New to Tagging

[RWDHarasen]

Hi
We have had Monarch's in are yard here in Thunder Bay on for about 8 or 9 years last year I don't think we even had one. This year we have about 30 caterpillar on are milk weed. I have sent away for tags and such. How should we start are tagging? We would like to get more information on how the Monarch do in Thunder Bay Thanks

[Paul Cherubini]

You should start tagging immediately. Thunder Bay, Ontario is located at 48.25 degrees N latitude which is almost exactly the same latitude as Grygla, Minnesota (48.31 degrees N). At Grygla, the monarchs begin migrating South and clustering in the evening during the first week of August each year: http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/grygld.jpg
So the same should be true at Thunder Bay.

How many monarchs have you been seeing each day or week in Thunder Bay this summer? As many monarchs as in 2007 and earlier years or alot less than those years? Thanks.

[Mona Miller]

http://www.monarchwatch.org/tagmig/peak.html
Latitude Midpoint Peak in monarch abundance
49 26 August 18-30 August
47 1 September 24 August -5 September

[Paul Cherubini]

http://www.monarchwatch.org/tagmig/peak.html
Latitude Midpoint Peak in monarch abundance
49 26 August 18-30 August
47 1 September 24 August -5 September

The field observation evidence about migration times that's been posted on the Journey North website conflicts what what the Monarch Watch website says. On Journey North, here is what Tom Mostrom, a resident of Grygla, Minnesota (latitude 48.31 degrees North said in 2001: http://www.learner.org/cgi-bin/jnorth/j ... ?997730200 "The monarchs started to arrive here [Grygla. MN] on August 1st with about 40-50 that day. The numbers grew into the thousands by the 9th [Thursday]. Most of them left Thursday afternoon, and by Friday morning (8/10) we only had a few hundred left. Today we still have a few hundred here even this cool morning (August 13); it's 43 (F) here."

Then during the first week of August in 2004 and 2007 I personally visited Grygla and observed the same thing; e.g. southward migration and evening clustering on Aug. 5: http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/grygld.jpg

[Mona Miller]

Journey North doesn't tag monarchs. The Monarch Watch data is also based on tag recoveries.

[Paul Cherubini]

Journey North doesn't tag monarchs. The Monarch Watch data is also based on tag recoveries.

According to the Monarch Watch Searchable Database, the Monarch Watch doesn't have any tag recovery data for the latitudes as high as Grygla, Minnesota or Thunder Bay, Ontario (except some 1998 recoveries of monarchs tagged in Winnipeg, Manitoba the 3rd week in August that may have been reared rather than field caught). Monarch Watch also doesn't mail out tags to taggers until around Aug. 5-10* so taggers at latitudes as high as Grygla, Minnesota and Thunder Bay, Ontario do not likely get their tags until around August 10-15 even though Aug. 1 - 10 is when the migrant monarchs are the most abundant (based on Journey North sighting data and my field experiences).

*In his recent Aug. 1, 2009 email, Jim Lovett wrote: "Tags for the 2009 Monarch Watch Tagging Kits have arrived and we have begun assembling the kits. Those of you that ordered between January 1st and June 30th of this year should receive your tags within the next week or so."