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Contents:
1) Status of the Population
2) Tagging Kit Availability
3) Spring Reports of Monarchs in Texas
4) Monarch Waystation Update
5) Monarch Watch Open House & Monarch Tagging Event
6) Monarch Degree Days For The Last Three Seasons
7) Monarch Watch Online Community Forums
8) Papalotzin
9) Determining Sex of Monarch Pupae
10) Morelia Monarch Conference Books
11) About Our Update List
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Unless otherwise noted, all content was authored by Chip Taylor, edited by Jim Lovett and Sarah Schmidt, and published by Jim Lovett.
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What a difference a year makes! Last year at this time I was busy downplaying expectations for the fall migration; there were few optimistic signs. This year it’s all, or nearly all, “high fives” and “thumbs up” for the migration. Conditions really look favorable for an excellent migration. Last month I predicted that the migration would result in an overwintering population in Mexico of 5-7 hectares (all monarch colonies combined). It now looks like the population could be even larger and may even exceed the long term average of 9 hectares - let’s hope this is the case. The big unknown is the size of the monarch population in the regions affected by the drought that extends from central Missouri to northern Illinois, eastern Wisconsin into the upper peninsula of Michigan, east through Indiana, Ohio, and into western Pennsylvania and central New York. Reports have been relatively scarce from this region and the few that I’ve seen haven’t been as positive as those from other parts of the country. Some parts of the drought affected areas, particularly eastern Wisconsin, Michigan’s upper peninsula, and northern Illinois typically produce monarchs in substantial numbers. If the drought has significantly limited monarch reproduction in these areas, my earlier estimate of 5-7 hectares might be more realistic. For the latest on the drought, see the Drought Monitor web site:
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
Whatever the effect of the drought, it is clear that the migration will be one of the best in years through the central flyway from the eastern Dakotas, Minnesota, western Wisconsin down through Iowa, western Missouri, eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Good numbers of monarchs are being produced in Ontario, and from southern New England through North Carolina leading to expectations for a good migration in the coastal states. Here in eastern Kansas, monarchs have been abundant throughout August, not only just outside our building (to which monarchs are attracted because of abundant milkweed and nectar plants) but in the surrounding countryside. A number of local schools and residents have reported large numbers of monarch larvae devouring the milkweeds in their butterfly gardens.
Monarchs are on the move at the most northerly latitudes, starting in Winnipeg at 50 degrees N close to the 15th of August. The migration should reach 45N (St Paul) close to the 26th of August and we expect them to reach Lawrence, KS close to the 9th of September, just in time for our Open House on the 10th and the tagging event at the Baker Wetlands on the 17th (see below).
Enjoy the migration!
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2) Tagging Kit Availability
As we’ve mentioned in the two previous Updates, we did not initially order as many tags as in previous years (only 200,000) but given the optimistic outlook for the upcoming migration, we decided to have another 40,000 tags produced. Nevertheless, the window of availability is closing fast and we expect to be out of tags early in September. If you plan on participating in our tagging program this season as a part of a tagging event, with your school, or with family and friends please order your tags soon so that you don't miss out!
Monarch Tagging Kits are available via the Monarch Watch Shop online (24/7) at
http://Shop.MonarchWatch.org/category.aspx?c=tagging_kits
or by calling 1-800-780-9986 (M-F 8am-8pm ET)
If you are not sure when you should be tagging in your area, please use the following as a guide. You can determine your latitude by visiting
http://www.indo.com/distance/
If you live north of 40N latitude, you should be tagging now; 35-39N - start tagging the week of the 29th; 30-34N - start tagging the week of 8 September, and 25-29N - tag beginning the 15th of September. Actually, if you tag monarchs using these guidelines, you will be tagging for about a week to 10 days or more before the front of the migration arrives. This could mean that some of the monarchs you tag will still be reproductive while others will be preparing to join the migration. By tagging monarchs before the front, or mass of the migrating monarchs, arrives we will be able to tell from recoveries whether monarchs produced south of 37N join the migration. From the recoveries to date south of 37N, it doesn’t appear that monarchs on the wing before the front of the migration arrives end up joining the migration. On the other hand, it could be that the taggers at these latitudes simply don’t start tagging until the front arrives from the northeast. Let’s tag a bit early and see what we can find out.
