Monarch Butterfly Migration Update: March 4, 1997

Karen Leichtweis

• Click Here to Read Fernando's Latest Message.

There is now a clear sign that the hibernation period is ending and the migration is about to begin: Mating activity is rampant. Where ever you look, male and female monarchs are coupled together. Once the pair is joined, the butterflies stay together f or many hours-- probably until the next morning. This is clearly a struggle for life; all of these butterflies will be dead within a few weeks. Only those males who mate successfully will pass their genes to the next generation, and their behavior appears frantic. The females will attempt to carry the eggs to the north and lay them before they also die.

Challenge Question # 4
How do you think monarchs know when it's time to leave Mexico? (That is, how do you think the butterflies "tell time"?)

Challenge Question # 5
"What will the monarchs need when they arrive in the north? Why?"

To respond to this Challenge Question please follow the instructions at the end of this report.

Survival of the Swiftest?
As if surviving the cold winter weren't challenge enough, these monarchs have also avoided being eaten for the past 4 months! When temperatures drop, the butterflies are especially vulnerable. (Remember, monarchs are cold-blooded so they can hardly move w hen it's cold!) Monarchs face 3 predators in Mexico. Mice visit the sanctuary and feast on the butterflies, as do 2 bird species. To these predators, millions of monarchs mean good eating. In fact, the mice who eat monarchs receive enough food energy to produce high numbers of offspring while the monarchs are in town. (This is at a time of year when other mice species produce few young.) The 2 bird predators also have a significant impact on the monarch population, as described in the report below prep ared by Adam Lipschultz and Anna Curtis of Blake School.

• Click Here to Read Predation Report.

• Click Here to Read Message from Papalote's Martha Sanchez.

Food for Thought
Few Americans or Canadians know where their next meal is coming from. Our daily diet contains food from around the globe! In contrast, the people who live beside the monarch sanctuaries grow their own food and have a hand in its production every step of the way--from the field to the table. This photo essay provides a glimpse of daily life in the El Rosario community, where corn tortillas are still made as they have been for centuries. (Although you can't see the butterflies in this photo, they are resting on the face of this mountain at the El Rosario monarch sanctuary. Cornfields have been planted right to the edge of the forest.)

• Click Here to See Photo Essay.

In our last report we asked, "How do the students of Escuela Primerio Pedro Ascencio say monarchs should be protected?" Students went to great lengths to find translators who could help them answer this question. Here Mrs. Uebner's 5th graders students a t Mariposa Elementary School, near Yosemite, California (mes@yosemite.net) describe their efforts:

"One group got it from their mom. The same group also used a Spanish - English dictionary to translate the words. The second group guessed what some of the words were. The third group asked a friend's grandma. The fourth group asked Mrs. G ibbons (our aid) what the words were. The fifth group asked their brother that's in Spanish class. And last, but not least, is the sixth group who asked people on their bus."

Here are their translations:

* No hasaer lumbres junto a ellas.

* No matarlas.

* No tirando arboles.

* No espantarlas cuando estaen tomando agua.

* No acerles ruido.

* Don't make fires next to them.

* Don't kill them.

* Don't cut down trees.

* Don't scare them when they are drinking water.

* Don't make noises.

Thanks for the great answers sent from the following schools:

• Hudson Falls Middle School, Hudson Falls, New York
• Ferrisburgh Central School, Ferrisburgh, Vermont
• Angevine Middle School, Lafayette, Colorado
• Coal Creek Elementary, Louisville, Colorado
• Jack Callaghan Public School, Lindsay, Ontario
• SHENNEMUTH@LIND.mpls.k12.mn.us in Minnesota

• Click Here to Read Their Translations

How to Respond to Today's Challenge Questions:
Please do not answer both questions in one message!

How to Respond to Journey North Monarch Challenge Question # 4

1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-monarch@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question # 4
3. In the body of the message, give your answer to this question:

Challenge Question # 4
How do you think monarchs know when it's time to leave Mexico? (That is, how do you think the butterflies "tell time"?)

How to Respond to Journey North Monarch Challenge Question # 5

1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-monarch@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question # 5
3. In the body of the message, give your answer to this question:

Challenge Question # 5
"What will the monarchs need when they arrive in the north? Why?"

Don't Forget!
Please include the name of your school and your location so we can credit you properly for your answers.

The Next Monarch Butterfly Migration Update Will be Posted on March 11, 1997.