Monarch Butterfly Update: April 19, 2012 |
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People are now seeing fresh-winged butterflies of the new generation. Meanwhile, the remaining monarchs from Mexico continue to travel and lay eggs. How many eggs can one monarch lay? See what a daily count reveals. If you're looking for an Earth Day project, support monarch habitat. They depend on it!
This Week's Update Includes:
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Image of the Week | ||||||||||||||
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News: Eggs in April—in New York! | |||||||||||||||
According to our observers, the migration entered three new states this week, Indiana, Nebraska and even New York. We were amazed by Ms. McQuistion's report of an early monarch in New York. She even provided a picture to document her discovery:
Assuming the monarch came from Mexico this spring, she flew more than 2,000 miles to this tiny plant where she laid her tiny eggs. She probably caught a free ride on the strong south winds that accompanied the warm air mass in the east this week. A Massive Migration!
Counting Eggs "I had just found my first egg, and was counting to see how many I had, when a monarch appeared. She laid 2 more eggs right in front of me. That brought the total to 14, with each egg on a separate plant." Carbondale IL In Tennessee, seventh graders Rachel and Gwen collected the 16 eggs they found. They were worried how frost might affect the eggs. According to Dr. Lincoln Brower, killing frost is a risk for monarchs in springtime: "When monarch eggs hatch on damaged plants, the larvae can die of starvation." |
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Monarch Math: How Many Eggs Can a Monarch Lay? | |||||||||||||||
A monarch lays eggs in your garden. What happens next? Dr. Jim Edson of the University of Arkansas conducted an experiment. He found a female monarch one March and brought her into his lab. He gave her plenty of milkweed. Each day, he counted the number of eggs that she laid. After a monarch begins to lay eggs, she only lives a few weeks. Use the graph of Dr. Edson's data to explore:
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Conservation: Earth Day and Monarch Habitat | |||||||||||||||
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The Migration: Maps and Journal Page | |||||||||||||||
Let's find out when and where monarchs and milkweed appear this spring.
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The next monarch migration update will be posted on April 26, 2012. | |||||||||||||||