Discussion of Challenge Question #15
A Case of Mistaken Identity?

Ms. Moser's second grade class at Glenwood School in Chapel Hill, NC had these possibilities to explain the sightings of Monarch butterflies in North Carolina. The students discussed these ideas very enthusiastically:

1. People were not seeing Monarchs, but were instead seeing Monarch look-alikes such as the Queen or Viceroy.

2. There were more predators in South Carolina, so no one sighted them there.

3. Milkweed is growing in North Carolina, but not in South Carolina.

4. Monarchs flew along the coast from Florida but a wind blew them higher up along the coasts between Florida and NC, so people didn't see them (in the states in between).

5. A strong wind blew the Monarchs high up into the air between south Georgia and NC, so people didn't see them in other parts of Georgia and SC.

6. A strong wind blew many of the Monarchs off the coast to the Gulf of Mexico, where they died.

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