Tagging Monarch Butterflies (VERY Image Heavy)

16 years ago

I am so fortunate to have a wonderful neighbor who is a nature buff just like me. Pam is also a butterfly tagger for the the Monarch Watch organization based at Kansas University. She was kind enough to invite me along for tagging when she visited an area we all frequent called Bluegrass Wildlife Preserve. Its the time of year when the Monarchs are gearing up for their migration. The thistle plants (cirsium altissimum) or more commonly, "tall thistle" are blooming, and are a magnet for the Monarchs. Heres our adventure in pix:

Tall thistle (Cirsium altissimum)

And more thistle.....

It is quite a beautiful plant....

Seems its liked by others too.....

Heres Pam stalking an elusive Monarch.....

Ah, success....now to retrieve it from the net....gently..

Heres a beautiful unknown (at least unknown to me) butterfly...

A beautiful little birds nest....sort of looks like it might be a Goldfinch nest...the conical shape is one I have seen used by Goldfinches before....

I always call these "roadside daisies".... an improper I.D., but they are lovely......

More of the daisies....

The bees certainly loved the thistle.....

And even more of the thistle......

An old bridge on a road that is now closed to vehicles....we walked across, and I snapped off some quick shots....lovely area...

A Blue Heron....he was fishing until I surprised him.....

Another daisy (they were everywhere and full of blossoms)

{{gwi:1354534}}

The beautiful, huge lily pads....

The DNR plants sunflower, milo and other seed grasses for the wildlife. Heres a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds chowing down in a field of sunflowers that have been "plowed down" for the ground eaters to enjoy.......

More of the Red-wings.....

The Red-wings in flight from the rushes back to the sunflowers....they seemed to go in waves....

These sunflowers were left standing for the birds that enjoy eating right from the stalks rather than the ground.........

They seem to go on for miles and miles....

Seems someone is really enjoying the sunflowers....

Still eating.........

Heres Pam removing the tag from a sheet of "stickers" to be placed on the butterfly in her hand........

A close-up of the butterfly tag.....

And another.....showing all the information about where this particular butterfly was tagged.....

Heres Pam logging all the information about this particular butterfly onto a chart. The information includes the date of tagging, gender of the butterfly and other information relative to the research....

Thanks for looking in......it was such a treat for me to go along with this wonderful lady. She is so gentle with these beautiful butterflies. I have to admit I was thrilled that she allowed me to catch my first butterfly. I was absolutely terrified that I would in some way harm it....but, I didn't. Pam assured me that they are quite a bit stronger than some people actually think. I do know that as I held one in my hands for release after tagging, I felt its strength as it struggled to escape and it was amazing. I loved this adventure and hope to go again sometime....thanks again for looking in everyone...

~Kathy~

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

jeannek_NEPA
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Awesome pictures, Kathy! The thistle really is beautiful.
That planting for the birds thing is a great idea. I haven't seen it done here.

Now, the butterflies will migrate and the tag will be read by someone far away? Stupid question alert***Will this butterfly survive the winter and come back up here to lay eggs? Or is it a goner? (School was a looong time ago and I have an appt soon and cannot research right now - and it will be out of my head by the time I get upstairs to change, lol)

Jeanne
IndianaKat
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks Jeanne...we had such a wonderful day chasing those butterflies....I had never done it before and it was exhilerating to say the least. I'm including a link to the Monarch site...better they answer your questions (about migration and how it works) than me since I'm just a "beginner" myself as far as butterflies go....very interesting creatures and so pretty to look at too. Thanks for looking in........

