Date: 04/06/2009

Number: 1

We apparently had a pretty good migration of winter-survivor monarchs move through coastal SC this past week. I saw the following:

1 monarch – Ft. Johnson, James Island (just south of Charleston Harbor) – Monday, 6 Apr.


2 monarchs – Capers Island (~8 mi N of Charleston Harbor) – Wednesday, 8 Apr.


3 monarchs – Ft. Johnson, James Island (just south of Charleston Harbor) – Thursday, 9 Apr. (caught 1 female –

faded, but otherwise not badly damaged)


1 monarch – Harbor View Road, James Island (just south of Charleston Harbor) – Friday, 10 Apr.

Weather was mild (65-78 degrees F), rather windy, and mostly clear for all sightings.

Based upon my late winter observations for the Charleston area, I’d guess that most, if not all, of these monarchs wintered somewhere south of central SC, but “who knows where”. I doubt that monarchs from Mexico wintering colonies repopulate areas this far southeast, but there were likely winter survivors at some points along the SC coast (likely southeastern coastal) and Georgia coast despite colder than typical winter nights in early 2009. There likely were not hard freezes in such coastal areas.

None of the monarchs appeared to be fresh, though I didn’t see them up-close – other than the one that I netted. From afar, all did appear faded. None appeared particularly battered.

Fort Johnson, SC

Latitude: 32.7 Longitude: -79.9

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