more monarchs you'll have in your yard.
Another way to help the monarchs is to tag them once they roll through your area. Tagging adults with a paper sticker helps scientists track changes in their population and migration patterns.
Wikimedia Commons/Derek Ramsey
Click here to learn all about tagging monarch butterflies with Monarch Watch.
If you want to witness the great migration of these stunning butterflies, stop spraying and pulling your milkweed, and let the stuff grow. Call it an excuse not to mow the lawn so that the butterflies have something to eat.
Wikimedia Commons/Raina Kumra

Once these stunning monarch butterflies arrive in Illinois, we’d love to see your photos. Please join our Illinois Nature Lovers Group on Facebook where you can share them and other images with a community of outdoor enthusiasts just like you. Or if you have a few spots where you think people will have the best chance to spot monarch butterflies in Illinois, make sure to share in the comments section!

If you really love animals, check out these 12 photos of wildlife in Illinois that will make your jaw drop.

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Monarch Butterflies In Illinois

April 04, 2020
Marisa Roman

What other animals migrate to Illinois in the spring?

Butterfly migration in Illinois isn’t the only migration phenomenon that you should be keeping your eyes out for. There are specific birds that will head north to spend spring in Illinois, creating the ultimate bird watcher’s paradise. A few of the birds to keep an eye out for in Illinois this spring are the bluebirds, robins, and blackbirds. Also migrating through Illinois will be a variety of sparrows too, from March through May. If you live anywhere near the Chicago area, then you’re in luck. Due to the proximity to Lake Michigan, this area serves as a critical stop-over for spring migrants of a variety of creatures, both terrestrial and aquatic!

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