Join the City of Hot Springs Parks and Trails Department and the Diamond Lakes Arkansas Master Naturalists for Monarch Mania and a Guided walk along the Hot Springs Creek Greenway Trail on Saturday, October 7, Guided walk at 10:00, Monarch Mania at 10:30.
A lot has transpired since spring in the Monarch’s journey from Arkansas. Those “first generation” butterflies flew northward, and laid eggs. Those eggs became adults (second generation), heading as far north as Canada and the northern US. The eggs laid by the second generation became the “third generation”, and began their journey south to start the final “fourth or super generation”.
The October 7th Monarch release from the Butterfly Garden will contain the Super Generation (4th). Their destination is the Trans volcanic Mountains of Central Mexico. There, these “fourths” will overwinter in the Oyamel trees , many in Biosphere Reserves. Next March, this generation will mate, and return to the lower 48 states to lay their eggs. Thus, the monarch’s life cycle begins anew-the longest insect migration in North America.
The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. with a Guided Walk along the Hot Springs Creek Greenway Trail. The walk will begin in the area of the Veterans Memorial at the Transportation Depot. The distance to the Butterfly Garden is 0.75 miles. The total distance of the walk will be 1.5 miles along a smooth, paved surface. Along the way you will be introduced to the rich plant diversity of one of Hot Springs many parks.
Monarch Mania, a program on the Butterfly Garden, Pollinators, and the Release of Monarch Butterflies (Generation Four) will start at 10:30. The Program will be given by Certified Master Naturalists Karen Hicks and Loretta West at the Butterfly Garden located at the junction of the Greenway Trail and Runyon Street.
Those not wanting to make the walk can drive to the Butterfly Garden. Parking is available in the area of the intersection of Valley and Runyan streets. The program will start at approximately 10:30 a.m. This activity is weather dependent, and will be rescheduled in the event of inclement weather. ALL AGES WELCOME!