Date: 10/30/2006

Number: 1

Today's weather permitted the release of ready-to-migrate Monarchs with cheers in Spanish from the four Kindergarten Classes of St. Joseph's Elementary School. This event followed the students' Fall Field trips to the Lourdes College Life Lab. Seventeen of the twenty monarchs headed southwest immediately, while three of the butterflies chose to set in the sun, opening and closing their wings before departing. (All had fed well before release.) This brings to over 170, released monarchs that were raised inside the Life Lab Complex. In addition, there were many monarchs growing up, from egg to adult, in the Program's Life Cycle Learning Garden just outside. Branches of Garden plants still sport empty chrysalides that their monarch inhabitants left behind. One exciting occurrence in 2006, was the fact that when the Life Lab's first monarch eggs were raised "disease-free" from five different areas, healthy parents from this group produced, not only disease-free, in-lab monarchs such as the 20 released today with the Kindergarten Classes, but also an exceptional number of monarchs in all stages, that could be observed outside in our Life Cycle Garden. Many of these same healthy, lab-raised parents when released almost three months ago, set up territory in the Garden. It really has been a banner-year for monarchs both inside and out, as well as for many of our native Ohio butterflies. Today, after the monarchs had taken flight, the students spotted a Question Mark Butterfly sunning itself. Of course, this butterfly will spend the winter here, maybe under the bark of a nearby tree. We really had a lot to cheer about in Spanish and English. Once again, Journey North, you have been an integral part of all the learning.

Sylvania, OH

Latitude: 41.7 Longitude: -83.7

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