Date: 10/16/2003

Number: 1

1st night of the invasion 10-14-03: 250 across 50 yards
2nd night of the invasion 10-16-03:

I drove around Quemado Valley yesterday evening at sunset looking at the north face of trees along the roads and near irrigation ditches to discover that monarchs were loosely scattered throughout the area, a distance of 12 miles by about 2 miles wide. Nowhere were they clustered in great masses,
but rather ones and twos, then branch tips covered with 15 to 20.

But come up out of the Valley/riverbottom and look for tall trees (here that's 20-40') on the slightly rolling uplands where the brushcountry spreads back away from the Rio Grande and the clusters are denser. I swiped my net a single time last night and netted 78 butterflies from a single clump. That hackberry tree was covered with perhaps 10 more similar clusters.
My front yard trees have around 250-350 butterflies. Back trees only have about 100.

Temps last night went down to 57.4F. Night before was the coolest of the sea

Eagle Pass, TX

Latitude: 28.5 Longitude: -100.5

Observed by:
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