Last of El Rosario's colony leaves for the season
Final departure from overwintering sites
By Estela Romero, for Journey North
The final massive departure from colony El Rosario occurred Sunday, March 23 as the sun rays fell upon us until the early afternoon.
Mr. Silvestre, chief of guides at El Rosario Sanctuary, confirmed to me:
"By 3 p.m. we could only see trees with low numbers of monarchs sprinkled around the area they had been massively occupying until yesterday, Saturday. The cooling air and some clouds during the past week may have held them up. Between yesterday afternoon and today, temperatures substantially rose, which seems to have triggered their departure today."
Us locals know of the great community work you do to welcome them and provide them with habitat. Our local communities celebrate having had them and shall guard their ancestral forests for the next amazing super generation to come to our legendary oyamel fir forests!
Estela Romero
Journey North
Angangueo, Michoacán, Mexico
Estela Romero is an environmental educator with Monarchs Across Georgia. Reporting from Angangueo, Michoacán, Estela Romero's work is made possible by funding from Monarchs Across Georgia and the Monarch Butterfly Fund. Estela Romero es educadora ambiental de Monarchs Across Georgia. Informando desde Angangueo, Michoacán, el trabajo de Estela Romero es posible gracias a la financiación de Monarchs Across Georgia y el Monarch Butterfly Fund.
Western monarch update
By Gail Morris, Southwest Monarch Study coordinator
Monarchs are on their way! They’ve left the comfort and safety of their overwintering trees and are searching for milkweed to lay eggs and for nectar to sustain their energy for flight. There are many questions about this early phase of their spring migration from California, especially when they are looking for early emerging milkweed.
Conservation enthusiasts have dedicated their efforts to growing and planting early milkweeds in the early portions of their route hoping to help sustain and expand the monarch population that significantly dropped this year. With ideal weather conditions and abundant milkweed en route, many people are hopeful for a rebound in numbers. Recent rains may help this process with healthy growing conditions in warm spring temperatures speeding the lifecycle.
This is also the time of limited reported sightings as the number of monarchs dips to its lowest ebb. Monarchs eagerly take advantage of good flying days with milkweed up and flowering. The air is filled with the promise and hope of increasing numbers in the months to come.
California sightings
When you look at the recent reported sightings on the Journey North maps, the largest number are in Southern California. Monarchs that spent the winter in the south have a head start with warmer spring temperatures and available milkweed to start growing their population. Monarchs are being reported in the coastal regions from El Cajon to La Cañada Flintridge as well as into the deserts at Borrego Springs and Rancho Mirage. One monarch was reported further north in Piedmont as well. While the eastern range of monarchs has a higher number of sightings reported, lines drawn straight across the country along the lines of latitude reveal similar movement. The photos in the West show monarchs in good condition, too, a harbinger of the season. Monarchs were reported for the first time this season in Baywood-Los Osos, Pomona and Huntington Park this week, as well.
Arizona sightings
Many monarchs were reported in the lower deserts of Arizona this year. As seen in most years, some were breeding and others were nonbreeding. The weather conditions throughout the winter were very dry with little to no rain and above normal temperatures. Most desert regions stayed above freezing at night even during the coldest days and nights of winter. As a result, monarchs who were here had a good opportunity to survive if they stayed in the urban areas with irrigated nectar resources.
Surprisingly, I found several monarch larvae on Desert (Rush) Milkweed, Asclepias subulata, most frequently this winter likely due to the above-normal temperatures. Today I found a monarch larva on an unusual evergreen milkweed just outside my front walkway. Adult monarchs are appearing now in larger numbers as well. A fresh but small-sized adult male appeared and stayed around for three days circling the desert milkweed likely hoping a female would stop by. Then he gave up and left, likely moving on in the hope of continuing his search for a mate.
Ten days ago we finally had some rain in the Sonoran Desert that will hopefully revive some nectar resources. Everything has looked dry and rather bleak throughout winter with drought conditions across the range in various stages. Now high temperatures are soaring to the 90s and near 100, breaking long-time temperature records early in the season.
Wanted: monarch and milkweed sightings
Do you see milkweed up? Are you lucky to see any monarch activity as monarchs leave the overwintering groves? Send in your sightings to help us present a balanced report of where monarchs are appearing each week. Report adult monarchs, eggs, or larvae to Journey North weekly. Your detailed description of what you see can include, but is not limited to, the monarch’s gender and activity. If known, include the type of flowers if they are nectaring or milkweed type if laying eggs. Photos are encouraged and welcomed with all your reports.
Gail Morris is the coordinator of the Southwest Monarch Study (www.swmonarchs.org). She is also a Monarch Watch conservation specialist, the vice president of the Central Arizona Butterfly Association and sits in several western working groups. The Western Monarch News is based on comments provided to Gail Morris. We hope to increase the number of sightings and therefore photos and comments entered into Journey North. We rely on the volunteers who communicate regularly with Gail and who agree to participate in our effort to increase awareness of the population of western monarchs. You can reach her at gail@swmonarchs.org
All Symbolic Migration spring envelopes have been delivered
By Susan Meyers, Monarchs Across Georgia
Since the last Spring Return Envelopes were mailed on March 14, we expect that everyone has received theirs. If not, contact us as soon as possible at symbolic-migration@eealliance.org, and we will do our best to remedy this.
Remember that once you receive your spring return envelope, there is one last step. Contact the leaders/teachers on each of the life-sized butterflies to let them know the name of the student whose butterfly made the return flight to the USA or Canada. Students are waiting; don't disappoint them!
One teacher in Minnesota suggested including a photo of life-sized butterflies received. This made the experience more understandable, especially for her young learners.
Another middle school teacher had her students write personal letters after calculating the distance flown from the creator’s location to Mexico and back to their school. How amazing is that?
Thank you again for your participation in and support of the 2024-25 Symbolic Monarch Migration. We hope you will join us next season for our 30th year! The updated leader packet will be posted in May with a postmark deadline of October 17, 2025.
If you still have not found where your ambassador landed in Mexico, use the search bar at the top right of the Symbolic Migration webpage to enter your city or school/ organization name. Contact symbolic-migration@eealliance.org with any questions.
The Symbolic Monarch Migration project is a partnership project between Journey North (a program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum) and Monarchs Across Georgia (a committee of the nonprofit organization, the Environmental Education Alliance). Journey North hosts educational materials on its website. Monarchs Across Georgia administers the project, including coordinating the exchange of symbolic butterflies among 2000+ classrooms in three countries, engaging a contract worker to provide lessons and deliver materials in Mexico, and raising funds for the project's continuation.
The Monarch Butterfly Fund continues to support our Mexico Book Project through their Small Grants program. Books purchased with grant funds supplement environmental education lessons facilitated through our Symbolic Monarch Migration project.
