April 3 Dear Students, During the last week, the monarchs continued to spread across most of the state of Texas. They also entered into two new states, Louisiana and Mississippi. The students in Mississippi actually didn't see a butterfly, but they saw evidence that a female monarch had stopped by--they found a monarch egg on a milkweed plant. Even though a Monarch can lay hundreds of eggs, they usually lay only one egg per plant. What do you suppose the female's strategy is? Question of the Week #1: "Why do you think female monarchs avoid laying more than one egg on a milkweed plant?" 03/23/01 Klein, TX (30.03N, -95.53 W) Students at Krahn Elementary saw their first monarch during recess on March 23rd. "We were very excited to see a faded monarch fly across our playground. We can't wait to observe eggs on the milkweed in our butterfly garden and watch the entire life cycle. Observers up north get ready ---Here they come!" exclaimed teacher Patty Perkins 03/29/01 San Antonio, TX (29.46N, -98.53 W) Ever since February 26th, the seventh grade students at the Texas Military Institute have been monitoring their milkweed. This Monday, they finally found monarch eggs! On March 29th they saw their first butterfly. They captured it and looked carefully at the condition of its wings. Soon there will be a new generation of monarchs, so people Date Town State Latitude Longitude 29 marzo San Antonio Texas 29.5 98.5 28 marzo Alpine Texas 29.8 103.6 27 marzo Clinton Mississippi 32.4 90.3 26 marzo Houston Texas 29.8 95.4 25 marzo El Campo Texas 29.2 96.2 25 marzo Meridian Texas 31.9 97.6 25 marzo Falls City Texas 28.9 98.1 24 marzo Caldwell Texas 30.5 96.7 20 marzo Sulphur Louisiana 30.2 93.4 You've now tracked the migration for 3 weeks. Based on what you have learned: Question of the Week #2: "When do you think the first monarch butterfly will cross the border into Canada? Write the date on your Prediction Chart (vea atras), along with your other predictions." Answer to last week's question #2: If there were 150 million butterflies in the sanctuaries this winter, and 15 % were eaten by predators, 22 butterflies would be eaten by predators! The next monarch migration update will be sent on April 24, after your Easter vacation. We hope you enjoy vacation!