Monarchs in southern Bahamas

[Robert61]

It's November 22, 2011 and I've been on Exuma, Bahamas for about a week. In the capital of Exuma, called Georgetown, I saw 6 monarch butterflies, so far. I posted a picture of a male monarch on the Monarch Watch Facebook. I had no idea they migrated this far south in the Caribbean and would appreciate any input. Do they migrate here to the southern Bahamas? Has any been spotted on other Bahamian islands this far south, like Long Island, Cat Island, etc.? Have any banded monarchs been recorded this far south in the Bahamian archipelago? Please advise and thank you. Robert at Create a Wildlife-Friendly Yard www.createawildlifefriendlylawn.blogspot.com

[Robert61]

OOPS! It's at www.wildlifefriendlylawn.blogspot.com

[Mona Miller]

Yes, they do some times migrate down through Florida and across the gulf of Mexico. They are known to islands hop, land on ships, and make their way through the Caribbean Islands. Dr. Urquhart confirmed one by tag that was from the US that went to Cuba.

http://www.monarchwatch.org/tagmig/urq1.htm
"The following four maps (click on the thumbnail images to view maps) show the significant recaptures (304) in the United States that were reported in Urquhart's "Insect Migration Studies" newsletter from 1964-1994. Most interesting among these recaptures are the instances of Monarchs in Florida crossing the Gulf of Mexico to Texas and Louisiana and one Monarch recovery in Havana, Cuba!"

"Monarch Butterfly, International Traveler" by Dr. Urquhart has some more details.

Did you take any photos? There are Monarch Latin American cousins that look a lot like them. You can also find that in Dr. Urquhart's book.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/ ... ition=used
Amazon has some used copies of Dr. Urquhart's book.

Don't forget to go through the Monarch Watch Amazon portal so that Monarch Watch gets some of the proceeds from the sale:
http://monarchwatch.org/amazon/

[Robert61]

Thanks Mona! I put a photo of one on the Create A Wildlife-Friendly Yard site: www.wildlifefriendlylawn.blogspot.com Let me know if it's a Latin American cousin to the U.S. Monarch. Bob

[Mona Miller]

This does look like our North American Monarch Danaus plexippus.

I cross posted this on the main Monarch Watch list serve.

[Paul Cherubini]

Yes, at least one (and maybe two) monarchs tagged on the east coast of the USA have been recaptured in the Bahamas: http://www.monarchmonitoringproject.com/recover.html