Date: 03/12/2004

Number: 1

The Southwest Texas pastures are definitely ready for the Monarch
invasion!

Rain has been falling since yesterday and the A. oenotheroides or Hierba
de Zizotes (Zizotes is the native word for skin rash and A.
oenotheroides has long been a herbal remedy for this condition) is
thriving in the pastures all along the Rio Grande in Maverick County,
Texas (28.8869N, 100.5299W). Plants ranged from 3" to 7.5" in height. We
had to walk down to the milkweed pasture between rain showers since the
roads were too muddy to drive.

This is our third year to monitor this Cunningham Ranch pasture for
milkweed; and this year we found 26 plants in the area just larger than
a football field (1 acre.)

Last year on March 15 we saw our first monarch and on the 16th found 33
eggs on 23 milkweed plants. No monarchs have yet been seen in this
region.

On March 6th, I left the Monarch Preserves around Angangueo, Michoacan,
Mexico and drove for the next 4 days across a diagonal path running
across the northern portions of Mexico from the Paracutin Volcano to La
Pesca, a sleepy fishing village on the Gulf Coast. We did not encounter
any Monarchs in the northern portions of Mexico on either side of the
Sierra Madre Oriental.

Over the next 3 weeks we will monitor the milkweed patch every 3 days
searching for eggs and larvae of the monarch butterfly. I'll let you
know what we find.

Eagle Pass, TX

Latitude: 28.5 Longitude: -100.5

Observed by:
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