| Please
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This Week's News:
- The Migration: Maps and Questions
- The Migration: Latest News:
- Photo of the Week: How do they know which way to go?
- Slideshow: Which Way to Mexico? Exploring the Mysteries of Monarch Navigation
- Links: Monarch Resources to Explore
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Crossing
the Great Plains and Funneling Toward Texas
The geography of our continent is clearly steering the migration
now. Butterflies from east to west must cross the southern Great Plains
as they head toward their entry point to Mexico. Texas is the gateway
state. Look at a map and see its central importance. After months of severe
drought there, recent rains arrived just in time to prepare the vegetation
for the hungry, thirsty travelers.
Here are some of this week's highlights:
- In Oklahoma on Wednesday, "Monarchs were passing by at the rate of about 15 - 20 per minute" and sunflower patches were loaded with nectaring butterflies.
- In Arkansas on Thursday, "My 6th grade class at St. Paul Elementary watched for 30 minutes and counted 62 monarchs traveling south, southwest. This is the most monarchs my class has seen during the past five years."
- In Kansas, Eisenhower Elementary students are on the lookout. "Today we saw a monarch flying south. It was so cool. We yelled, 'Monarch!' Then everyone saw it!"
- In Texas, 24 people reported overnight roosts in a single week! All were dazzled by the spectacle as was this observer on Thursday, "I walked toward the trees around 7:00 p.m., completely unaware of the monarchs' presence, when the trees exploded with color!"
What's
Happening Across the Continent?
Millions of monarchs are migrating across the Great Plains right now toward
Mexico, but that's not all. This week, take a visual tour of a map
of North America to see what else observers are reporting. Read comments
from the map of "All
Migration Sightings." From the far reaches of New Brunswick,
to the shores of the Great Lakes, the coast of California, the ciengas
of Arizona, and Mexico's Sierra Madres, people are observing monarchs
in widely varied landscapes and habitats. These observations raise fascinating
questions, inspire people with wonder, and challenge scientists to explain
the complicated life history of our familiar backyard butterfly.
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| Biggest
Yet! A roost of over 30,000 monarchs was discovered in west Texas on September 24th. |
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| Sunflowers bloom in September and attract hungry monarchs. |
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"The means by which monarchs navigate has mystified monarch researchers for over half a century and it remains one of the most intriguing questions of monarch biology," says monarch scientist Dr. Bill Calvert.
Every fall, we watch monarchs migrate down the map toward their winter home in Mexico. How do they know which way to go? How do they know when they get there? Scientists say monarchs orient with help from the sun and a special biological clock. They use what's called their "time-compensated Sun compass."
Travel with a monarch for a day in this slideshow. See why monarchs can't simply follow the sun. Find out how scientists study the mysterious world of monarch navigation.
- Map Skills: Make Your Own Map of Highlights on the Migration Trail
- Navigation and Orientation:
- Symbolic Migration: You're Invited to Send a Symbolic Monarch to Mexico!
- Slideshow: The Annual Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly
- Slideshow: The Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly (English/Spanish)
- Journey North for Kids: Monarch Butterfly Resources for Children
- Collecting Data: How to Monitor Fall Migration
- Observing Fall Habitat: How is Monarch Butterfly Habitat Changing?
- Encouraging Inquiry-based Research: Categorizing Questions
- More: Monarch lessons and teaching ideas
Monarch Butterfly Migration Updates Will be Posted on THURSDAYS: Aug. 27, Sep. 3, 10, 17, 24, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, Nov. 5...or until the monarchs reach Mexico!
The Next Monarch Migration Update Will Be Posted on October 8, 2009.
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