Additional information is available at http://www.MonarchWatch.org/tagmig/peak.html
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3) Spring Reports of Monarchs in Texas
A note on the number of monarchs reported in the spring in Texas.
In the June Update I made the following statement: "As I've pointed out previously, an analysis of observed sightings such as these rests on the assumption that similar numbers of observers are motivated to report their sightings each year and that weather patterns or other events do not increase or decrease the numbers of observations reported.” For most of the country, the numbers of spring monarch sightings reported to Journey North come from JN’s network of participants and sightings reported to Dplex-L. In Texas, the networks of amateur and professional biologists developed first by Bill Calvert and then by Mike Quinn (starting in September 2000) have generated many of the sightings in that state. The numbers of monarchs reaching Texas in the spring, the environmental conditions encountered by these butterflies, e.g. drought, fire ants, etc., and their subsequent reproductive success are our first clues as to how the monarchs will fair each year. Therefore, the reports from Texas are important and we hope that Mike Quinn will be able to activate his network of observers next spring and for many springs to come.
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4) Monarch Waystation Update
Wow! The number of Monarch Waystations registered has tripled since the last Update. In late July we announced the availability of the online registration and certification interface via our web site. Many of you have taken advantage of this to easily register and certify your Monarch Waystation. The process is simple and it takes only a few minutes to register your site.
We are excited by the number of new Monarch Waystations! It’s evident that this small program, which we announced on the 21st of April, is catching on and will continue to grow. To keep it growing, we will need all of you who are concerned about monarch conservation to promote the Monarch Waystation concept and to encourage others to join in this conservation effort. Some stewards of new Monarch Waystations have contacted their local newspapers, resulting in news stories about the need to create and conserve monarch habitats. These are “good news” stories and they help to spread the word. If you contact a newspaper and need any help or advice just go to the web site for all the background on the Monarch Waystation program, or have the reporter give us a call.
If you look at the Monarch Waystation registry online at
http://www.MonarchWatch.org/ws/registry.html
you will see that habitats for monarchs have been created at home and public gardens, nature centers, butterfly houses, schools, zoos, park districts, botanical gardens, and funeral homes. This is a great start and the possibilities seem endless. It sure would be good to get some retirement homes, hospitals, and golf courses on the registry as well, so please continue to spread the word and get others involved in creating, conserving and protecting monarch habitats!
Monarch Waystation Program: http://www.MonarchWatch.org/ws/
Finally, we now have a limited number of Monarch Waystation T-shirts and Canvas Tote Bags available via the Monarch Watch Shop. We announced this in our online forums last week and orders are starting to come in! Each features the Monarch Waystation logo with the message "Create, Conserve, & Protect Monarch Habitats" and the t-shirt adds "Monarch Waystations" on the front left chest. The artwork is printed in a two-tone green that compliments the natural color of the t-shirt and canvas tote.
You can view the graphics in the forum announcement at
http://www.MonarchWatch.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=249
or in the Monarch Watch Shop at
Monarch Waystation T-shirt (item #125872)
http://Shop.MonarchWatch.org/product.aspx?p=125872
and
Monarch Waystation Canvas Tote (item #125874)
http://Shop.MonarchWatch.org/product.aspx?p=125874
You can order these items online in the Monarch Watch Shop by using the product links above or by calling 1-800-780-9986. Let us know what you think!
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5) Monarch Watch Open House & Monarch Tagging Event
Monarch Watch Open House
Saturday, 10 September 2005 8am-3pm
More info: http://www.MonarchWatch.org/openhouse/
Once again, we are having an Open House at Monarch Watch at Foley Hall on West Campus of the University of Kansas. We've averaged about 500 visitors or so to these Open House events and we expect a good turnout for our next event as well. This event is designed to please children and adults alike and will feature an introduction to Monarch Waystations.
As usual, we will provide refreshments, lots of hands-on show & tell, iChat videoconferencing demonstrations, monarch tagging demonstrations, and of course monarch butterflies and caterpillars!
We'd love to see you there, but realize that all of you "out of towners" in Canada, New Zealand, England, Australia, etc. might not be able to make it so we are planning to have some treats that you can check out online during the event. Mark your calendars and be sure to visit us online or in person on the 10th!
