Tag and Release

Today we bid a fond farewell to our Monarch friend as he begins his long journey to Mexico's warmer climate.  (Okay, and here is where I do have to insert that I was wrong, and that I was quite matter of factly corrected of this by my eldest daughter, who (correctly) stated, "you were wrong momma, he's a boy butterfly, not a girl butterfly.")  Yep, it was late last night, I was tired, the lights were on dim, and I was only looking at the wings from the backside, but she was right! :))

(The two black spots in the veins in the lower wings identify the males, along with thinner vein lines overall.)

Anyway, we tagged him and that information will be sent to Monarch Watch to be entered into their database.  Should anyone find him along the way, they can enter the data into their computer and see where he originated from.  We will then also be able to see where he was found too.  My chances of winning the lottery are probably slightly better than somebody finding him and entering the information, but there's always that chance, right?  You only need one ticket to win, and we only had the opportunity to tag one Monarch this season!

 Happy journeys!