The Missouri Department of Conservation will host a virtual program Sept. 12 to teach participants how to create butterfly waystations and learn about monarch migration.
The online program, “Monarchs and Butterfly Waystations,” will run from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, according to a news release from the department.
Naturalist Jessie Ballard will discuss how people can create waystations that provide monarch butterflies with resources to reproduce and sustain their migration.
“Join us to learn more about how to create a waystation and the migration of monarch butterflies before they quietly flutter away to their winter hibernaculum in Mexico,” Ballard said in the release.
A hibernaculum is a place where an animal takes shelter during the winter. Monarchs migrate to Mexico for the winter before returning north.
Monarch waystations provide milkweed, nectar plants and other resources needed by monarchs throughout their life cycle and migration, according to Monarch Watch.
The program is recommended for people ages 10 and older and will be livestreamed only. Registration is required through the Missouri Department of Conservation’s online event page.
The department offers additional virtual and in-person programs throughout the year. More information is available on the department’s events website.