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Migration
Update: March 2, 2007 |
Please
Report
Winter Sightings! >> |
Today's
Report Includes:
- Exploring
the Monarch's Winter Home in Mexico >>
- Right
Now... Preparing to Recolonize North America! >>
- Who's
Been Eating the Monarchs?
>>
- Journal
Question: How
About That Milkweed?!
>>
- Links:
Monarch Butterfly Resources to Explore >>
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Who's Been Eating the Monarchs?
Photo: Dr. Lincoln Brower
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Exploring the Monarch's Winter Home in Mexico |
Why
do Monarchs fly to Mexico from across the continent?
How
do they survive the winter in Mexico? And how do they know
when to leave in the spring? Each
week we're exploring a new piece of the puzzle.
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Monarchs
in March
"When
the monarchs are fully warmed up and are ever so slightly disturbed
they literally 'explode' in all directions out into the sky."
Mr. Don Davis
What
a Sight! >> |
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Right
Now...Monarchs Are Preparing to Recolonize North America! |
It's March!
The days are getting longer and temperatures are rising in the monarch
colonies in Mexico. "Within the month—a relatively short
time—the butterflies will vacate their winter haunt and begin
the recolonization of North America. An ambitious project, to be certain,"
says Dr. Bill Calvert. Meanwhile in Texas, observers have been watching
for milkweed to push up from the soil. The first was seen this week.
What timing! We expect Texans to report the first monarchs from Mexico
any day. Get ready to track the spring migration! >>
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Who's
Been Eating the Monarchs? Monarchs
& Predators >>
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The monarchs that
are about to migrate north are survivors. They have survived without
eating—and
without being eaten! Did you know that monarchs have enemies at their
winter home in Mexico? Let's meet them and find out how monarchs avoid
them.
Slideshow
>> |
Who's Been Eating the Monarchs? |
Journal
Question: How About That Milkweed?! |
This
picture was taken in the late summer. The monarch caterpillar was eating
milkweed. It was preparing to spend the winter in Mexico. |
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- Can
you think of two ways that eating milkweed helps a monarch get ready
to survive the winter in Mexico?
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Links:
Monarch Butterfly Resources to Explore |
- Journey
North for Kids: A student-directed entry point to Journey North
>>
- Observation
Activity: Who Ate the Monarchs? Each Predator Leaves its Clues
>>
- Observation
Activity: How Are These Monarchs Avoiding Predators? >>
- Lesson:
Get Ready for Spring Migration >>
- Ongoing
Lesson: Predicting the Route of the Monarch's Spring Migration
>>
- Orientation:
About Our Live Maps >>
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The
Next Monarch Migration Update Will Be Posted on March 9, 2007.
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