Monarch butterfly migration time for Central Texas

08/19/2023 – Be on the lookout for monarch butterflies because it will soon be time for their southward migration through Central Texas. Every year the monarch migrates north from southern Mexico in the spring to go to areas around the Canadian border. In the late summer and fall, they head back south to their Mexican roosts. Leander is in the middle of their flyway, so we get to see them going both ways.  

However, we see fewer than we used to. The monarch population is struggling because of several factors, such as careless use of pesticides, habitat destruction and climate change.

City of Leander signed on earlier this year to help by joining the Mayors Monarch Pledge, an effort by the National Wildlife Federation to engage local governments in spreading the word about what residents can do to help boost monarch numbers.  

So, what can you do? Here are some ideas: 

• Learn about the monarch butterfly and other critical pollinators. For starters, check out this information from the National Wildlife Federation and the monarch conservation group, Monarch Watch. You can also search Leander Public Library’s online card catalog for related book titles.
• Maintain flowering plants in your landscape and grow or support milkweed varieties native to Texas in your home landscapes (milkweed is critical for monarch reproduction in the spring migration). Better yet, plan and build a butterfly garden that can be certified as a Monarch Way Station (For information, go to the Monarch Watch site).
• Participate in citizen science efforts to track the monarch by setting up a free account on journeynorth.org(link is external). Through this site, you can file information about monarch butterfly sightings, including when and where you saw them. This information is important to monarch researchers.  

For more information:
Bill Teeter
Conservation Programs Coordinator
City of Leander
[email protected]
(512) 528-2935