Temperatures
finally turned cold this week, and monarchs made a suprising
late-season push in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions. A warm
September gave late-blooming monarchs time to complete their life cycle.
Will the remaining butterflies have time to escape before it's too cold
for them to fly?
Why
so few monarchs this year? "Never in my 25 years of teaching
has it been impossible to find monarchs for my classroom!" People
in eastern Canada and the New England states wonder why they've seen so
few monarchs this year. What
could be the causes?
Migration
picks up on East Coast
The Cape
May Monarch Migration Project monitors migration daily on the New
Jersey coast. They reported an average of 38 monarchs per hour last week,
up from 7 per hour the week before.
Still
laying eggs across the South. Observers across the southern U.S.
from Virginia to Texas, are reporting eggs in their butterfly gardens
and natural habitats, like this example from Mississippi College:"Egg
laying is still underway, with 31 fresh eggs and a few larvae." How
important is production in these states to the population?
Most
monarchs are now moving across the Central Plains. Our map of
the overnight roosts shows where large numbers of monarchs are concentrated.
Where are most of North America's monarchs now? Take a look!
Biggest roost of the season in Texas. The monarchs reached Texas
early this year, and they're farther west than usual. This large roost
of 30,000+ monarchs is already west of the overwintering sites in Mexico.
Will the monarchs continue their westerly pathway across Mexico this year?
First
monachs arriving at California's overwrintering sites.
Did you know North America has two populations of monarchs? The
western population migrates to California and the eastern population migrates
to Mexico. Many questions remain about where the populations overlap,
especially in the Rocky Mountain states.
New
research in Arizona raises questions. Monarchs appeared around
the state in July. Why aren't they on the migration map? Because nobody
knows if they are resident or migratory butterflies.
These sightings present a complicated picture. Watch to see what the Southwest
Monarch Study discovers as they collect more data, and check out their
recent tagging returns for some surprises.
More
sightings from northern Mexico--but are they migrants?
Some butterflies seem to be migrating, but others are laying
eggs. Numbers will build in the next two weeks and, by mid-October, people
here may see thousands per minute! Watch for observations forwarded by
Rocio Trevino, of the Correo
Real migration-tracking project.
The
Finish: Not Monarchs Yet!
Estela Romero is our on-the-scenes reporter. She's watching the
skies in her hometown of Angangueo, Michoacan, and will announce the news
when the first monarchs appear!