Field Notes from Baton Rouge, LA Contributed by Dr. Tom Riley April 2, 2001 I have been watching for them this as usual and have seen none so far in the Baton Rouge Area. I attribute this to several things. 1. It has been cold almost the entire month of March, and winds have been form the North/northwest much of the time. 2. We have had several (almost weekly) periods of 3 to 4 days of heavy rain combined with cold temperatures in March. If there were a few lone Monarchs that made it this far, this was the type of rain and cold that could beat them to death. The one exception was the week of March 19 to 23. It was bright and clear all week, but it was still quite cool with north wind much of that week. It is expected to get into the low 80's this week, perfect Monarch weather for us. I expect to see Monarchs and will report all my sightings. I have noticed from your Maps that compared to the last several years, the sightings for 2001 show that as of March 28, the monarchs have not reached as far north as they have in years past. This at least is consistent with my sightings and assessment of conditions here so far this year. Also a botanist friend of mine from Northeast LA has stated that the common spring plants are even somewhat late this year, again reflective of the cooler conditions we have experienced. It will be interesting to see if the reports to your site of native, wild-growing Asclepias are also later than in years past. We also had several good freezes this past winter which killed a lot of the Asclepias currasavica grown by gardeners and that served as a winter nursery plant for monarchs in South Louisiana in the mild winters of the past 3 years. (Mine did not freeze at all in 1999-2000 and I gave them no extra protection). I know lots of people in New Orleans had monarchs reproducing in their Gardens all winter last year. This year was more normal and the relatively few reports of early monarchs to your site reflects this. Dr. Thomas J. Riley, Professor Department of Entomology Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA Copyright 2001 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form