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The Overnight Roost: Why so hard to study?

Here are some reasons scientists have had a hard time studying monarch roosts during fall migration:

  • It's hard to find a roost!
  • Roosting monarchs are quiet. People can't hear them.
  • Roosting butterflies are hard to see.
  • They are well camouflauged. They look like leaves.
  • They are often high in the trees.
  • It's dark much of the time because the monarchs arrive at sunset (and may leave early in the morning).
  • Roosts form in unpredictable places; they can't always be found in the same place every year.
  • Roosts don't stay in a place for long.
  • The monarch's breeding range is large.
  • The migration season is short.
  • Fall migration happens only once a year.
  • Scientists have busy lives. They might not have time to travel during fall migration season.
  • It's hard to study something if you don't know when or where to find it!
  • Can you think of other reasons?

This is why observations made by citizen scientists can be so important. Regular people can contribute observations that are difficult or impossible for a scientist to make.

The Fall Roost: What makes them so hard to study?
Image: Peter Rasberry