Monarch
Butterfly Migration Update: May 28, 2004
Today's Report Includes:
- News from the Migration Trail
- The Monarch Migration Continues
- Please Report Your Sightings
- Scientist and Conservationist Say Children’s Opinions Matter
- North Carolina Students Take Action
- Year-End Evaluation: Please Share Your Thoughts
News from the Migration Trail
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Monarch numbers are building as more and more members of the first spring generation are on the wing, and arriving in new places. We have 25 new sightings to report this week.
Spring has
been on hold in many northern tier U.S. states and in southern Canada.
As the cool, damp weather moves out we expect a flurry monarchs to move
in. How far north do you think the monarchs will migrate? Why?
With the appearance of monarch butterflies, the biodiversity in five states
and one province has increased since last week. Monarchs are not abundant
in one state and one province, so their appearance may be surprising.
Can you find which state and province?
The Monarch Migration Continues...
We will continue to track the monarch migration through June, when the migration has spread throughout the breeding range. Hereafter, weekly updates will include migration maps and data only.
We Need Your Help: Please Report Your Sightings!
Even if monarchs have already been reported from your state or province, we want to know when you see YOUR first monarch.
Remember: We can’t track the migration without your help!
It's great to receive reports from the field like these:
"My children and I were out at recess and we had the most beautiful Monarch fly right though the middle of the school yard. We were so taken by surprise that we didn't even have time to try and identify it as male or female," reports Ms. Brosnihan who teachers 1st Grade in Worcester, MA.
"We have been anxiously awaiting the return of the Monarchs. Finally, yesterday after school two of our students saw them! They are definitely a WELCOME SIGHT here in central Indiana!" Mrs. Stockton and her 4th Grade students reported from Trafalgar, IN.
Scientist and Conservationist Say Children’s Opinions Matter
Dr. Lincoln Brower, who has studied monarchs for nearly fifty years, and Mr. Bob Small of the Michoacan Reforestation Fund are urging U.S. schoolchildren, teachers and the public to send Mexican President Vincente Fox telegrams and letters calling for a stop to the illegal logging and violence.
- Read the recent story in the Alameda Times Star
North Carolina Students Take Action
When Chapel Hill, North Carolina teacher Sue-Anne Solem and her students read about illegal logging in the monarch sanctuaries, they took notice. She described the reaction in her classroom
"My students are impassioned about this," she said. "The students are determined to help."
Spontaneously, the class brainstormed what could be done.
"They discussed many possible solutions to this international problem, and feel a concerned responsibility for this shared resource. It's amazing what creative ideas the students have come up with."
Before the week had ended, they had written a letter to the president of Mexico and sent a press release to their city’s local paper. "We want people to know about this and do something about it," said the students.
- Here is their letter to the editor which accompanied their press release.
It's great to see these students emotionally inspired, intellectually engaged, and politically involved. Congratulations to everybody at Glenwood School!
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Journey
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The Next Monarch Butterfly Migration Update Will Be Posted on June
4, 2004
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