Date: 03/14/1999

Number: 1

California Monarch Report from Paul Cherubini from the Dplex-l monarch
butterfly discussion group. Forwarded by Don Davis, Toronto, ON:

This past weekend I conducted a quick survey of several monarch
overwintering sites in the coastal area between the Los Angeles
International Airport and Santa Barbara. I also visited some milkweed
(Asclepias fascicularis) sites in this same coastal area and a couple
milkweed sites about 20 miles inland in the San Fernando Valley.

On Sat. March 13, there were about 800 monarchs still rather loosely
clustered at Ellwood Main, (about 4 miles west of Santa Barbara) nearly
all males. There were also possibly a few thousand other, non-clustering
monarchs widely dispersed within the tree top area of the eucalyptus
grove. It was difficult to make precise estimates because the colony was
so disorganized.

Overwintering sites checked south of Ellwood Main contained no organized
clusters, but sometimes hundreds of non-clustering males (e.g. hundreds
were stil

El Dorado, CA

Latitude: 44.5 Longitude: -77.9

Observed by:
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