For several years now, two events have become part of my summer: WXPN’s Exponential Music Festival and the Pennsylvania Governor’s Institute for Environment and Ecology. Both are in July.

I participated in the XPN event on July 12 and 13 where I had the pleasure of
joining the staff and volunteers of Philly’s WXPN Kids Corner radio program at the Camden Children’s Garden .

The Exponential Music festival is a four-day music festival at Wiggins Park in Camden, J. For two of those four days, Kids Corner takes over the Camden Children’s Garden and hosts a music festival for kids. On both of those days I was set up at a table to meet, greet, and take short nature walks around the garden with kids and their families.  

This year we brought crafts so kids could make their own nature bookmarks. I also brought some Monarch caterpillars and butterflies for our display along with a magnifying lens which was a kid-magnet (photo at right ©Mark “Spark” Wilkins) Rob and I were joined by our intern, Becky, her friend Jenny, and Alex, Rob’s daughter who was visiting from California.

Over the years we have had some exciting discoveries during our nature walks at the garden. I think one of the most memorable is two years ago when we watched a Monarch lay eggs on the milkweed leaves. I must have taken hundreds of people to see those butterfly eggs and it was a first-ever for most.  Kathy O’Connell (host of the Kids Corner radio program) still talks about those eggs.

I was looking forward to finding more eggs this year but the festival dates were earlier than previous years. As a result, we didn’t spot any eggs. The caterpillars I brought along were a big hit with the kids (left, photo ©Mark “Spark” Wilkens). We didn’t even see many butterflies in the garden. We saw one Tiger Swallowtail, one Red Admiral, a skipper (I forget which one it was) and (of course) lots of Cabbage Whites. I’m not seeing many butterflies at all this year—not in my backyard, neighborhood, or local park.

Where are the butterflies this year? I did a little research on the web and found lots of other people (as far away as Australia) who are asking the same question, “Where are all the butterflies?” 

Early in the spring, Becky (our intern) and I found and photographed Tiger Swallowtails puddling near the lake (photo below). I was guessing they had all just emerged. Since that day, I’ve not seen more than one at a time—anywhere. Our butterfly bushes are empty except for Cabbage Whites and an occassional skipper. So far this year,  I’ve only seen 2 Monarchs at any given time, one Red-Spotted Purple, and one Eastern Black Swallowtail. I’m raising Monarchs and Swallowtails (see Becky’s blog) and will release the adults as they emerge.

On Monday morning, Becky and I will travel to Seven Springs, PA for the Governor’s Institute. We’ll spend four days of the week with about 150 classroom teachers and environmental educators. Our own Denise Hansen will be participating, too. You can bet that Becky and I will be looking for butterflies as we travel across the state on the PA Turnpike. I’ll be sure to ask each and every teacher if they are seeing fewer butterflies this year. 

I’d love to know what’s happening in your area. Where are you located and are you seeing butterflies? Have you noticed any difference this year versus previous years? Please post a comment to tell us what you’ve seen.