Back to This Week's Update

Why so many male monarchs?
This roost formed on Tuesday night in San Angelo, Texas. "It seems the majority of monarchs in this shot are males," noted the observer. "Should this be expected?"

Look carefully at the monarchs pictured below. Male monarchs have a black patch on one of the veins on each of their hind wings. Can you identify the males? Dr. Bill Calvert of Texas Monarch Watch says he has sometimes noticed male monarchs in high proportions in Texas, too. "Some years in Texas, early (August) monarchs were nearly all tattered males. But the pattern has not held up over the years. Mysteries like these will only be solved by lots of observations that establish patterns that relate to specific conditions."