Tracking the Monarch migration

16 years ago

Would appreciate your help again this year in tracking the Monarch migration for Monarch Watch and Journey North. I had a nice wave of them come thru Kingfisher with the front on Tues. It's still early, with thousands still reported in Kansas.

If you happen to notice a nice wave of Monarchs, steady stream (ie 1 every 5 minutes), or large number roosting in the trees, would love to hear from you. I would die to find hundreds roosting in the trees!

Please note your City, approx. numbers, if they are nectaring in your yard, or any directional movement.

Thanks so much!!! :)

Linda

Kingfisher

Here is a link that might be useful: Journey North map

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Comments (7)

linda_centralokzn6
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks.
mango_joe
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I had several dozens of Monarchs roosting in Locust, Elm, and Pear trees in my back yard in Yukon on Sunday evening, Sept 30. They were the first I had noticed this year. They left individually with the sunrise, and a large mass left approx. 9:00 am. No butterflies stayed Monday nite.
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dbarron, It is the same here, but much worse the last 5 years than the 5 years prior to that. The last time that we had a big group of butterflies (thousands of them and it was a glorious sight) spend the night on a tree on the edge of our woodland was around 2002 or 2003 or possibly 2004. We also had a good year with heavy monarch traffic around 2009 or 2010 but have seen very, very few migrating ones since....and his year I think I could count on one hand the number of migrating monarchs I saw. I remember one day when I saw three of them. Three! In the past it would have been hundreds or thousands, depending on their migratory path in any given year. Alexis, We have acres and acres of milkweed here in our neighborhood. The last couple of years, I haven't seen many monarchs on the milkweed on our property or on the property directly adjacent to our fire station, which has tons of milkweed growing on it. So, at least in our part of OK, we have lots of milkweed, but just not many monarchs. Still, it never hurts to plant milkweed and other flowers for monarchs and other butterflies. They need all the help they can get. I noticed butterfly numbers dropping (not just monarchs, though their population seems like it has dropped the most) once the use of Bt-enhanced/engineered corn came into wide use. I feel like that has had a bigger impact on the butterfly population that any other single thing. How in the world anyone thought they could put Bt in corn seed and not have it affect butterflies in the areas where the corn is grown is totally beyond me. I have gardened here in OK for 15 years and I try to garden as organically as possible. Even though Bt is organic and is commonly used by organic gardeners and farmers to control caterpillars on many crops, I hardly use it at all. I have only sprayed it on my entire garden one year out of the 15 years we've been here. I don't like using it because I enjoy having butterflies and moths flying around and don't want to do anything that will harm them. In the one year I used it, we had a severe caterpillar (cut worms, army worms and others) infestation across the entire state and they were devastating gardens and farms. I had to use it that year or just let the caterpillars eat up the entire garden before the plants could even get large enough to produce any harvest, but I hated using it and I tried to keep it off the flowers I grow for the butterflies. It is frustrating to know that there are plenty of organic or mostly organic gardeners like me who don't even want to use Bt, but then there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of acres planted with crops that have had Bt inserted into their seeds. No matter how hard the "little guys" like us try to avoid practices that harm the monarchs and other butterflies and moths, our efforts are strongly negated by the use of GMO Bt seeds used in commercial agriculture. I would like to think that the American people are paying attention to the loss of butterfly habitat and to the damage being done to them with the over-reliance on Bt, especially in Bt crops, and that we will take action to save the butterflies. Realistically speaking, though, as long as Bt-enhanced corn is available, many commercial farmers will use it. I feel like the poor monarchs don't stand a chance. When we mow our pastures, we mow around the milkweed (which used to drive Tim crazy because it ruined his perfectly-mowed grassy areas, but he finally got on board with the need to do it) ,and I plant milkweed in our fenced-in gardens, but it won't make much difference if there aren't monarchs around to enjoy it. We all should do what we can to help the butterflies and moths, and that includes commercial agriculture, but I am worried that irreversible harm has occurred and that the monarch population will not recover to its pre-Bt-era numbers. Dawn
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linda_centralokzn6
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Would you say maybe 50 or 100+ total? Would be nice to have an approximate number.

There's been roosts all around my area, but none found in my trees, yet. The wind has been horrible from the south, lately, until the front finally came thru this evening. Should be more on the move tomorrow.

Thanks so much for posting, Mango Joe.
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Linda,

Well, I have been watching and waiting, without much success. I am in Love County, in the rural area between Marietta and Thackerville, and the monarchs have been few and far between.

Keep in mind that the weather here has been exceptionally warm, and the cold fronts that have come across the state have mostly petered out before reaching us.

I HAVE seen more monarchs since about Wednesday, but only 1 or 2 every 5 to 10 minutes. I mostly see them in the early morning and late evening hours (just before sunset) when I am out walking my dogs. I see them now and then in the yard in the afternoon.

They are definitely flying in a south to southwestardly direction from here. Some years it seems like they are more or less headed straight down I-35 towards Dallas from here, but this year they seem to be headed more towards Wichita Falls or Abilene.

