Date: 08/21/2015

Number: 250

My wife and I tagged 100 monarchs in two big alfalfa fields in one hour and 53 minutes. We have been tagging since 2001 and this is the fastest we have ever tagged. There were many more monarchs nectaring in the fields and we probably could have tagged at least another 100.

I would have to estimate the number to be over 250. Usually we start at one end of the field, walk to the other end, turn around and walk back. Then we would turn around and repeat the process because new monarchs are always flying in. In past years we would eventually move to a new field because there weren't any around after three or four trips through the field. This year we go through the field once and we were done with our 100 tags. At times I was walking around with four butterflies in my net because there were so many around that I didn't want to stop to tag them. Last year we only had 50 tags. It took us two days and about seven hours to use them up. Many more monarchs this year.

I don't know if the monarchs arrived on that day. When you drive past a big alfalfa field, you may catch sight of a monarch or two, but you actually have to get out into the field to see the large number that we saw. If you would of been standing on the road and looking at this particular field you would of never realized how many were in it. Last Friday's (8/31) weather was around 78-80 degrees and somewhat windy (10-15 mph). The monarchs had to hang onto the alfalfa flowers harder so they stayed on them longer which made it easier to net them.

Shawano, WI

Latitude: 44.9 Longitude: -88.8

Observed by: Dan
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