9/11/24

By FHSU University Communications

HAYS, Kan. – The Kansas Wetlands Education Center’s 11th annual Butterfly Festival will be held on Saturday, September 28, from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. in Great Bend.

Each year, millions of monarch butterflies undertake their annual fall flight to Mexico. Nets and tags will be available during the event for those who want to capture and tag monarch butterflies.

Participants head out into the flower-filled fields and shelter belt around KWEC to capture monarchs, with tagging leaders stationed along the trail to help with the tagging process. For the past several years, monarchs tagged at the event were recovered at three Mexico roost sites.

On their way to Mexico, data collected from tagged monarchs helps support the research of Monarch Watch. Tagging helps answer questions about the origins of monarchs that reach Mexico, the timing and pace of the migration, mortality during the migration, and changes in geographic distribution. It also shows that the probability of reaching Mexico is related to geographic location, size of the butterfly, and the date.

StoneLion Puppet Theatre will be back again this year presenting “Bubba & Trixie,” a story of a scaredy-cat caterpillar afraid to leave his leaf until it meets a fearless ladybug. This story about friendship and facing fears is sure to delight attendees of all ages.

Larned-based Kellie Honey Farm will be present with a demonstration hive on display in the exhibit hall to educate about the importance of honeybees. KWEC will also feature an invertebrate zoo with giant walking stick insects, butterflies, caterpillars, chrysalises, fluorescing scorpions, and more. Kids can make a crawling caterpillar craft or a butterfly mobile at the craft station and take part in many other activities.

Grassland Groupies, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring the conservation of grassland ecosystems, will be at the festival with a Bumblebutt Petting Station, an all-male (so they won’t sting) bumble bee interaction display.

Explore the Melody Marsh, a new interactive addition to the KWEC Pollinator Garden, and paint a section of a mural celebrating the monarch butterfly that will be displayed on the garden’s fence.

The garden provides wildflower planting ideas to use at home. It features a variety of native and adaptable plants that serve as host plants for different species of caterpillars and provide nectar sources for pollinators, including butterflies, birds, bees, beetles, and more.

Milkweed plants and wildflower seeds will be available free until they run out. For more information, contact KWEC at 1-877-243-9268 or visit: wetlandscenter.fhsu.edu.