Monarch Butterflies
Migration Update: February 23, 2007
Please Report
Winter Sightings! >>

Today's Report Includes:

  • Exploring the Monarch's Winter Home in Mexico >>
    • Right Now..Monarchs are on the Move! >>
    • No Food for Five Months! >>
  • Journal Question: What Does the Graph Say? >>
  • Conservation News: Illegal Logging-Addressing the Problem >>
  • Links: Monarch Butterfly Resources to Explore >>


No Food for Five Months?

Photo: Don Davis
Exploring the Monarch's Winter Home in Mexico
Why do Monarchs fly to Mexico from across the continent?
Each week we're exploring a piece of the puzzle.

Photos: Monarchs moving in springtime by Dr. Lincoln Brower, Sweet Briar College
Right Now... Monarchs Are on the Move! 
It's too early for spring migration, but the butterfly colonies are moving now. The butterflies are spreading down the arroyos (streambeds) in search of water. Mexico is nearly 5 months into the dry season now, and water is scarce. These early signs of colony break-up mean the wintering season is coming to a close—and the journey north will soon begin!
No Food for Five Months? Slideshow >>

Monarch butterflies arrive in Mexico in November and stay until March. Scientists say they can survive all winter with little or no food at all.

How is this possible? Where do monarchs get the energy they need to survive?

Let's explore! >>

 

Photo: Don Davis

Journal: What Does the Graph Say?

Handout >>

It took years for scientists to learn about the monarch's needs for food in the winter. You can see the data they collected at a glance.

  • Write a question you can ask—and answer— by looking at this graph.
  • Then complete this sentence: This graph makes me wonder why...

 

  
Conservation News: Illegal Logging— Addressing the Problem

Website Lets Mexicans Report Illegal Logging Safely
One of the most innovative uses of Internet technology in conservation, a new website lets people in the monarch region report first-hand about illegal logging without fear of retribution. "According to letters posted by indigenous community members, individuals who try to intervene and stop the logging are being threatened and coerced by armed logging syndicates," say the site's organizers.

 See "More than Monarchs" >>
Flying Over Butterflies: Dr. Brower's Video
With the help of "Lighthawk," a group that volunteers pilots and planes for conservation, Dr. Lincoln Brower flew over the monarch sanctuaries and shot video of the monarchs and the forest. "Looking down on the monarch colonies from above, the deforestation in the area is strikingly clear," he said. Dr. Brower's homemade video is so powerful it has just been shown to the President of Mexico. We'll post it on this website later in the season so you can see it too.
Links: Monarch Butterfly Resources to Explore
  • Journey North for Kids: A student-directed entry point to Journey North >>
  • Primary Source Info: Is Nectar Important in the Monarch's Overwintering Habitat? >>
  • Reading With Experts: Navigating Difficult Passages >>
  • Conservation: Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Deforestation Maps >>
  • Journal: Monarch Winter Habitat Journal >>
  • Lesson: Get Ready for Spring Migration >>
  • Orientation: About Our Live Maps >>
More Monarch Lessons and Teaching Ideas!

The Next Monarch Migration Update Will Be Posted on March 2, 2007.

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