When Doug Burton tells people he volunteers to tag monarch butterflies, the first question is always, “How?”
Birds get metal or plastic bands around their legs. Bears and other animals get piercings, usually on their ears, or wear tracking collars.
None of those are options for the delicate black and orange monarchs. Instead, the beautiful butterflies get a very sticky sticker on a specific spot on their wing.
Burton, who lives in East Allen Township, is one of the rare volunteers in the Lehigh Valley who tag the butterflies for Monarch Watch, a nonprofit education and research program based out of the University of Kansas.
Starting in late August, volunteers in North America prepare to tag fourth generation monarchs, called the migratory monarchs, as they head to Mexico for the winter.
How Burton got involved in putting 100 delicate stickers on butterflies every year goes back to when he was a kid.
“It’s a long story, but I’ll make it short,” he said.
Burton and his sister were part of a 4-H entomology club when they were kids, and spent plenty of time outdoors. Burton grew up, went to college, got married and had a son. When the family lived in Nazareth, his son would wake up early, they would grab breakfast at the Nazareth Diner and then head to Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center.
Burton started getting more interested in what they would see on their walks, including the different butterflies. Then, a few years back, he read an article about the decline in the monarch population and how people could help by volunteering with Monarch Watch.
Burton ordered some tags, and is now in his sixth year tagging the butterflies. So far, two of his tags have been spotted in Mexico.
Burton keeps a census in his head in the spring and fall, taking note when he starts to see the butterflies to check for eggs in the spring and get ready for tagging in September.
“You don’t see too many. And then you see a few more, and then, all of sudden, they’re just everywhere you look,” he said of the fall migration. This year, Burton said he saw 45 monarchs in one hour.
Jacobsburg in Bushkill Township is a particularly good spot, in part because of all of its flowers, including the Maximilian sunflower fields.
“They just love (the flowers). The monarchs come in and just sit there and fuel up for going south,” he said.
Burton led a monarch butterfly tagging lesson for kids in September at the center. He kept 25 of his 100 tags to use, and they went quickly as each kid started finding butterflies.
Asked how he tags the butterflies, Burton easily slips into teacher mode, starting with “say you’re a monarch,” with arms as the upper wings and legs as the lower wings. There’s one orange area, called a cell, in the middle of the lower wing that doesn’t touch the outer edge, and that’s where the sticker is stuck.
The tag is very sticky and small, about the size of an eraser head, and Burton uses precise watchman tweezers to place it, and then gently squeezes it to make sure it’s attached.
“After you catch 100 every year, it gets pretty easy,” he said.
Volunteers have to note the tag number, the date, the ZIP code where the butterfly was found, if the butterfly is male or female, and if it’s reared or wild.
In March, Monarch Watch workers go to Mexico to look for the tags. Burton said one of his tags was found fours years ago, and a single tag was found again two years ago.
Now, spotters can also enter tags online of monarchs found in the U.S. on their way down south.
You can find a list of events at Jacobsburg, including an upcoming event to collect seeds for native flowers and grasses, here.
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Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
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A Lehigh Valley man has tagged hundreds of monarch butterflies to track migration. How does he do it? - lehighvalleylive.com
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