Hundreds of butterflies tagged, released at Butterfly Festival

SAN ANTONIO – Hundreds of butterflies were tagged and released Sunday at the Butterfly Festival at the Pearl.

The event was hosted by the Texas Butterfly Ranch. The festival kicked off with a parade by the People for Pollinators with butterfly costumes and music. 

Founder of the Texas Butterfly Ranch Monika Maeckle said it's important to cherish not just the monarch butterflies, but all pollinators. 

“A lot of the food you see at the farmers' market is pollinated by bees, butterflies, birds and bats,” Maeckle said. “In China, they have so much pollution they have to hand-pollinate certain crops, and that’s very expensive and increases the price of your food.” 

Maeckle says educating the public about the importance of pollinators was the goal of the Butterfly Festival, with hopes of encouraging more urban pollinator habitats.