I have not had many stopping in the yard to nectar, although tons of other butterflies and moths are around.
Also, no large groups roosting in the trees so far this year.

Dawn
Lisa_H OK
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Linda, I haven't spotted any here yet. I have had a few other butterflies around, which I've been documenting by camera as I can, but nary a monarch.

I try to check every day for you though. :) Yesterday as I drove up to my house I saw a flash of blue. I grabbed my camera and went to clicking. This one wouldn't cooperate too well, all my pictures are full of motion!

I've seen a gulf fritilary fairly regularly the last couple of weeks, and yesterday I saw a couple others. I noticed the activity does seem to be ramping up a little though.

Lisa

Here is a link that might be useful:
linda_centralokzn6
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Oh my gosh, Lisa, you have a Pipevine swallowtail!!!! One that "I" feel is one of the most coveted butterflies to attract. Aren't they one of the most absolute gorgeous bfs???? And, their caterpillars have got to be some of the most cuuute. They are black with red spines, but are not sharp, just very soft. Their host plants are the Pipevine vines in the Aristolochia family. It took me 3 years for my vines to get established enough to support a colony, and I have had them all summer this year. It's been so wonderful.

You need to get you some Pipevines, Girlfriend. Susan had caterpillars on her vines this year, also. Unfortunately, the vines are not readily available at the local nurseries. Suan and I have been trying, but they say that there is not enough demand? Most butterfly books say that their range would increase if more people planted pipevines.
Aristolochia tomentosa seems to do well in central Okla., morning sun, filtered shade.

Ocassionally, Marilyn has some-
http://www.wildthingsnursery.com/

Missouri Wildflowers has small vines-
http://www.mowildflowers.net/

Mary Ann at Pine Ridge Garden may have larger plants.
http://www.pineridgegardens.com/2003Tree.htm
All are reputable.

It's no wonder that one didn't happen upon your gorgeous flowers. I just hate it that I hadden't gotten around to see your yard. I am so excited for you!!! Hopefully, you'll think about putting in some pipevines in the future, so that you will have them all summer, and not just an occasional migrant.

Do you have some passionvine for the Gulf frits? I don't know why the Monarchs didn't find your patch of milkweed this summer. Next summer, remind me, and I'll share some of my caterpillars. Seems like once you have them, they seem to return.

Dawn, thanks so much for your Monarch report. I believe that the weather has been the major factor in the routes that the Monarchs have taken this year. The largest waves have been thru Ponca, Kingfisher, Canton Lake, and on into Midland, and San Angelo. There are have spotty reports along I-35 to Dallas. Chip Taylor from Monarch Watch says that the ones being seen now are the late emergers, and that their changes of making it to Mexico by Nov. 1st is very slim. The 1st ones that I saw the end of Sept. were hundreds filling the sky. The wind was just right, and they weren't stopping to nectar. They were high in the sky on a mission. This 20-30 mph southerly wind has really slowed some of them down.

Hope that you get some rain, Dawn, and some cooler temps. We had been pretty hot, and dry, with strong southerly winds until we got some rain on Monday, and then we just got 2 1/2 inches,today. Did you get any of the rain, today? The wind is supposed to blow strong from the north tomorrow, and then turn around and blow strong from the south Sat., and Sun. Be hard for any Monarchs to make much distance now.

Randy said that he saw about 200 in Norman yesterday. Perhaps, some of them will come to visit you, Dawn.

My flowers are kinda fizzling out. My trop. mw is going to seed, but still has some flowers and is a great attractor. I don't have near the stand of Golden crownbead that I normally have to do all of the extra rain drowning some out. Most of my zinnias look bad. I should have deadheaded them more. But, my butterfly bushes, Gregg's blue mistflower, Aster oblongifloius, and Mexican flamevine are really attracting the bfs. Do you have Mexican flamevine Dawn and Lisa? It really shines this time of year.

Dawn, there is a Master Gardener from SE Okla. that has posted on the Butterfly Forum wanting to know of some good butterfly attracting plants for the SE for designing a butterfly garden presentation. Perhaps you may be able to help?
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/butterfly/msg1014095914317.html?7

Gee, I didn't mean to be so winded. Thanks again for your great reports. I really should check out the Okla. Gardening forum more often. I still have so much to learn. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Pipevine swallowtails
Lisa_H OK
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Linda, sorry I'm so late getting back with you...I took Fall Break off with the rest of my friends. I finally wised up and started saving a couple days of vacation for Oct. to take with all my friends who working in the schools :)

It was a Pipevine swallowtail? Yeah! It was absolutely gorgeous. I don't have any pipevine, passionvine or Mexican flamevine....Thanks for the info, I'll definitely look at it for next year. I let morning glory grow wild over my fences this year, but I'd rather have those!

My flowers are looking rather tattered too. I'm getting itchy fingers to start ripping stuff out, but I try to leave everything until a freeze hits!

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it!

Lisa

Tracking the Monarch migration

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linda_centralokzn6
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Tracking the Monarch migration

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