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> > Monarch Watch Update - November 12, 2002 > http://www.MonarchWatch.org > [log in to unmask] > > ========================================== > > Contents: > > 1) Welcome! > > 2) Status of the Population > > 3) Adopt-a-Classroom Donations > > 4) Tagging Data Sheets > > 5) 2002 Recoveries > > 6) Just in Time for the Holidays! > > 7) Bird Predation on Monarchs > > 8) Queens and Soldiers > > 9) Interstate Shipment of Butterflies > > 10) How to Unsubscribe from this Update > > ========================================== > > 1) Welcome to Monarch Watch's Update List! > > You are receiving this email because you have provided Monarch Watch with > your email address at some point and expressed interest in receiving updates > from us. If you do not wish to receive these periodic (probably monthly) > email updates or feel that you were subscribed in error, please see the > unsubscribe information at the end of this message. > > Have you somehow missed (or misplaced ;-) an update? Now you can find all of > the updates archived online at > > http://www.MonarchWatch.org/update > > If you know someone that you think might be interested in receiving these > email updates from Monarch Watch with monarch news, special announcements, > tips on raising monarchs in your classroom, monarch tagging information and a > whole lot more, please send them on over to > > http://www.MonarchWatch.org/signup > > to join our new Monarch-Watch-Update email list - it's easy! > > Monarch Watch (http://www.MonarchWatch.org) is a not-for-profit educational > outreach program based at the University of Kansas. We run a Monarch tagging > program and offer Monarch Rearing Kits, Monarch Tagging Kits, and other > educational/promotional materials that allow you to actively experience the > monarch life cycle and its spectacular fall migration. > > If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us anytime! > > Your friends at Monarch Watch > http://www.MonarchWatch.org > [log in to unmask] > > ========================================== > > 2) Status of the Population - by Chip Taylor > > Reports from the newspaper "La Voz de Michoacan" (link to article below) > indicate monarchs began to arrive in the vicinity of the overwintering sites > on the 28th of October. The monarchs are right on time, at least according to > the models we have been working on for the initiation and pace of the > migration. Even though some of the monarchs have reached the overwintering > locations near Angangueo in Michoacan, others are still moving (as of > November 6) along the coastal flyway in Texas. > ------------------------------------------------------------- > La Voz de Michoacan 12 Nov issue (1.5MB PDF file, in Spanish) > http://www.voznet.com.mx/anteriores/ma.pdf > ------------------------------------------------------------- > > Monarchs have two paths through Texas, a coastal route and a central pathway. > The central path follows the old prairie boundary on a SW track through > central Texas into the Edwards plateau west of San Antonio and then SW > through the Uvalde area toward Eagle Pass and Del Rio on the border with > Mexico. The majority of monarchs from eastern North America evidently enter > Mexico between these two border cities. Most of the land along the border > between Eagle Pass and Del Rio consists of a few large ranches and some of > the ranch owners get in touch with us from time to time to report the masses > of monarchs moving through their area. This year one of the ranchers reported > that the butterflies were either low in number or the persistent rains and > low clouds kept the butterflies dispersed. > > The coastal flyway is less well known. Movement along this pathway is highly > variable within and among years. The path is narrow, perhaps only a mile of > two in width, which may explain why we know less about this flyway. To be > aware of this pathway one has to be right on the coast at the right time. As > the number of observers in Texas increases, due to the efforts of Mike Quinn > and Harlen and Altus Aschen, we should be able to learn more about the > movement of monarchs along this track. Although the reports of monarchs on > this route sometimes indicate that thousands are present, the numbers do not > approach those seen on the central path. This is but a small portion of the > total population. Monarchs on this pathway probably originate in the > northeast and move south until they encounter the Gulf Coast and then begin > to follow the coastal edge toward the west. This is a longer route to Mexico > and it may take the butterflies on this path 10-14 additional days to reach > the Mexican border. > > Last month I mentioned that I would make a reassessment of the population if > the reports from Texas for the last two weeks of October indicated that the > population was larger than I had anticipated. Unfortunately, even though good > numbers of monarchs were seen during this period in a few locations (e.g., > reports of 