tagging

[jana]

hi everyone, I am so happy to be in the butterfly family hahaha and love them to pieces...to think that I tried to get rid of them in my garden few years ago just makes me squirm. I didnt know they were butterfly caterpilars and they were all over. Where exactly do you put the tags on? have released 5 at present in the last 3 weeks and now I have another ready to take off with 2 more to come. I am in Dunedin and my pets are in the lounge. would appreciate help

[Teresa]

Hi Jana, welcome There is tons to learn here on this website. The tag goes on the monarchs hind wing and it's very easy to do. If you read thru the forums here and with the info on the site you can do anything I like your name too, same as my kitty's

[jana]

thanks Teresa, I almost am scared I may rip its wings as they are so delicate. Were there 2 of yous to do it, one to hold the wings out and the other to tag? haha Jana is my business name. I am Ana.

[Teresa]

You'd be surprised at how tough the little things are.

[jana]

by the way I love my new name NEW EGG hahah..Dunedin is a bit cold at this time and am never sure if it is going to be a sunny day all day when I go to release my babies..thanks Teresa for the infos.. I appreciate it very much and yes, I am truly amazed to find so much infos about the Monarch butterflies on this site .. [/b]

[Paul Cherubini]

Jana, there might be monarchs clustering in the city parks, cemeteries and golf courses of Dunedin right now. In the city of Christchurch north of Dunedin, there are several monarch overwintering sites. There is a phamplet about the Chiristchurch sites you can download here: http://www.ccc.govt.nz/parks/theenviron ... rflies.pdf

Here is what the phamplet says about the St. James Park overwintering site in Christchurch:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/stjam.jpg
And here is an actual Google Earth photo of the site:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/ccstj.jpg

Here is what the phamplet says about the Abberley Park
overwintering site:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/abb.jpg
And here is an actual Google Earth photo of the site:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/ccaber.jpg

Here is what the phamplet says about the Ruru Lawn
Cemetery overwintering site:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/ruru.jpg
And here is an actual Google Earth photo of the site:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/ccruru.jpg

[jana]

thanks Paul I very much appreciate that...soon as it fines out, I will be trudging around the parks and cemetry in my gummies to look for them...armed with my camera hahah... thanks, will post pics if I locate them....

[Paul Cherubini]

Jana, here's a general idea of the types of habitats in Dunedin where you might find monarchs clustering:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/dune.jpg

Basically you want to look for isolated groves of tall everygreen trees (e.g. eucalyptus, pine, etc) surrounded by empty fields or lawns (e.g. city parks, golf courses or cemeteries). Try searching during the middle of a sunny day because if you see some Monarchs in flight then a cluster tree is likely nearby. On the other hand, if you don't see any flyers near a grove, then there probably aren't any clustering butterflies in that particular grove. Good luck.

[jana]

hey thanks a million Paul, that is awesome and guess what, I live directly opposite Carrisbrook Rugby Park on the Hill not far from the 2 sites up top. One is a cemetery and the other is the Oval Park..I know all these spots so thanks, I will embark on this exciting mission to locate Madam and Sir Butterflies hahaha Perhaps I may be lucky to see some and let you all know...as the Maoris in NZ would say, Thank you friend: Kapai e hoa... car-pie-eh-hoar[/size][/size][/b]

[jana]

Paul, do you have info on how long do they stay around in those trees for and do they stay over in winter or do they go else where warmer? thanks....[/b]

[Mona Miller]

:) hi everyone, I am so happy to be in the butterfly family hahaha and love them to pieces...to think that I tried to get rid of them in my garden few years ago just makes me squirm. I didnt know they were butterfly caterpilars and they were all over. Where exactly do you put the tags on? have released 5 at present in the last 3 weeks and now I have another ready to take off with 2 more to come. I am in Dunedin and my pets are in the lounge. would appreciate help

I didn't see you mention the Monarch Butterfly NZ Trust:
http://www.monarch.org.nz/monarch/
On the right is info on the tagging program and also info on how to tag, etc.
http://www.monarch.org.nz/monarch/ecolo ... -monarchs/