Monarch
Butterfly Migration Update: May 5, 2006 |
Today's
Report Includes:
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This
Week's Migration Maps and Data |
Use
today's data to make your own map, or print and analyze our map:
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News
from the Migration Trail |
This
is the time of year when things get quiet. Only two monarchs have
been reported since the first of May. By the end of April, the migration's
leading edge had nearly reached 42N and the first butterflies had
crossed into Canada!
Here
are some highlights:
- Monarch
biologist Dr. Lincoln Brower saw his first monarch of the spring
in his butterfly garden at his home in the mountains of Virginia.
Imagine seeing monarchs in Mexico just a few weeks earlier, and
then having one greet you in your own backyard. So began another
year of his life-long study of these amazing creatures.
- An
interesting thought occurred to Mrs. Gayle Steffy this week when
she found 47 monarch eggs along the railroad tracks. "It
appears that the female followed the tracks, laying along the
way. A line of flowering crabapple trees also runs parallel to
the tracks, and that may have attracted her initially," she
said. This observation is a good reminder that monarchs need habitat
all the way from Mexico. Did you ever picture railroad tracks
as a migration trail?
- Check
out the sighting on the map this week from Arizona. Where do you
suppose that monarch came from? We rarely receive reports from
that state.
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First
Monarchs Cross into Canada! |
"Faded, worn, migrating monarchs were seen in Point Pelee National
Park during the last week of April," wrote Don Davis from Toronto.
The first-hand observations were made by Mr. Alan Wormington:
"Here
at Point Pelee on Lake Erie (Ontario), we have seen several Monarchs
this past week, all of which have been very worn. This is typical
condition of any that we ever see here during the period of late
April to mid-May; such individuals are sometimes seen into late
May and early June." Most years they don't see their first
Monarch until May 8-12, on average, he added. |
How
Far North Did the Monarchs from Mexico Go? |
Today's
migration map probably shows how far the monarchs from Mexico will
travel this year. Each year by the first week of May, most of the
millions of monarchs that spent the winter in Mexico have died.
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How
Long Do the Monarchs from Mexico Live? |
Monarchs
live for only 2-6 weeks during the breeding season. But those that
migrate to Mexico and back live much longer. Most began their lives
late last summer, when you came back to school. Consider this:
Challenge
Question #14
"Assume a monarch emerged as an adult at the end of last summer,
on August 25th. As of April 25th, how long had the butterfly been
alive?"
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Photo: Jim Edson |
Late
April
Torn, tattered and faded
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Symbolic
Monarch Butterfly Migration Map: Online Lost and Found |
Children across North America are united by monarch butterflies.
Nearly
3,000 Symbolic Monarchs are now on the map. Can you find yours?
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Wanted: Your Monarch and Milkweed Sightings
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We
can't track migration without your help!
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Year-End
Evaluation: Please Share Your Thoughts! |
Please
take a few minutes to share your suggestions and comments in our
Year-End Evaluation. The information you provide is critical for
planning new initiatives and for improving Journey North. Also,
as a free program supported by a generous grant from Annenberg Media,
we want to be able to document Journey North's reach, impact and
value. THANK YOU! |
Journey
North
Year End Evaluation
Please
share your thoughts! |
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The
Next Monarch Migration Update Will Be Posted on May 12, 2006 |