5,000 and 10-20 thousand at different sites), the masses (100s of > thousands) of monarchs seen in previous years were absent. The rainy, cloudy, > and cool weather in late October may have prevented large aggregations of > monarchs from forming and limited the observers as well. Mike Quinn, Bob > Pyle, and others visited Parque Ecologico Chipinque in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon > on Monday, October 21st where they saw monarchs pouring through the mountains > at rates of several 100 per minute. In the early 90's I had two occasions to > see monarchs streaming along the north side of the mountains (heading SE) > near Linares in Nuevo Leon - an impressive sight. These sightings were in the > first two weeks of November and appeared to be the last of the "flow" through > this region in the years I was there. In normal years this streaming can be > seen periodically for several weeks. > > Overall, nothing has happened to alter my perception that the population at > the overwintering sites will be down this winter. I'm anticipating a > population of about 3 hectares for all sites combined. The total could be > lower than the all time low of 2.83 hectares recorded in 2000. At Cape May, > Dick Walton and his associates record the number of monarchs encountered in > what are known as Pollard transects three times a day for 8 weeks during the > migration. The number of monarchs seen this year were remarkably similar > (albeit about 10% higher) to those observed in 2000. The totals for 2002 > (http://www.concord.org/~dick/mmp02.html) are the fourth lowest recorded in > the eleven years this protocol has been followed. > > ========================================== > > 3) Adopt-a-Classroom Donations > > We want to thank all of you who have gathered schools supplies, books in > Spanish and other materials for the schools in the vicinity of the monarch > sanctuary in Mexico. In addition to several individual contributions we have > received two large donations - 8 pallets of materials from Appleton North > High School (Appleton, WI) and about 300 lbs. of materials from Crestwood > Elementary School (Richmond, VA). Overall, we have more supplies to > distribute to the schools in Mexico this year than the 4.5 tons of books and > supplies delivered during our January 2002 Adopt-a-Classroom trip. Thank You! > > Unfortunately, monetary contributions that help cover the costs of > transporting the materials and other expenses (promotional flyers, storage, > etc.) are way down this year. Approximately $3,000 has been contributed to > the Adopt-a-Classroom Fund this year versus over $9,000 last year. The > Adopt-a-Classroom program requires approximately $13,000 annually to maintain > and a large part of these expenses are paid out of Monarch Watch's operating > funds. Whether or not we will be able to cover these expenses this year is > not yet known :-( > > If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to the > Adopt-a-Classroom Fund, please make checks payable to Monarch Fund and mail > to: > > Monarch Watch > University of Kansas > 1200 Sunnyside Avenue > Lawrence, KS 66045 > > Please include "Adopt-a-Classroom" in the memo field or in a note. Thank you > for your continued support! > > ========================================== > > 4) Tagging Data Sheets > > It's that time of year again. The tagging is finished and the data sheets are > being returned in good numbers. If you have not yet returned your data sheets > please do so. We need all the data sheets to coordinate the information on > the recoveries. So far, there are 107 recoveries in the United States and > once the data sheets are in and scanned, we will be able to inform both the > tagger and the person who made the recovery of the specifics of their > particular butterfly. > > Please be sure to fill out your form completely - we need your name & > address, if you received tags from anyone other than Monarch Watch, the > tagging date, and the complete tag number. Don't forget: the tag number is > the entire three letter & three number code! > > Thanks! > > ========================================== > > 5) 2002 Recoveries > > Recoveries are already starting to pile up. We've had 107 domestic recoveries > (recoveries in Canada & the U.S.) so far this year. This is quite a few more > than we've had in recent years. The following is a list of domestic > recoveries for the past four years. You can compare this year's numbers with > numbers from the past, but you should keep in mind that we haven't received > all of the 2002 recoveries yet. > > Season - # of U.S. & Canadian Recoveries > 2002 - 107 > 2001 - 51 > 2000 - 56 > 1999 - 62 > 1998 - 29 > 1997 - 146 > > ========================================== > > 6) Just in Time for the Holidays! > > Get your FREE $5 Monarch Watch Gift Certificate! > > About a year ago Monarch Watch unveiled our new Gulliver's Gift Shop online > store and your support has been overwhelming. Your shopping at Gulliver's > Gift Shop has helped us streamline our