Very unexpected monarch sightings were reported this week! As you know, for the past weeks monarchs have been reported in southern states such as Texas, Louisiana, Florida Alabama and Georgia. Last week sightings arrived from New York, Vermont and Ontario. We're curious how to interpret this. What is your reaction?
Date.......Location
April 18 Elmont, New York
April 20 Elmont, New York
April 20 Carrollton, Georgia
April 21 Lyndonville, Vermont
April 22 Elmont, New York
April 26 Camphill, Alabama (near Auburn)
April 28 Gananoque, Ontario
This has been an unusual year for monarchs in the South. In a report accompanying today's update, Dr. Gary Ross of Louisiana concludes there were virtually no monarchs produced in his region this year as part of the first spring monarch generation. The cause? Due to drought and freezing winter temperatures, the plants upon which monarchs depend were simply not available when the monarchs arrived this spring. In Texas, Dr. Bill Calvert reports these factors have also reduced monarch numbers in his state as you'll read below.
No News is News
Remember: Even if you are NOT seeing monarchs we encourage you to
report this information! We've attached a sample field report below
from North Carolina where no monarchs have yet been reported.
Please send monarch field reports to us at : jn-report@learner.org Or, on the WWW, press the blue button below labelled, "Report Field Observations".
Why Watch the Wings?
Many students answered Challenge Question # 84 in which we asked,
"Why do you think it's important to collect information about the
condition of the monarchs' wings?" Students reasoned that as
butterflies age their wings break down and lose color. Therefore,
when a monarch is spotted whose wings are in poor condition, we have
a clue about how long the butterfly has been alive.
Here's why this is significant: By now, most of the monarchs that wintered in Mexico are dead. After they mated and left Mexico they had only a few weeks to live. They had been alive for up to 8 months so we would expect their wings to be faded and tattered. In contrast, monarchs of the first spring generation have just emerged. In most cases, their wings are bright and whole.
By carefully noting the condition of the monarchs' wings we can help answer this question: HOW FAR NORTH DO THE OVER-WINTERING MONARCHS TRAVEL? Scientists believe most monarchs only go as far as the southern U.S. states and that the next generation completes the trip north. To which generation do you think each of the monarchs reported below belongs?
The idea of a generation can be difficult to understand. A generation is defined as "the interval of time between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring". There is amazing variation in the animal world when you compare the length of generations. Some insects breed when they are less than one day old while other animals may not breed for many, many years.
Challenge Question # 102
"How long is one generation for the following animals?"
* An elephant?
* A human?
* An eagle?
* A robin?
* A loggerhead sea turtle?
* A monarch?
(To respond to this Challenge Question please see the instructions at the end of this report.)
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REPORTS FROM OBSERVERS:
From NEW YORK
April 18, 20 & 22, 1996
Several children have seen monarch butterflies. Two reported that the wings
were in poor condition. Six children saw butterflies. Four saw 2 together,
two children saw singles. Loredana Cipolla sighted hers on the 18th of April.
Allie Cappellino, Thomas Battaglia, David Baltzer and David Glaser saw them on
April 20th. John Edwards saw his on April 22nd.
Mrs. Richards K12ELPZR@hofstra.edu
for Mrs. Popiel's fourth graders
Covert Avenue School, Elmont, NY
From GEORGIA:
April 20, 1996
I saw a monarch while visiting my grandmother in Carrollton, Georgia on
April 20. It's wings were in good condition. The latitude is 33.35N,
and the longitude is 84.05W for Carrollton.
A.J. Almond, Janel Wang, Jonathan Senger, and Clay Askew, sixth grade
students at J.F. Drake Middle School, Auburn, Alabama
Mrs. Carol Rogow, library media specialist
From VERMONT:
April 21, 1996
There were two sightings of monarch butterflies in Lyndonville,
Vermont, on our student teacher's porch. It was a real surprise to
see monarchs here so early because most of them are down South. Our
weather has been cold, then warm, then cold, then warm, then rainy.
Just last week it was close to 70 degrees, then we had snow again.
Do you think they were sighted here this early because of our
strange weather?
Addison, Caitlin, Carrie, Mickaela, Sam, Kathryn
Mrs. Conn and Mrs. Williams Grade 4 Students
Lyndon Town School
Lyndonville, Vermont
jpadden@lyndontown.k12.vt.us
From ALABAMA:
April 26, 1996
One Monarch was seen in Camphill, Alabama near Auburn. The colors of the
wings were bright, and the wings were in good condition. The
latitude is 32.48 N. Longitude is 85.44 W.
Antoinette Pulliam, Katie Pargeon, Katelyn Braswell, Laura Mccaghren
6th grade students at J. F. Drake Middle School
Mrs. Rogow, Library Media Specialist
rogowcd@mail.auburn.edu
From ONTARIO:
April 28, 1996
Dear Journey North
My name is Ashley Gamble and I saw a Monarch Butterfly in
Sweets Corner's Ontario. It was on April 28, 1996 approximatley 3:00 in the
afternoon. It was absouletly beautiful !!!!
