>Monarch Watch Update - October 22, 2004
>http://www.MonarchWatch.org
>[log in to unmask]
>
>==========================================
>
>Contents:
>
>1) Report on Deforestation in Mexico
>
>2) New Update Index
>
>3) Status of the Population
>
>4) Tag Recoveries
>
>5) Western Monarchs
>
>6) Pesticides Used on Pets and Monarch Rearing
>
>7) Scaleless monarchs
>
>8) Monarchs in Spain
>
>9) Upcoming Monarch Events
>
>10) New DVD on Butterflies and Skippers
>
>11) About Our Update List
>
>==========================================
>
>Unless otherwise noted, all content was authored by Chip Taylor, edited by 
>Jim Lovett and Sarah Schmidt, and published by Jim Lovett. The complete 
>web version of this update is available at: 
>http://www.MonarchWatch.org/update/2004/1022.html
>
>==========================================
>
>1) Report on Deforestation in Mexico
>
>If you have been following the Updates, you know that in the last 6 months 
>there has been extensive deforestation in Mexico in the vicinity of the 
>overwintering monarch colonies. The deforestation has occurred in both the 
>buffer zones and the core areas that constitute the Monarch Biosphere 
>Reserve. In previous Updates (May-July 2004) we provided a number of 
>translations of articles that appeared in the Mexican press concerning the 
>deforestation and the government's attempts to control it. We also 
>referred (June 2004 Update) to the efforts by World Wildlife Fund Mexico 
>to document the extent of the deforestation and the various efforts by 
>landowners to block the illegal logging. Thanks to WWF Mexico, in 
>particular Omar Vidal, Carlos Galindo-Leal, and Jordi Honey Rosés, we are 
>now able to provide an English translation of the WWF Mexico report on the 
>extent of the illegal logging over the last three years and its impact on 
>the Monarch Biosphere Reserve. ...
>
>[ Read the full text of this article at 
>http://www.MonarchWatch.org/update/2004/1022.html#1 ]
>
>==========================================
>
>2) New Update Index
>
>We have improved the update article index so that it is a little more 
>useful. The main index page at
>
>http://www.MonarchWatch.org/update
>
>provides information about the updates in general (how to subscribe, what 
>to expect, etc.) as well as easy access to the current year's updates, in 
>reverse chronological order so that the most recent update is at the top 
>of the list. This index includes the month and the article listing so that 
>you can easily find the articles you are looking for.
>
>You also have the option of viewing previous update listings by year or 
>all years:
>
>http://www.MonarchWatch.org/update/index_allyears.html
>
>The "All Years" index is handy if you have an article topic in mind but 
>you can't remember when it was posted - just visit that page and quickly 
>scroll through the article topics or use your web browser's "find" feature 
>to search for keywords within the article titles.
>
>If you have any suggestions about this or other aspects of the updates 
>and/or website in general please feel free to drop me a line anytime! - 
>Jim ([log in to unmask])
>
>==========================================
>
>3) Status of the Population
>
>Throughout the late summer and fall all the signs have indicated that this 
>migration is a small one and that the monarch population overwintering in 
>Mexico this winter will be well below average. This is the case even 
>though several observers in Texas have seen large numbers of monarchs (10s 
>to 100s of thousands) in several locations close to the border. Mike 
>Quinn, of Texas Parks and Wildlife, asks people throughout Texas to report 
>sightings of monarchs and he notes the pattern of these reports and posts 
>the accounts to the Monarch Watch email discussion list, Dplex-L. Many 
>reports confirm that observers are seeing fewer monarchs this year and 
>Mike has described the path of the migration through Texas this year as 
>narrower than usual, again suggestive of a relatively small population ...
>
>[ Read the full text of this article at 
>http://www.MonarchWatch.org/update/2004/1022.html#3 ]
>
>==========================================
>
>4) Tag Recoveries
>
>We are diligently working through tag recoveries and can use your help. We 
>have discovered a small number of tags for which we have no distribution 
>record (we do not know who received and/or used them) and no datasheet. 
>The tags (from different years) in question are:
>
>BJO553
>BKN761
>BKX212
>CAF404
>CIC460
>CIC481
>CIC496
>CIC530
>UO805
>UU206
>
>Please check your copy of your datasheets to see if any of these tags are 
>yours. If so, (or if you can help us track down the tagger) please let us 
>know - thanks!
