Date: 09/06/2008

Number: 150

I could easily have used up all of my 50 monarch tags today. I went behind the Crossroads HyVee in Waterloo, Iowa, the area that I go to to catch monarchs every year. They travel along a clover trail then they tend to roost in the area I circled. It's as though they travel as far south as the trees go in this nectar rich area then stop for the night, assuring a breakfast in the morning. I wasn't able to get out to look for them until about an hour before sunset. They had been moving through all day. When I got to the circled area I saw them too high in two trees to reach. They were clumped and flying around near the clumps. I would guess that in the two clumps I found in one tree had maybe a total of 150 monarchs in them.When I crossed the fence into the prairie area I did find up to 6-7 monarchs at a time clinging to milkweed and Queen Ann's lace. They were [[not]] feeding. They were behaving like bumble bees that get trapped when it gets too cool and stay on the flower they are on for the night.

Waterloo, IA

Latitude: 42.4 Longitude: -92.4

Observed by: Tom
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