Monarch butterflies released at Assiniboine Park Zoo

Monarch butterflies fluttered above dozens of children at the Assiniboine Park Zoo's day camp on Friday.

The zoo released 40 of the colourful, winged insects from its Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden inan event held in partnership with Monarch Watch and the Monarch Teachers Network.

"This is the third year weve done the tag and release," curator Janice Martin said in a news release.

"It helps facilitate the monarch migration, and its a wonderful opportunity for us to educate the young people here today and our visitors about monarch butterflies."

Monarch butterflies will now fly to Mexico for the winter. The end of August is the peak migration period for monarch butterflies in the Winnipeg region.