Monarch butterflies arrive early this year

Monarch butterflies may be making a comeback in New Brunswick.

After its 5,000-kilometrejourney north from Mexico, the monarch butterfly has made an early, unscheduled appearance in Canada.

Shift - NB10:42Good year for monarch butterflies?

Naturalist Jim Wilson says an early sighting in the province makes him hopeful that the numbers this year might be better than the last.

Jim Wilson is a naturalist and he's optimistic the butterflies are increasing in numbers.

"The last few years have been the lowest recorded number of monarchs ever, down to a fraction of what it would have been in its peak in the '80s and '90s," said Wilson on Friday in an interview with Shift.

But thanks to wet weather, the monarchs are finding plenty of places to lay their eggs this year.

Monarchs typically only live two to six weeksand are the only insect in the world known to make such a long migration.