|
Migration
Update: March 30, 2007 |
Please
Report
Your Sightings! >> |
Today's
Report Includes:
|
Which
is a monarch? >>
|
The Migration: Maps, Questions and Highlights |
|
Distribution
Map >> |
|
Real-time
Map >> |
Map
Questions >>
|
-
Map:
Animated Map (Week-by-week
slideshow) >>
-
Map: Printer Friendly Version >>
- Sightings:
Recent Sightings (for Classroom Mapping) >>
- Sightings:
All Sightings >>
|
Highlights
Butterflies
Advance Almost 250 Miles Northward!
For almost two weeks we've been waiting. According to all reports,
the northernmost monarchs had not passed 33.5 N since March 11th.
Then suddenly the butterflies made a northward advance of nearly
250 miles! They pushed into Oklahoma last weekend, and had reached
36N by March 24th. A mass of migrants also moved nearly 200 miles
to the east, as butterflies spread across Arkansas and into Mississippi.
Measuring from the beginning of the monarch's pathway in Texas
(near Eagle Pass), the migration has now moved 700 miles to the
northeast. Had the butterflies moved directly northward the monarchs
would be nearing the Nebraska border! Did you predict this pattern?
Eastern
Monarchs: Where Are They Coming From?
In the East, monarchs have now been sighted in both Carolinas
and in northern Florida. Did those butterflies come up from Mexico?
Our map shows a big, blank space across Alabama, Georgia, and
Tennessee. Could the monarchs from Mexico have crossed that region
unnoticed? Or, did the eastern monarchs come from the Gulf or
Atlantic Coast? Let's watch carefully in the next week. By collecting
observations, we have a chance to shed light on these questions
about monarch migration.
|
|
Slideshow: Do
You Know a Monarch When You See One?
|
Look!
A butterfly! But is it a monarch butterfly? Every spring we rely
on hundreds of observers to track the monarch's migration. These observers
expand the eyes and ears of scientists in ways not possible before the
Internet. But observations must be accurate in order for the data to be
valid and useful. Can you tell a monarch from its look-alikes? Take a
look! We'll show you mistakes that are easy to make — and clues
to help you know a monarch when you see one!
Slideshow
>> |
|
Journal:
What Makes a Good Citizen Scientist? |
Think
about the methods we are using to track monarch butterfly migration.
Who is involved? Where are they? Exactly what they are doing? Consider
how our methods might affect our results.
- How
many ways might the behavior of observers affect our results?
|
Is
everybody watching for monarchs? |
|
Links:
This Week's Monarch Resources |
- Identification:
Drawing Lesson >>
- Lesson:
You're
the Scientist: Verifying Data Collected by Peers >>
- Lesson:
Citizen Science and Journey North: Thinking Carefully About
Methods >>
- Predicting:
Predicting the Route of the Spring Migration >>
- Mapping—Key
Lessons & Resources:
Making, Reading and Interpreting Maps >>
- Monarchs
for Kids
(booklets, photos, videos) >>
|
|
The
Next Monarch Migration Update Will Be Posted on April 6, 2007.
|