Date: 08/22/2011

Number: 1

I own a property near Clearville park that is home to tens of thousands of milkweed plants. At that location the numbers for this year appear to be way down compared to last.

In 2010, monarchs were abundant during July on my property but this year they are scarce as hen’s teeth. From May 20 to July 23 I saw only one butterfly . After July 23 they became more numerous. I have seen some Monarchs on my property but have yet to find a single cat (I have spent considerable time looking). The majority of milkweed that I have inspected shows zero evidence of browsing by Monarch cats. I found a single cat on a milkweed in my backyard in Chatham, Ontario but it appeared to be dead. That is the only cat that I have been able to find so far this year.

I fear that the numbers are way done this year despite the ideal weather that we have experienced here in Ontario since early June.

I don’t know the cause but I suspect that it may have been because of the Texas drought and the cold snap that hit the mid west while the butterflies were moving north.

Clearville Park, ON

Latitude: 43.5 Longitude: -79.7

Observed by:
Contact Observer

The observer's e-mail address will not be disclosed.
Contact will be made through a web-based form.