Date Place of Sighting
March 10 Leesville, Louisiana March 27 Padre Island, Texas March 27 Tyler, Texas March 30 Pensacola, Florida April 1 Missouri City, Texas April 1 Ennis, Texas April 1 Corsican, Texas April 1 Lockhart, Texas April 1 Austin, Texas April 1 Shiner, Texas April 1 Burnet, Texas April 1 Blanco, Texas April 1 San Jose, California April 1 Lone Pine, California April 2 Starkville/Mississippi State, Mississippi April 2 Fayetteville, Arkansas April 3 Starkville, Mississippi April 3 Athens, Georgia April 8 Dallas, Texas
Monarchs, Migration and Milkweed
What if monarchs arrive on their breeding grounds too early? What if they arrive before milkweed is ready for their eggs? We know their lives are very short and fragile. How does the date of their arrival compare to spring temperatures and milkweed growth?
Several schools are thinking about these questions and are beginning to design their own experiments to measure 3 variables: temperature, growth of milkweed, the arrival of monarchs. Please let us know if your school would like to participate. In years to come, this study can be built into a larger study, involving schools across the US, Mexico and Canada.
Monarch Migration in Texas Report by Dr. Bill Calvert, Austin, Texas April 10, 1995
Monarchs were on the move throughout most of Texas during the weekend of April 1& 2. South winds prevailed. They were seen in numbers (15-20) as far north as Ennis and Corsican, south to Lockhart and Austin and over to Shiner in the south. They were spotted along the coast, and in the hill country over to Burnet and Blanco. Eggs were found as far north as Clifton, northwest of Waco.
With the return of warm, sunny weather during the past week monarchs are once again on the move. They have been sighted in groups of 25-30; large numbers for spring migration. They have been seen in Port Lavaca north to Dallas.
Monarch Migration in Florida Dr. Lincoln Brower, Professor of Zoology University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
"This year is fantastic for monarchs at Cross Creek, about 12 miles south of Gainesville in North Florida. ...There are more monarchs arriving this year than every year back to 1981 when we began monitoring them. And, they are also arriving earlier than usual. The milkweed found at this study site is the 'sandhill milkweed', Asclepias humistrata. This is a very toxic milkwed and the caterpillars that eat it will produce well-protected adult monarchs. Consequently, as this new generation flys northward to Canada all the butterflies will be highly defended against attack by birds along their migratory route."
Dr. Brower has monitored this site for 14 springs. The monachs usually return at the end of March and during the first week in April. He and his students are testing the likely hypothesis that they are flying in from Mexico, probably along the Gulf Coast from Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and then to North Central Florida. We asked Dr. Brower if he thinks monarchs overwintered in Florida as they seem to have done in Texas.
"Very interesting that they overwintered in Texas. How good are the data? I did not get to the Gulf Coast this year, so I do not know if they overwintered here. I would not be surprised if they did, because it has been a very mild winter with only one major frost in north Florida. None stayed in the Gainesville are that I know of."
