Journey North Monarch Butterfly Spring 2003

Monarch Butterfly Migration Update: May 30, 2003

Today's Report Includes:

News From the Migration Trail
Milkweed Emerging Along the Migration Trail
Stay Tuned: The Monarch Migration Continues!
Please Help: YOUR Monarch Sightings Are Important
Year-end Evaluation: Please Share Your Thoughts

News From the Migration Trail
What dramatic changes this week’s migration map shows!


Last Week	This Week

Monarchs have now reached latitude 46.92N in the upper Midwest, surpassing last week’s northernmost sighting at 43.55N in South Dakota by 250 miles. (The sightings themselves were 9 days apart, meaning the migration advanced at a pace of 28 miles per day.)
A very clear migratory wave moved into Minnesota and Wisconsin. Where not a single monarch had been seen before May 24, 19 were reported in the space of 5 days--and three more after today’s map was made! Of this week’s 36 sightings, 53% were from those two states.
Take a close look at the distribution pattern shown on today’s map. The same northward pulse did not occur in the East last week. There, the northernmost sighting is at only 42.83N. And, other than two reports from upstate New York, no other monarchs were reported after May 23 (pink dots). The previous week the migration had advanced along the Atlantic Coast as far as New Hampshire border. Why is the migration lagging behind in the East, and especially inland? Will the migration surge northward next week by 250 miles as it did in the Midwest?
If you’re keeping track of states and provinces where monarchs have arrived, you can add three new states to your list--Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Colorado: Monarch Spring Migration Route Prediction Chart

Look at this map of the monarch’s breeding range. Can you list the remaining states and provinces the monarchs must reach before their migration is complete?

Milkweed Emerging Along the Migration Trail
The monarch's host plant is now available across its breeding range in the United States, and into southern Canada. If you live in an area where milkweed has not yet been reported, please let us know when it has emerged.

Please report the FIRST MILKWEED LEAVES to Emerge This Spring!

Link to Milkweed Data

Stay Tuned: The Monarch Migration Continues!
Other Journey North migrations have come to an end, but we'll continue to track the monarchs until they've expanded across their entire breeding range. This normally takes until mid-June.

Please Help: YOUR Monarch Sightings Are Important
Even after the first monarchs have been reported from your state or province, we want to hear from YOU when you see YOUR first! The number of sightings reported reflects monarch abundance, so your observations will continue to be important.

Journey North
Year End Evaluation
Please share your thoughts

The Next Monarch Butterfly Migration Update Will Be Posted on June 6, 2003