Monarch butterfly lecture at Milton CHEER Aug. 14

The majestic and fascinating monarch butterfly will be the featured creature of the next Evening at the Hook lecture to be held at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 14, at the Milton CHEER Center. The program is free and open to the public, with no reservations required. The CHEER Center is at 24855 Broadkill Road, Route 16, two miles west of Route 1.

Speaker Michael McFarlin is a retired Army colonel with a passion for helping monarch butterflies, which he has been raising for the past seven years. McFarlin and his wife Susan have released more than 300 monarchs. He decided to help with their repopulation in Delaware when he learned of the alarming decline in their numbers over the past 20 years.

McFarlin will be discussing the life and migration cycles of the monarchs, which migrate to Mexico from southern Canada and the northern United States in late summer or fall. They return during the following spring, a journey that requires three or four generations of butterflies to complete.

McFarlin said, “This insect does not sting, carry disease or eat vegetables. It exists just to delight us. We need to do all we can so that for generations to come, it will be here for all to see and enjoy!”