Date: 09/29/2013

Number: 20

As I stepped put of the house shortly after 10AM this morning, the first thing that caught my eye was a monarch feeding on Verbena bonariensis. Then I spotted two more feeding on a vitex I maintain for honey bees. We usually only see one or two around the house over a more extended period.

On the way into the lab I spotted 10 more monarchs in flight. I checked the garden when I arrived and found at least 7 more feeding on various nectar sources. This movement is similar to what we witnessed on Wednesday the 25th. The numbers aren't great but monarchs are still moving through. That's good news but for these butterflies to make it to MX, the conditions have to be favorable for the next month as they move further south in the US and then through and along the mountains in Mexico. Given the relatively recent rains here and there in TX and in northeastern Mexico, the conditions for the rest of the migration are looking good.

An analysis of the tagging data has shown that monarchs migrating early have the best chance of reaching Mexico. Let's hope these late migrants reach the overwintering sites in good condition.

The flow of monarchs continued throughout the day with 7- 25 monarchs in the garden most of the late morning and afternoon. The numbers are good for this late in the season but not unusual. Overall the monarch numbers in this migration are far below normal and they are late. The lateness may be due to a number of factors including late arrival in the northern breeding areas and the unusually warm first half of the month.

Courtesy of Monarch Watch

Lawrence, KS

Latitude: 39 Longitude: -95.2

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