Date: 03/15/2002

Number: 1

Hundreds of Monarchs: Tamaulipas, Mexico, March 15 & 16.

Just got home from Mexico where I recorded 141 species of butterflies in about six days. Benton Basham, myself, and others saw hundreds of Monarchs on March 15 and March 16, 2002 in the Gomez Farias area of Tamaulipas. In fact they were one of the most numerous butterflies we saw during our six days in the field, and became very common on the above reported dates.

The Monarchs were nectaring on many different kinds of plants. They were flying solitary and not in groups or clusters. No attempt was made to count their actual numbers but I saw about 5 Monarchs every 15 minutes in the field from early morning to about 5:00pm on March 15 and 16. The weather on the 15 and 16 was dry southwesterly winds with the temperature hitting 100*f both days.

Monarchs were common in the Sierra Madre Mountains and down along the Rio Sabinas River which is near the town of Ciudad Mante. There was lots of blooming Mexican Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) down along the river but no Monarchs were observed using these plants for nectar or egg laying.

Monarchs were seen also near the town of El Naranjo on the dates of March 11 thru March 14. This is in the state of San Luis Potosi and is mainly mountainous areas. They were still uncommon on these dates.

Reported for Derek Muschalek by Mike Quinn, Texas Monarch Watch

Gomez Farias, TAM

Latitude: 23.1 Longitude: -99.1

Observed by:
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