Contributing photographer Mike Greenlar captured this monarch butterfly as it sat on a sunflower in Syracuse’s North Side this August.
Monarch butterflies are attracted to sunflowers because the plants offer a large flat surface where the nectar of the plant is easily accessible. They migrate south toward Mexico in search of wintering sites as summer ends.
The World Wide Fund for Nature lists monarch butterflies as endangered.
Monarch butterflies only lay their eggs on milkweed and are the only source of food for baby caterpillars but milkweed has often been paved or plowed over, according to the WWF.
Read more of central Current’s coverage
Syracuse’s Flock readers may have been removed, but the readers still flourish in Central New York
Syracuse University and Baldwinsville schools avowed Flock’s merits while Congress heard testimony decrying license plate reader companies.
Facing a labor shortage, SHA, developer host free construction workforce training for SHA residents
More than 150 people signed up for the training. Part of the challenge in hiring construction workers is the number of construction jobs happening in the region.
Syracuse Housing Authority breaks ground on second phase of public housing redevelopment
The new building will be called The Simmons to honor the decadeslong career of SHA’s former Executive Director Bill Simmons.
AOC comes to Syracuse in an effort to reengage dormant Democratic voters
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ Monday trip to Syracuse was the last leg of a three-city tour across Upstate New York. She also visited Ithaca and Buffalo.
Sean Kirst: For three more months, at St. Lucy’s, cherishing ‘Father Jim’s Way’
A community surprise was unveiled last Thursday for a legendary priest, renowned for his outreach, who is set to retire on Jan. 1.