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Monarch Tagging at the Baker-Haskell Wetlands (Lawrence, KS)
Saturday, 17 September 2005, 7:30-11:30am
More info: http://www.MonarchWatch.org/wetlands/
Once again, Jayhawk Audubon Society and Monarch Watch are sponsoring Monarch butterfly tagging for the public at the Baker University Wetlands. There is no charge to participants and no experience is necessary - so bring yourself, your kids (all ages), your friends, and your neighbors! If you have a net, bring that too, though JAS and Monarch Watch will provide the tags, nets, and instructions in how to net and tag monarchs. In 2001, 325 participants tagged nearly 3000 of the estimated 20,000 Monarchs present, and at least 85 of those tagged were recovered at the winter roost sites in Mexico! You can view all of the recoveries tagged at these events by searching for Lawrence-tagged monarchs in our new searchable recovery database at
http://www.MonarchWatch.org/tagmig/recoveries.htm
We hope to see you there!
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6) Monarch Degree Days for the Last Three Seasons
By Janis Lentz and Chip Taylor
Due to the size of this article (lots of data!) it has been given its own page at
http://www.MonarchWatch.org/update/2005/0830_degreedays.html
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7) Monarch Watch Online Community Forums
It has been just over a year since we launched the Monarch Watch Forums online. The forum community continues to grow and we are now at 382 registered users (at least 10 countries represented) and over 900 articles.
This new community is off to a great start but it is obvious that there are a lot of you out there that haven’t checked it out yet or are just “lurking” (nothing wrong with that) instead of joining in ;-)
We are continually tweaking the online forums and would love feedback so that we can mold them into something that is really useful and satisfies the needs of this wonderful monarch community.
I encourage everyone reading this to give the forums a try, send us feedback and help us build a stronger online community for Monarch Watchers all around the world. So what are you waiting for? Head on over to
http://www.MonarchWatch.org/forums/
take a couple of minutes to register, then read through the ANNOUNCEMENTS and join in!
If you have any questions about using the forums please feel free to drop us a line anytime. ENJOY! :-)
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Can you imagine following the flight of the monarchs to Mexico in an ultra-light aircraft? It could be fun, exciting, dangerous, a great logistic challenge, and an extraordinary adventure. I’m sure it is all of the above and much more and if you wish to follow the exploits of the crew that has taken on this amazing mission, in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund, visit their web site at www.papalotzin.com. For a newspaper article on the flight see:
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/aug/10/pilot_accompany_butterflies_along_route/
The flight will (tentatively) pass through the following cities: Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Breslau (near Cambridge), Point Pelee, and Niagara Falls in Canada, New York state (and perhaps NYC), Washington, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Lawrence, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Austin, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, then into Mexico to Monterrey, Saltillo, Queretaro, Morelia and Valle de Bravo.
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9) Determining Sex of Monarch Pupae
We often receive inquiries about how to determine the sex of pupae. The “how to” can be found on our web site at: http://www.MonarchWatch.org/biology/sexing.htm. The text is accompanied by a line drawing showing the anterior-posterior line on the ventral side of the abdomen on the 8th sternite (abdominal segment) that distinguishes a female from a male, which has only a slight depression at this location. While this verbal description is clear, unless you are put off by the terminology, and the line drawing shows you what needs to be seen, there is nothing like a good picture. Ron Brancato, the artist who created two of the monarch posters that can be found in the Monarch Watch Shop, recently sent us a wonderful photo montage that clearly show the differences between male and female pupae. We wish to thank Ron for thinking of us and allowing us to use the image.
Pupae image: http://www.MonarchWatch.org/update/2005/0830_pupae.html
Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly Poster II: http://Shop.MonarchWatch.org/product.aspx?p=125560
Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly Poster: http://Shop.MonarchWatch.org/product.aspx?p=113204
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10) Morelia Monarch Conference Books
Last month we announced the availability of about 20 books from the Monarch Conference held in Morelia, Mexico in 1997. They’re gone! Thanks to all of you who expressed an interest in this publication - we are sorry we didn’t have enough books to fulfill all the requests. We appreciate the contributions received above and beyond the cost of shipping. If we find any more books as we continue to organize our space we'll let you know!
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