fulfillment processes, saving us time > and money that we can better use to continue to pursue our research, > education and conservation goals. > > As a special thank you we would like to give everyone who supports Monarch > Watch an early holiday gift. Click on the link below to get a FREE $5 Gift > Certificate that you can use on any purchase of $20 or more in Gulliver's > Gift Shop. Get yourself an early present or find something for a friend. We > now have over 10,000 nature book and AV titles, 500 optics and backyard > habitat items, and lots of great gift ideas. > > http://shop.monarchwatch.org/gc_promo.asp > > Everyone who clicks on the link above will get the $5 Gift Certificate. > What's more, 3 people will be selected at random to receive an additional $15 > certificate! > > So don't wait to get FREE $5 Gift Certificate and a chance at even more > savings - good luck to everyone! > > http://shop.monarchwatch.org/gc_promo.asp > > ========================================== > > 7) Bird Predation on Monarchs - by Chip Taylor > > In prehistoric times, the air was filled with many large flying insects, > representatives of a group known as the Paleodictyoptera. This group is > extinct and the cause of their demise is a matter of speculation; however, > vertebrates (particularly early lizards and primitive birds) may have had a > role in their disappearance. Presently, as far as I'm aware, the only LARGE > diurnal flying insects that share space with birds are migratory locusts and > monarchs. The locusts make sense on the basis of numbers and monarchs on the > basis of their distastefulness and emetic properties. Predation on monarchs > by black-headed grosbeaks and black-backed orioles at the overwintering sites > is well known and reasonably well studied. More recently, there have been a > number of reports of predation on monarchs by scissortail flycatchers and in > the last month Carol Cullar has reported predation by ladderback woodpeckers > and grackles. Carol has raised the interesting possibility that the > woodpeckers and grackles have learned to feed on the monarchs by watching the > scissortail flycatchers. Predation by Western and Cassin's kingbirds is known > to occur at the monarch overwintering sites in California. In an email, Bob > Pyle mentioned that on a recent trip to Mexico a member of their group, Sunny > Phillips, observed a redtailed hawk as it swerved, grabbed a monarch out the > air (with its bill, not talons), and ate it - this is an amazing observation. > In a further exchange concerning bird predation, Bob offered the following: > "Šat the Bonneville Salt Flats (Utah), as I was watching a recently launched > monarch rise on a thermal: 'A barn swallow appears, and I briefly fear for > the rising butterfly. Barn swallows, ring-billed gulls, and English sparrows > are the only birds here, and all are looking for breakfast. The hirundine > makes one investigative pass at the butterfly, the monarch flies momentarily > back at it, and the swallow veers away.' (Chasing Monarchs pp. 161-162). I > never did see an incidence of predation on monarchs during the journey, > though I did see aeschnid dragonflies make passes." > > The classic story of birds and monarchs is that of the blue and scrub jays > and the monarchs. Lincoln Brower and his associates showed that naive blue > jays would eat monarchs only to "throw up" the monarch within about 10 > minutes. Subsequent to this experience, the blue or scrub jays would not eat > another monarch. A number of experiments showed that the emetic reaction of > the birds was due to the vertebrate heart poisons, known as cardiac > glycosides and cardenolides, compounds that the monarch acquires as a result > of eating the milkweeds as a larva. As the work unfolded, it became apparent > that not all monarchs produced the same response and this proved to be due to > the milkweeds upon which the larvae fed. As it turns out, the cardenolides in > milkweeds vary greatly from species to species. Thus, the monarchs themselves > are highly variable in their potential edibility and there are monarchs with > almost no chemical protection and others that are highly toxic. Monarchs > which have fed on Asclepias syriaca, and this applies to perhaps 90% of the > fall migrants, appear to have low cardenolide concentrations which may > explain some of the bird predation. > > ========================================== > > 8) Queens and Soldiers - by Chip Taylor > > The genus to which monarchs belong, Danaus, consists of 11 species. Three of > these, the monarch (Danaus plexippus), the queen (Danaus gilippus), and the > soldier (Danaus eresimus), occur in the United States. The queen is broadly > distributed across the southern states from Georgia to California. It is > occasionally found as far north as Kansas, Colorado, Utah, and more recently > at several locations along the Atlantic coast as far north as New Jersey. The > soldier is widely distributed in the Americas but in the U.S. it is confined > to south