Library Courtyard

The Jay Jay Courtyard is an official waystation for Monarch Butterflies. We are Waystation #193 out of 538 waystations across North America. Visit MonarchWatch.org on the web for more information about the Waystation Program.

We have planted cultivated tropical milkweed in the garden and there are native milkweeds around the campus that we also monitor. In 2005 we only had a few eggs in the garden.

Females usually lay only one egg per plant - there is discussion in the science community about the truth of that. We had many more caterpillars than plants, so I suspect that is not always true.

Monarchs leave Mexico starting in late February and travel toward Canada east of the Rockies laying eggs along the way. In July they start migrating back toward Mexico. Some tagged butterflies have traveled more than 1500 miles. We have certificates for 12 butterflies that we tagged here at Jay that made it to El Rosario in Michoacan, Mexico, a distance of almost 700 miles. We have tagged over 1500 butterflies that were caught be Jay students in the fall migrations.

Don't forget to visit John Jay's Monarch Butterflies Research page that is under the direction of Science Cooridinator, Carol Johnson. Mrs. Johnson has been a monarch enthusiast for many years and is responsible for bringing these delicate insects to our campus that demonstrates how some of nature’s most elegant creations must be diligent and hard workers to survive.