Monarch release educates community on butterfly species

Butterfly dancing set the stage for educating people on the migratory patterns of the monarch butterfly Saturday at the Ziibiwing Center.

Dancing was one of the many events at the center’s Monarch Release Celebration at 6650 E. Broadway Road, but the focus was on the butterflies and teaching people about their yearly migration to Mexico.

“There’s a lot of aspects to it,” said Norma Richardson, a Mount Pleasant resident. “It’s not just fun. There’s a lot to learn.”

Citizens can help out by feeding the butterflies and setting up checkpoints or way stations for them to stop on their flight down.

Every year, the monarch butterfly migrates south for the winter. Guests could adopt a tagged butterfly for $1 and receive their tracking number to follow the butterfly’s progress.

Denny Brooks, a member of the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, said anywhere from 20 to 30 butterflies tagged in Michigan are recovered in Mexico a year. Returning butterflies are descendants of the previous year’s population.

The recovery

Karen Showalter, a Mount Pleasant resident, brought her own monarchs to the release. She has been raising them for four years and starting tagging them last year. One of her butterflies was found in Mexico.

“It’s surprising I had one recovered, because millions and millions migrate to the same spot in Mexico,” Showalter said. “You can do this for 10 years and never have one recovered.”

Butterfly dancing, also known as fancy shawl dancing, features women dancing in colorful shawls. Each dancer has her own special shawl meant to represent herself.

“The costumes were beautiful and very colorful,” Richardson said, who came with her neighbor’s daughter and friend.

About 150 people gathered at the Ziibiwing Center for the release and the dancing. In between, they were supplied with bulletin boards and a DVD on the monarch.

“All the seats were full with both adults and children — it was surprising,” said Visitors Service Coordinator Yvette Pitawanakwat. “It’s good educating kids and adults on the monarch. It’s a fascinating creature.”

Many of the additional events were for children and included the “Little Miss Butterfly” pageant show, arts and crafts, face painting and storytelling.