Monarch Butterflies
Migration Update: November 5, 2009
Please Report
Your Sightings!

This Week's News:

 Photo of the Week

Photo: Estela Romero

Why is this place so special for monarchs?
The Migration: Maps and Questions

Monarch
Fall Roosts
 (map/sightings/animation/compare)

PEAK
Migration Events
(map/sightings)

ALL Monarch
Migration Sightings
(map/sightings)

Distribution Map

Learn About Migration Maps

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Make Your Own Migration Map


For Your Journal
This Week's Map Questions
Latest News

Six Monarchs Sighted at the Finish Line...
Like waiting at the airport for a flight to arrive, Estela Romero is watching the sky and expecting the monarchs to appear any moment. "They're a little late," she says. Maybe it's all the rainy weather we've had over the past week." But the skies are clearing now and the wind is from the north. She did see six monarchs when she went looking at El Cerrito. Here is her report:

We should have news next week that monarchs have appeared by the thousands!

More Migration Highlights

Reporting from northern Mexico:
Rocio Trevino says, "The lack of monarch news is strange! I've received just two reports from San Luis Potosi and Querétaro, and each with only with a few butterflies. If I have more news I'll write right away!"

Reporting from the Texas Coastal Flyway:
Harlen and Altus Aschen noted peak conditions this week. Monarch numbers climbed from 400/hour on Friday, to 600/hour on Saturday to a whooping 1,000/hour on Monday, November 2nd. "We don't get them very often like this down here. Thank y'all for sending them!"

Tagged monarch found!
A tagged monarch was recovered on October 18th in Charleston, South Carolina. It was tagged on an island on the Atlantic Coast in Virginia on October 5th. Why did it take nearly two weeks for the monarch to travel about 400 miles? Denise Gibbs, who tagged the butterfly, made these observations:

"In my field notes, I had indicated that the butterfly (MEG 672) had an extremely lean abdomen. In fact, most of the monarchs I netted that day were very lean. There had been several days with strong west and/or northwest winds which blow monarchs out to sea. They have to flap their way back to land when the winds decrease later in the day. I think they had used their fat reserves doing this and were taking every opportunity to nectar to rebuild fats. So I am guessing that MEG 672 spent a lot of time nectaring on the way to Charleston; that's why it took him so long."

  • This recovery reveals clues about the monarch's migration pathway to Mexico from the Atlantic Coast. Find the tagging and recovery locations on a map and see.
Pictures of El Cerrito
People of Angangueo usually see the first monarchs on a hillside above their town called El Cerrito (The Little Hill).

This year
Six monarchs were sighted at El Cerrito on Wednesday.

Last year
Monarchs clustering in the trees at El Cerrito. Look closely. Can you see them?

Assateague Island
where the Monarch was tagged.

Slideshow: Why is this place so special for monarchs? 

Millions and millions of monarchs migrating to Mexico will spend the winter—together—in an astonishingly small region. The butterflies gather and form tight, clustered colonies in the region region that's only 73 miles wide.

What conditions make the habitat in this region ideal for monarch survival? In this week's slideshow, find out what scientists are learning about the unique microclimate of the monarch overwintering region.

Why is this place so special for monarchs? 
Links: Monarch Resources to Explore

Monarch Butterfly Migration Updates Will be Posted on THURSDAYS: Aug. 27, Sep. 3, 10, 17, 24, Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, Nov. 5...or until the monarchs reach Mexico!

The Next Monarch Migration Update Will Be Posted on November 12, 2009.

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