~Kathy~

Here is a link that might be useful: Butterfly info....
Related Discussions
A stroll through my backyard (Image heavy)
Q
Comments (46)
My goodness, it was very interesting to look back and see what's here and what's now gone. Yesterday I dug out the overgrown spiderworts and replaced them with echinaceas. I always have loads of echinaceas reseeding so they're a big fill in when I'm ripping out. The bed with the yuccas is full of some weeds--it must get a major redo this fall. For the most part it all looks the same except things have filled in and gotten bigger. I probably have two dozen crepe myrtles here, all grown from seed I traded for on the forums. I took seeds from all around the country and mixed them together. The seeds were WS (probably in late January) and they germinated well in mid spring. The seedlings were kept in a holding be their first year--I was surprise to see some lavender blooms. The second year they were transferred to a back fence border where they were another year, after that I started moving them about the garden. I now have two crepe myrtle hedges and some extras still in the back fence border. Crepe Myrtles have a varied hardiness, usually to zone seven but some species can do zone six quite well. If you want to increase your crepe myrtles then trade for seeds from around the country and WS them all together. After a couple of years you will know which of them are hardy for your garden. It's three years time between sowing and seeing a blooming and prunable hedge from your crepe myrtle seeds--for me it was a grand experiment to see if I could succesfully germinate them with WS here in zone seven; I am absolutely delighted with my crepes. They're just about to start blooming too so that's really nice to see. T Here is a link that might be useful: Crepe Myrtle Seeds (nice hardiness data)
...See More
Off Topic Alert to the Plight of the Monarch Butterfly
Q
Comments (6)
I spend most of my time on the butterfly forum, and most areas have had a significant lack of butterflies this year. But, things are really picking up just this week in many regions. Last summer was a terrible drought, and this spring was cool and wet. So, things were off to a slow start. But, it's getting better. Just keep growing the native plants and heavy nectar annuals, etc., and you'll be rewarded with visits eventually. Thanks for taking the time to respond to the post and spread the word to gardening folk and others. Martha
...See More
Mamas4boys - Butterfly plant suggestions for zone7b - photo heavy
Q
Comments (1)
Hello, Just wanted to butt in and say that I have plenty of seeds for the orange milkweed or butterflyweed, and I have lots of seed pods forming as we speak. I also have many volunteer baby Rue plants that could probably be mailed in a pinch. I haven't checked for seeds of the Rue, because I have so much already growing. Unfortunately, I have yet to see any Giant Swallowtail action, despite having every host plant it is known to frequent. I also have seeds for two other varieties of milkweed, A. incarnata (swamp) and one called "Red" by Seed Saver's Exchange. If you're looking for seeds, try the wintersowing forum--also an excellent way to get multiple plants started inexpensively and very reliably. I could certainly send you a care package to get you started. Let me know. Martha
...See More
Tagged my first Monarch (Pic)
Q
Comments (10)
To anyone on the fence about tagging, I would encourage you to JUST DO IT! I mean outside of the fact that it is just so cool, I feel like a biologist! I found out the money you pay for the tags goes to help local villagers so they will not cut down the trees from the oyamel rainforest. There are biologist permanently in Mexico studying the Monarch and if local villagers find a tagged butterfly, they are paid $5 or 5 pesos (can't remember now). They hope this source of income will keep them from chopping down the trees to sell for firewood. Idealistic yes, but any little bit helps. It all feels so scientific too. I have to fill out a form for every butterfly tagged with all the information about sex, wild or reared, location, date released etc. I can't say it enough, it's just so COOL! Can you tell I'm excited about it? lol As for the necklaces, it's pretty simple but a steady hand does help. I take a piece of string or cord, put a dot of hot glue on the cord and then attach the chrysalis. I lift the string up slightly from the table and then just gently slide the chrysalis over to "meet" the bead of glue so I'm not constantly holding the chrysalis. It's time consuming and nerve-wracking but it keeps them safe. I never carry a cat or chrysalis in my hand, I always put them in a container so no accidents happen, which inevitably do. This year I tossed old milkweed in the compost after checking for any cats but missed one. Thankfully, he found his way to the milkweed garden and I found him and kept him safe. Opps! For those of you further south than me, it's still not too late to order your tags. Where I am the Monarchs will all be gone in a couple of weeks, but your season is longer. Have fun! P.S. I tagged two more today!
...See More

Tagging Monarch Butterflies (VERY Image Heavy)

Comments (2)

jeannek_NEPA

IndianaKat
Original Author

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Tagging Monarch Butterflies (VERY Image Heavy)

Comments (2)

jeannek_NEPA

IndianaKatOriginal Author

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

IndianaKat
Original Author