Monarchs respond to certain sounds

[Orangeaid]

Today for the first time i noticed something weird and cool with my cats. As i was looking out the window at my caged cats they all started making a jerking movement with their heads.The milkweed plants and cats were rocking and it took a few seconds to understand why. One of my beagles was barking and each time he barked the monarchs would freak out. Well you learn something new every day and i guess that monarch cats can pick up the sound frequency of the bark and they react. I dont know if it bothers them but from the reaction it probably is not something they like to hear. Any other experiences from board members regarding this type of behavior ? Dave

[jen]

Hi Dave,
Never saw any of my monarch cats do anything like that, but 2 days ago, one of my swallowtail cats was jerking it's head to the right, almost rhythimically.This went on for about ten minutes At the time, I didn't notice anything strange, except for the fact my kids were singing at the top of their lungs, two rooms away. COINCIDENCE??????

[F3]

I saw my caterpillars headbang in synchronous when a bolt of lightning struck nearby. It was pretty funny to watch.

They seem to do it whenever something disturbs them. They run into one another fairly often and exchange headbutts, another funny sight.

[Farfalla]

I have noticed this, too! At least at school.. now it makes sense!! The monarchs share a classroom with fifteen 3 year olds ..and well... you can imagine what the volume is like sometimes.