Each fall, monarch butterflies across Canada and the United States turn their orange, black and white-mottled wings toward the Rio Grande and migrate over 2,000 miles to the relative warmth of central Mexico. This journey, repeated instinctively by generations of monarchs, continues even as monarch numbers have plummeted due to loss of their sole larval food source — milkweed. But amid this sad news, a research team believes they have.
Be sure to read these two important articles about the monarch population. The first one reports an increase in the monarch overwintering population (good news). The second one reports the effects of a devastating storm at the monarch wintering grounds in Mexico (bad news), demonstrating the vulnerability of the monarch population. Monarch numbers up, but Iowa consortium still encourages conservation The World Wildlife Fund has announced a large increase in.
by Craig & Marcia Sampson We came home after a labor day weekend up north and were walking the dogs around the acreage in the dark. We heard ‘flutters’ and turned on the flashlight and there were hundreds of butterflies on the trees. What a blessing that was to us! As I grew up by Forest City the monarchs always did a stop over at our farm, so I was.
From the Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter: MONARCH MANIA! REACHES CLEAR LAKE! Monarch Mania! has struck at Clear Creek Elementary. Helped by Todd Von Ehwegen, conservation education manager at Lime Creek Nature Center, third graders at the Clear Lake elementary school took to the school’s Outdoor Classroom last week to plant seeds for the future– or more specifically, seeds to improve habitat for Monarch butterflies and other pollinators. Read full story here
According to a Monarch Watch blog post, World Wildlife Fund Mexico in collaboration with SEMARNAT and CONANP and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) announced the total forest area occupied by overwintering monarch colonies today in Mexico City. Nine colonies were located this winter season with a total area of 4.01 hectares. While this is great news, biologists believe an annual average wintering population of 6 hectares is needed to.
Dr. Chip Taylor, Director of Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas, was a guest keynote speaker at the Iowa Association of County Conservation Board Employees workshop in Waterloo on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Taylor is pictured talking to some of the audience after his talk. Some interesting tidbits from Dr. Taylor’s presentation: 90% of the overwintering monarchs in Mexico are hatched in the “cornbelt” area of the United States. This includes ALL.
Before you start raising, you’ll need an ample supply of the caterpillars favorite (and only) food resource. If you’re planning ahead, seeds will suffice, but in case of milkweed emergencies plants, plugs, and cuttings can help support monarchs much sooner. Read the entire article at The Monarch Butterfly Garden