Texas with occasional sightings in Florida. Relatively little is > known about the biology of this species. It is generally uncommon in the U.S. > and appears not to have been studied in detail. There is a substantial amount > of literature on the queen, including classical studies of courtship and > mating, characterization of the pheromones used by males, and the queen's > role as a model for mimicry with co-occurring Viceroys in the southern > states. > > Both the queen and the soldier, although they share many characteristics with > monarchs, are considered to be sufficiently different from monarchs in > morphology to be assigned to a different subgenus (Anosia). The queen and > soldier have been reported to migrate but the accounts describe directional > flight; overwintering clusters of the type found in monarchs have not been > reported. In northern Mexico I have seen queens moving with monarchs in a > southeasterly direction toward the mountains in Nuevo Leon in November. Like > monarchs, the queens would cluster in the same trees each fall but they were > clustered on a different portion of the trees and in lower branches than > monarchs. In Nuevo Leon, a northern state in Mexico just south of Texas, > queens were absent during the winter months. Whether they overwintered as > adults or larvae is not clear. queens and soldiers use a wide array of > milkweeds as hostplants for larvae including Asclepias curassavica. > > The larva of both species are characterized by warning coloration, > contrasting black, white and orange, that may serve to alert potential > vertebrate predators that they are unpalatable or toxic. In the queen, the > larvae with the less well-defined patterns are said to become females. If > this is true, it provides a rare instance in which the sexes of larvae can be > distinguished on the basis of color or pattern. The larvae of both species > differ from monarchs in having a third set of filaments (sometimes known as > tubercles, tentacles, feelers, etc.) that project from the dorsum (back) of > the caterpillar from the segment just anterior to that bearing the first set > of abdominal prolegs (see photo). The queen is known to have polymorphic > pupae with most being green or jade and some being off-white or ivory and a > few being pink (see photo). The genetic, or developmental, basis for these > pupal color differences has not been established. > > Like the monarch, there is much to be learned about both of these species. > For those of you working with students in the areas where the queen and > monarch, or all three, overlap, these species provide an opportunity for > students to engage in a variety of comparative studies since all can be > reared on A. curassavica. > > Queen larva and pink pupa: http://www.MonarchWatch.org/update/queen.html > Monarchs, Queens, & Soldiers (courtesy of Mike Quinn, TPWD): > http://home.satx.rr.com/txento/DNpix.htm > > ========================================== > > 9) Interstate Shipment of Butterflies - by Chip Taylor > > Recently, I spoke with a representative of the USDA APHIS (Animal Plant > Health Inspection Service) concerning the proposed change in the regulations > that apply to the interstate shipment of butterflies. The proposed > regulations contained several provisions that would have had a marked impact > on the rearing of monarchs in classrooms, their rearing and release under a > variety of conditions, and the interstate shipment of live butterflies or > their immature stages. These regulations have not been implemented. > Currently, these proposed regulations, together with the public response, are > under review. This will be a lengthy process, since there are new concerns > associated with Homeland Security. At present, there is no way to predict > when the new regulations will be adopted or whether they will include the > provisions that so many people found objectionable. The old regulations > remain in effect for the foreseeable future. > > ========================================== > > 10) How to Unsubscribe from this Update > > If you would like to be removed from this Monarch Watch Update mailing list, > please send an email message to > > [log in to unmask] > > and include in the body of the message (no other text): > > UNSUBSCRIBE MONARCH-WATCH-UPDATE > > If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact us anytime. > > Thanks! > > Monarch Watch > http://www.MonarchWatch.org > [log in to unmask] > > This e-mail may be reproduced, printed, or otherwise redistributed as long as > it is provided in full and without any modification. Requests to do otherwise > must be approved in writing by Monarch Watch. ********************************************* Kent P. McFarland Conservation Biology Department Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) 27023 Church Hill Road Woodstock, VT 05091 phone 802-457-2779 x124 voice mail fax 802-457-1053 e-mail [log in to unmask] http://www.vinsweb.org/conservation/index.html ****************************************************