Journey North Monarch Butterfly Spring 2004

Thoughts About Early March Monarch Sightings in Tallahassee, Florida

by Richard Richard RuBino
Even though Tallahassee is only about 25 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico, temperatures along the coast can be at least five degrees higher during the winter. The Gulf has a definite moderating effect on temperature.

Though nightime temperatures in Tallahassee sometimes dip into the mid-20s, the temperature along the Gulf will generally remain above freezing. Even when it goes below freezing along the coast (which would mean low 20s for Tallahassee) it's seldom longer than for a couple of hours, and monarchs can survive that.

We had a relatively mild winter in Tallahassee this year, which means an unspecified number of monarchs were able to overwinter along the Gulf coast.

When a rainly cold front passes through Tallhassee and temperatures dip below 20 degrees the following night, and it remains cold for two or three days in a row (e.g., with highs in the 30s and lows in the mid to low 20s), then the coastal monarchs probably do not survive the cold. Heavy rain followed by prolonged cold can make it difficult for monarchs to survive.

We have not had that kind of a winter in the past few years, however.
Monarchs are appearing in inland parts of Florida and Texas a lot earlier than usual this year. Are they monarchs from Mexico or are they monarchs from broods that overwintered along the Gulf Coast?

We're not sure, but I have some volunteers who live along Florida's upper Gulf coast tagging monarchs this spring. I'll let Journey North know if any of them are found somewhere further north.

It certainly is fun trying to find answers to the many mysteries of monarchs.