March 10
Julie C. Ellis (Dr. Orley Taylor's Monarch Watch program) reported on March 17th a report of a monarch moving northward on March 10 in the Vernon Ranger District (near Leesville) of the Kisatchie Nation Forest in Louisiana. Observation by Jane L Hays of the USDA Forest SErvice in Pineville, LA. they state this is the first 1995 sighting of a northwardly directed monarch. Donald Davis Donald_Davis@stubbs.woodsworth.utoronto.ca
March 27
Many monarchs were sighted the week of March 27th. I don't know why, but we've seen many more this year than in previous years. Shawn Baker, Padre Island National Seashore
March 27
Several students have reported seeing Monarchs during the week of March 27-April 1 in Tyler, Tx., approx. (95N,32W). One students reported seeing more than he could quickly count on April 1, a sunny breezy day. Mrs. Vest's fifth grade science classes at Jones Elementary in Tyler, Tx are connecting to Internet each week to read your reports and then are plotting the sightings on maps. Sharon Lee Gullett sgullett@tenet.edu
March 30
We saw our first monarch last week-March 30th. The nearest city is Pensacola, Florida, Lat-32, Long-87 This has been a great project, Thanks!! Glenn Rutland, Holley-Navarre Intermediate School RUTLANG@mail.firn.edu
April 1
I saw 5 Monarch Butterflies on 4-1-95 at 4:00 pm. Temp.- 65- 70 degrees. Wings in very good shape. One was female. Mary Fran Breiling, San Jose, California mbreili@cello.gina. calstate.edu
April 1
We saw our first monarch this past Saturday, April 1st. It was at a YMCA soccer field in Missouri City, TX (a southwest suburb of Houston). There were two butterflies near a patch of milkweed. One butterfly had a torn wing. The temperature was about 70 degrees F. Senior Development Engineer, Expres Cementing Heads brookey@sugar-land.dowell. slb.com
April 2
Blaine Elliot spotted a monarch at Lake Fayetteville on the morning of April 2. Lake Fayetteville is within the city limits of Fayetteville, Arkansas. We are graduate students at the University of Arkansas. I'm sorry, but I don't have our lat/long. location right now. Amanda M. Dumin adumin@comp.uark.edu
April 2
I talked to two friends at lunch today who said they saw Monarch butterflies this past weekend here in Starkville (nearby). One saw a pair mating and the the other saw a single. Michael E. Newman, Assistant Professor Department of Agricultural Education and Experimental Statistics Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MSmen1@ra.msstate.edu
April 3 First monarch sighted on April 3rd in Athens, Georgia Bye, Jonathan Sampson & Justin Dean 33 degrees 57 min. N 83 degrees 23 min. W Barnett Shoals Elementary BSKIDZ@aol.com
April 3, 1995
Our first two monarchs of the season were sighted this week, April 3, 1995. Latitude 33 degrees, Longitude 88 degrees Happy migration. Jacque Tisdale, SRDC Editor Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi JACQUET@mces. msstate.edu
April 1
First monarchs of the year! 2 Monarchs flying north April 1, 1995, 11:50 AM , 18 W, 36N Lo-Inyo Middle School, Lone Pine, California Michael J Prather mprathe@cello.gina.calstate. edu
April 1
I saw 5 Monarch Butterflies. When: 4-1-95. Time: 4:00 pm. Temp.- 65-70 degrees.Wings in very good shape. One was female. San Jose, California. Mary Fran Breiling mbreili@cello.gina.calstate.edu
April 8 One monarch by Matthew Whisennand in our front yard in Dallas Texas, April 8,1995. He is a 2nd grader at Zaragoza Elementary School (and my son). I am a school librarian in Irving Tx, haven't seen any monarchs there yet. Cynthis Whisennand cwhiz@tenet.edu
Q & A About Monarchs >From Houston, Texas The RICE School/La Escuela RICE
My students think that they have a natural instinct which tells them like a clock when to leave their sites in Mexico. They also think that some don't make it all the way into Mexico because Texas is just as hot as Mexico so they tend to stay in the lower parts of Texas. R.Ynfante ynfante@ruf. rice.edu
From: "Alicia Rexford" <amrexford@arctic.nsbsd.k12.ak.us> FROM ALICIA REXFORD 6TH GRADE KAVEOLOOK SCHOOL KAKTOVIK, ALASKA BARTER ISLAND, BEAUFORT SEA/ARCTIC OCEAN Global location ( Lat. 70.12 long 143.4) Answer to challenge question:
I selected the Monarch Butterfly because I am interested in it's migration period and it's wings. 1.How do you think the monarchs "know" when it's time for them to leave Mexico? 'When there isn't enough milkweed and trees. When it gets hotter and dryer They need more humid habitat 2.Why do you think there are two populations of monarch butterflies in North America? The butterflies originate from different locations. There might not be enough milkweed in just one area so over generations there have been two locations to support the butterflies.
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