Sincerely, Ashley Gamble, Steve Barber, Alana Jesso and Melissa McKim
Vivienne White
Linklater-Macdonald
Gananoque, Ontario
vivwhite@limestone.kosone.com
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OTHER REPORTS ABOUT MONARCHS
From TEXAS:
We still continue to get sporadic reports of monarch presence in
Texas. Hot areas seem to be the Sunnyville area near Dallas and the
Kyle area near Austin. Most other locations that normally report
monarchs in the spring are reporting few or no monarchs this spring.
What is really clear is that spring milkweeds are way behind normal,
perhaps as much as two weeks, and there is little nectar for the
monarchs to feed on. We learn from bad weather as well as from good
weather. Dr. Bill Calvert, Texas Monarch Watch
From ALABAMA:
"At J.F. Drake Middle School we saw a monarch butterfly emerge from a
chrysalis on a milkweed plant that we have in our school's library media
center. It happened at 7:54 a.m. on April 24, 1996. We live in Auburn,
Alabama. Out latitude is 32.35N. Our longitude is 85.26W
David Protzman, Megan McFarland, Allen Shemwell, fifth grade students and
Mrs. Carol Rogow, library media specialist
rogowcd@mail.auburn.edu
From NORTH CAROLINA:
We have some yellow and black butterflies but NO MONARCHS have been
sighted yet. I have my co-workers watching also. One of the
librarians reported that the hummingbirds have returned to his
feeder on April 18. The tulips are also in full bloom this week, as
are the dogwoods. The temperatures have been in the 70's during the
day but it still gets cold (30's) at night. Gardens are being
planted with cabbage, onions, lettuce and other greens. I've enjoyed
watching spring arrive in all the communities.
Elizabeth Vihnanek, Educational Resources Librarian
Western Carolina University
(Near Smoky Mt National Park/ Elevation about 200 ft.)
Cullowhee, NC
VIHNANEK@WCUVAX1.WCU.EDU
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Students Respond to Challenge Question # 84
From MINNESOTA:
My name is Stephanie Reik. I'm 10 years old. I'm from Brimhall
school In Miss Boyken's 4th grade room. I live in MN.
My answers:
1. It might tell you how old the butterfly is.
2. It might tell you how far the butterfly migrated.
3. It might tell you how severe the weather was that they flew through.
mboyke01@roseville.k12.mn.us
From NEW JERSEY:
So they know if the butterfly is dying in the area. If the wings were
ripped, that means the butterfly is dying because we saw a butterfly with
ripped wings last year and he died and we saw it. The Monarch Committee:
Nicholas, Tobias, Laura, Tamara, Mrs. Hayes' Class, Smith School, Tenafly,
N.J. Smithread@aol.com
From WISCONSIN:
It is important to collect information about the wing condition to tell
which monarchs came all the way from Mexico. Or how many miles do
monarchs fly before their wings are tattered.
Tavi Riddle 6th Aldrich Middle School, Beloit, WI
From NEW YORK:
It is important to collect information about the condition of the
monarch's wings because then we can tell if the wings have been torn or
if the monarch was in danger. You can also tell if the monarch was old
by it's wings. Sent by Christina, Rachel, Stephanie, Kristin, Martina,
and Ashly from Mrs. Monk's Fourth Grade, East Hill School, Canajoharie,
New York.
ED MONK (monkman@telenet.net)
From WISCONSIN:
I think it is important to collect information about the condition of
the monarch's wing because if a monarch's wing is broken it probably
won't be able to fly much further. That means the people in the northern
states won't be able to see these broken winged butterflies.
Tara Whitman 6th Aldrich Middle School, Beloit, WI
John Soehnlein (soehnlei@beloit.edu)
From ONTARIO:
We believe that it is important to check the wings to check the
severity of the winter. And compare that with other tests to find
out how many died.
Jordan Brown and Miles McLaren
Scott Young Public School (syoung@web.net)
From ALASKA:
1)You should check the butterflies wings because the wings could be hurt.
2)You can find this information on butterflies by going to an expert or a book
from the library.
(kclark@kpbsd.k12.ak.us)
From OHIO:
We think it's important because you need good wings to fly.
If we didn't have legs, we couldn't walk.
Then we'd know how butterflies feel.
Marcus ,Maria,Torishmiele,Tyecia
St.Francis School Cleveland, Ohio
Jerry Martin (jmartin@apk.net)
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How to Respond to Challenge Questions # 102:
1. Send an e-mail message to: jn-challenge@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line write: Challenge Question # 102
3. In the Body of your message, answer this question:
"How long is one generation for the following animals?"
* An elephant?
* A human?
* An eagle?
* A robin?
* A loggerhead sea turtle?
* A monarch?
The Next Monarch Butterfly Migration Update Will be Posted on May 7, 1996.
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