Major monarch butterfly migration expected to be seen in North Carolina starting this month
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- There's a fluttering sight to be on the lookout for during your next walk or run outside.
The biggest monarch butterfly migration in decades is expected to come through North Carolina.
Previously it was thought that the monarch population was on the decline but models are showing that up to 300 million of them could pass through our state this Spring.
The monarch butterflies migrate south to winter in Mexico every Fall and then, in the springtime, they make their northerly migration, with North Carolina no the usual flight path.
Record numbers of the butterflies have already been spotted passing through Texas in massive swarms, also called a kaleidoscope.
"These monarch butterflies will cover North Carolina and west to east," said monarch butterfly conservationist Taryn Zerner. "They're making the migration all the way to Canada as we speak, and it takes several generations for that to take place."
"Plant milkweed. Wherever you have milkweed, you're gonna find monarchs. That's the best thing you can do for them."
Experts say the best times to see the monarch butterflies migrating through North Carolina is May through July.
