Monarch Watch

Monarch butterflies usually flutter into Kansas City in swarms and visit for a couple of days before continuing south to Mexico. But with prolonged summer heat and heavy winds, the monarchs’ migration trickled through over weeks.

Once a chemical storage area, Olathe’s Pollinator Prairie has since been reclaimed as an ecological habitat hosting hundreds of native plants. A recent event showed off its role as a stopover for migrating pollinators like monarchs.

Monarch butterflies travel hundreds and even thousands of miles in their migration to Mexico. Volunteer efforts to tag the butterflies have helped scientists learn more about their journey.