On Thursday, September 17th, Missouri Conservation Corps (MCC) returned to the A.L. Gustin Golf Course with Sustain Mizzou to catch and tag migrating Monarch butterflies. Led by MCC Naturalist Laura Semken, students were given the opportunity to interact with Monarchs in different life-stages and witness the tagging process first-hand. Course superintendent Isaac Breuer joined us once more to speak on how he and the golf course choose to support pollinators and native birds by incorporating pollinator plots in out-of-play areas.
Eleanor Leslie, a student reporter and photojournalist with The Maneater, joined us on this excursion. Her article, published on September 28th, wonderfully describes the process of Monarch tagging, including the reality that not all attempts are successful. On this evening, we were able to catch and tag three butterflies, and with each demonstration, Semken hoped to instill confidence and curiosity in her audience to pursue Monarch tagging.
