While Northeast Georgia residents head off to parts unknown for vacation during the summer months, the monarch butterflies will travel through the area on their to Mexico in the late summer.

This migration will be the topic of discussion during the June 14 meeting of the Redbud Project Chapter of Georgia Native Plant Society. The meeting will begin with a 6:30 p.m. gathering followed by at 7 p.m. program at First Presbyterian Church, 800 S. Enota, in Gainesville. It is free and open to GNPS members and nonmembers.

Monarch butterflies are an important indicator of whether human economic activity is damaging our environment with air pollution and ecosystem loss. The same ecosystems that support successful butterfly populations serve all plant and animal life, including humans. If butterflies do well, humans are likely to do well, too.

Monarch butterflies are easy to recognize with bright orange wings, covered with black veins and white dots ranging from 3 to 5 inches. Their colorful wings warn predators they are poisonous from eating the toxins in milkweed, the only food source of the caterpillar.

Dr. Paola A. Barriga, post doctoral researcher at the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia, will share the latest research on monarch butterfly migration, affect of parasites and disease and inform citizens how they can apply the monarch research in their communities.  Barriga’s research has been published extensively in scientific journals and monographs. She earned her doctorate degree in biology from the University of Arkansas and undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. She has received numerous fellowships, awards, grants and scholarships.

For more information, call Margaret Rasmussen at 678-989-1813 or email redbudproject@gmail.com.