• Can YOU Find the Monarch's Winter Home in Mexico?
• Life in the Sanctuary Region
• A Quiet Walk in the Monarch's Forest
• Fall Arrival by Elizabeth Howard
• Field Notes from Mexico by Mr. Don Davis
• Spring Flight by Dr. Lincoln Brower
• More Photos, Maps and Landscape Views

Population Size

• How Are Monarch Colonies Measured?
• Storm Kills Over 75% of Overwintering Monarchs
• Population Rebounds
• Studying Changes in Population Size
• Counting All Butterflies: Mark, Release, Recapture Method

Climate

• Temperature and Elevation: Nearly Two Miles High!
• It's March! How are Monarchs and Seasons Changing?
• Global Climate: Mexico's Wet and Dry Seasons
• Tropical vs. Temperate: Watch the Seasons Change

Location

• Monarch Sanctuary Map
• Getting Ready for Spring Migration
• Exactly Where in Mexico Do the Monarchs Go for the Winter?
• Like Finding a Needle in a Haystack?
• Geography and Migration

Habitat

Food

• Food at the Overwintering Sites?
• Surviving the Season on Stored Energy

Water

• Windshield Watch: Exploring Dew and Frost in Your Neighborhood
• Water Resources for Families in the Sanctuary Area (Espanol)

Shelter

• Forest as Blanket, Umbrella, and Hot Water Bottle
• Scientists Learn from Butterflies: More Space is Needed
• How Are These Monarchs Avoiding Predators?

Space

• Close Quarters: How Many Butterflies on a Branch?
• How Many Paper Clips Bend a Branch the Way Monarchs Do?
• Dr. Calvert Looks at Space from the Monarch's Point of View
• Seasonal History of a Colony

Adaptations

• Camouflage in the Over-wintering Colonies
• Why Are Those Butterflies Behaving so Strangely?
• Why Do Monarchs Shiver?
• Why Don?t Cold Butterflies Fall? Monarch Adaptations
• Cold-blooded Creatures: Classroom Activities
• Cold-blooded Creatures: Fact Sheet
• Temperature and Survival: Life as a Cold-blooded Creature
• Millions of Monarchs Eaten by Predators
• The Effect of Snow on Monarchs
• The Effect of Cold, Wet Weather on Monarchs
• The "Cloud Effect": Monarch Colony's Reaction to Cloud Cover
• Cascading Behavior
• Mating Before Spring Departure
• Write a Field Guide for the Monarch Overwintering Sites

Observations: First-person Accounts

• What Do Two Pictures Tell You About Climate?

Dr. Bill Cavert

• The Importance of Shelter from the Wind
• The Importance of Water
• Dry Conditions Force Colonies
• Flying Out from the Colonies
• Signs of Colony Break-up Signal Spring
• Everywhere, Monarchs in Motion—Why?
• The Wintering Season Comes to an End
• Monarchs on the Move
• Here Come the Monarchs!
• A Time for Going Home by
• Gone...

Dr.Lincoln Brower

• Visiting the Cerro Pelon Colony(w/audio)
• Two Weeks With the Butterflies in Mexico (w/audio)
• Visiting the Monarch Sanctuary

Other Reporters

• Searching for Monarchs in the Sierra Chincua Sanctuary
• Flying With the Butterflies by Carol Cullar
• Field Notes from Mexico by Don Davis (March 2006)

Exploring the Monarch’s Winter Habitat: Backyard Observation Reveals a Clue

Conservation

• It's All About the Forest: What Story Do the Pictures Tell?
• Scientists Ready to Take Satellite Images of Sanctuaries
• Alarming Deforestation Revealed by Satellite Images
• The Story Behind the Satellite Images: How Students Helped
• Monarch Sanctuary Deforestation Maps
• Domestic Uses of Wood: Ranch Tour With Noemi's Dad
• Domestic Uses of Wood: Two Loads per Week
• Monarch Conservation in Mexico: How Kids are Helping
• Deforestation: Domestic Uses of Wood
• Deforestation: Conversion of Forests to Agriculture
• Deforestation Solutions: Michoacan Reforestation Project
• The Children's Monarch Reforestation Project
• Who Owns the Monarch Sanctuaries?
• Conservation News from Mexico
• Conservation Perspectives: A View From Mexico
• Support Monarch Butterfly Habitat Conservation in Mexico
• Create Monarch Habitat Where You Live
• Ecological Footprint: Take the Quiz!
• Why Should We Care About Monarchs? Dr. Brower Asks for Help
• Also see: Symbolic Monarch Migration and Related Activities

Ecotourism

• How Many Pesos to Visit a Monarch Sanctuary?
• Ecotourism Safari: How Many Examples Can You Find?
• Visiting the Sanctuary With Professor and Grandfather Brower
• Meet Monarch Biologist Dr. Bill Calvert

Culture

• Life in the Sanctuary Region: Short Stories
• Spanish Lesson with Noemi de Jesus and her Dad
• Comparing and Contrasting Language and Culture

Assessment

• Monarch Winter Season

Life Cycle

Annual Cycle

Annual Cycle