>
>==========================================
>
>5) Western Monarchs
>
>There are three items of interest concerning western monarch populations 
>this month; the arrival of monarchs at overwintering sites in California, 
>the last stretch drive to raise money for Ellwood Main, and the creation 
>of a web resource for information on California monarchs ...
>
>[ Read the full text of this article at 
>http://www.MonarchWatch.org/update/2004/1022.html#5 ]
>
>==========================================
>
>6) Pesticides Used on Pets and Monarch Rearing
>
>I'll bet you haven't heard the word "imidacloprid" before. Would it 
>surprise you to learn that you have probably been exposed it and that it 
>may even be extensively distributed throughout your house? Imidacloprid is 
>the main ingredient in numerous new insecticides ... it might affect those 
>monarch caterpillars you've brought into the house, especially if you go 
>directly from handling your pets to feeding your caterpillars ...
>
>[ Read the full text of this article at 
>http://www.MonarchWatch.org/update/2004/1022.html#6 ]
>
>==========================================
>
>7) Scaleless monarchs
>
>In late August, Cathy Schlegel, a staff member at the Minnesota Zoo, 
>posted the following message to Dplex-L: "I had a Monarch emerge from its 
>chrysalis yesterday that has no scales on its wings. Except for the veins, 
>the wings are clear. The body is strange too. Head and thorax appear 
>normal but the abdomen is black on the top and bottom and lime green on 
>the sides. This butterfly is the offspring of two farm-raised Monarchs and 
>was reared in a butterfly exhibit at a Zoo. Has anyone seen this before? 
>The caterpillar and chrysalis must have been normal because they (zoo 
>staff) didn't notice anything different until emergence."
>
>A strange account indeed! I had never heard of a scaleless monarch or an 
>adult Lepidoptera of any species in which the wings and body were totally 
>scaleless. ...
>
>[ Read the full text of this article at 
>http://www.MonarchWatch.org/update/2004/1022.html#7 ]
>
>==========================================
>
>8) Monarchs in Spain
>
>In September and October in most years, monarchs are seen in coastal areas 
>in Ireland, England and sometimes France and Holland. These sightings 
>often give rise to speculations as to the origins of these monarchs. Most 
>of the speculation focuses on a North American origin with passing mention 
>given to the possibility that the butterflies might also have originated 
>from monarch populations established in the Canaries, Azores, or possibly 
>Spain and Portugal. Unfortunately, little seems to be known about the 
>distribution and abundance of monarchs and their host-plants in Southern 
>Europe and the islands off the north west coast of Africa. ...
>
>[ Read the full text of this article at 
>http://www.MonarchWatch.org/update/2004/1022.html#8 ]
>
>==========================================
>
>9) Upcoming Monarch Events
>
>For a complete up-to-date listing please visit the "Monarch Events" forum 
>within our new online community forums:
>
>http://www.MonarchWatch.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=20
>
>If you know of other events that are not listed there, please let us know!
>
>==========================================
>
>10) New DVD on Butterflies and Skippers
>
>Dick Walton, known to most of you who follow monarchs as one of the 
>architects and coordinators of the Cape May Monarch Monitoring Project 
>(http://www.concord.org/~dick/mmp02.html) recently sent us a copy of new 
>DVD designed to introduce beginners to butterflies and skippers.
>
>The DVD, produced by Dick Walton and Greg Dodge as "Brownbag Productions", 
>is titled "Common Butterflies and Skippers of Eastern North America". The 
>digital videography is excellent and each species is represented by clear 
>images as it forages for nectar, water or liquids or just rests on the 
>vegetation or the ground. Given that images are close-ups and you can see 
>the specimens from a variety of angles it is probably easier to learn to 
>recognize each species on sight through this medium than with a book. A 
>companion book on the other hand will be of value since it can provide 
>details on host-plants, distributions, habitats and seasonality knowledge 
>of which makes the study of butterflies even more interesting. The DVD 
>also includes a section on the monarch migration as viewed from Cape May. 
>This section is brief and only tells part of the story but it does provide 
>a sense of the Cape may habitat and the difficulty monarchs encounter when 
>their course funnels them to the end of a peninsula.
>
>For more information or to order a copy please visit
>
>http://shop.monarchwatch.org/product.aspx?p=109053
>
>==========================================
>
>11) About Our Update List
>
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>Monarch Watch
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