when do the monarch butterflies return to mexico
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roosting sites in November. They remain in their roosts during the winter months and then begin their northern migration in March. No individual butterfly completes the entire round trip. Female monarchs lay eggs for a subsequent generation during the northward migration. Four generations are involved in the annual cycle. Similarly, the western populations migrate annually from regions west of the Rocky Mountains to overwintering sites on the coast of California. Not all monarch populations make major migrations. Monarchs migrate short distances in Australia and New Zealand. There are some populations, for instance in Florida and the Caribbean, that do not
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Fred Urquhart Frederick Albert Urquhart, (December 13, 1911 – November 3, 2002) was a Canadian zoologist who studied the migration of monarch butterflies, "Danaus plexippus" L. Together with his wife, Norah Roden Urquhart (June 23, 1918 – March 13, 2009), he identified their migration routes and discovered that the migration spans multiple generations of butterflies. After many years of searching and with the help of Catalina Trail and Ken Brugger, the Urquharts found the location in Mexico where the butterflies spend their winter, far away from their summer residence areas in Canada and the United States. Urquhart's research on the
Fred Urquhart
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of Ontario Naturalists. The Urquhart Butterfly Garden in Dundas, Ontario is a 3-acre park designed to attract butterflies. An IMAX film, "Flight of the Butterflies", tells the story of the long search by the Urquharts, Brugger, and Trail to unlock the secret of the butterflies' migration. Fred Urquhart Frederick Albert Urquhart, (December 13, 1911 – November 3, 2002) was a Canadian zoologist who studied the migration of monarch butterflies, "Danaus plexippus" L. Together with his wife, Norah Roden Urquhart (June 23, 1918 – March 13, 2009), he identified their migration routes and discovered that the migration spans multiple generations of
Fred Urquhart
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roller ("Omiodes accepta"), corn earworm ("Heliothis zea"), black cutworm ("Agrotis ipsilon"), and variegated cutworm ("Peridroma saucia"). It is a concern in the morbidity of monarch butterflies. Researchers do not all agree that a high census of "L. archippivora" may regulate the population or have an effect on the fall migration of eastern monarch butterflies to Mexico. The butterfly does not survive the infection and it is estimated that 6.2% of wild-monitored monarch butterflies are killed by this fly. One study indicated that even the eggs of the monarch butterfly can be infected. In 1898 it was introduced into the Hawaiian
Lespesia archippivora
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41st anniversary of the discovery of the Mountain of the Butterflies". Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve () is a World Heritage Site containing most of the over-wintering sites of the eastern population of the monarch butterfly. The reserve is located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests ecoregion on the border of Michoacán and State of Mexico, 100 km (62 miles), northwest of Mexico City. Millions of butterflies arrive in the reserve annually. Butterflies only inhabit a fraction of the 56,000 hectares of the reserve from October–March. The biosphere’s mission is to protect the butterfly species
Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
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in legends of the people that live near overwintering areas. In the areas surrounding the overwintering sites in Mexico, local residents were quite aware of the overwintering behavior of monarch butterflies long before 1975. The local people, called the Mazahua, have lived near the overwintering sites for centuries. The arrival of the monarchs is closely tied to the traditional the Day of the Dead celebrations. Local residents today easily recall seeing the migrating butterflies prior to 1975. For at least a century, monarchs were observed overwintering in California. Historical records kept by lepidopterists do not mention the presence of monarchs
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in the park range from the white-tailed deer to squirrels and other small animals. Other animals such as coyotes and grey wolves have been rumored to be wandering around the park. Fish and amphibian life are also present in the park, especially in and around McLaughlin Bay. The park is known for migrating monarch butterflies. It offers an annual monarch tagging and educational program. Near summer's end, monarch butterflies begin to migrate south to Mexico. The park is part of a greater monarch conservation program. It tags monarch butterflies at its annual migration festival, the Monarchs and Raptors Weekend, held
Darlington Provincial Park
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Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve () is a World Heritage Site containing most of the over-wintering sites of the eastern population of the monarch butterfly. The reserve is located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests ecoregion on the border of Michoacán and State of Mexico, 100 km (62 miles), northwest of Mexico City. Millions of butterflies arrive in the reserve annually. Butterflies only inhabit a fraction of the 56,000 hectares of the reserve from October–March. The biosphere’s mission is to protect the butterfly species and its habitat. Most of the over-wintering monarchs from eastern North
Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
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Flight of the Butterflies Flight of the Butterflies is a 2012 Canadian documentary film directed and co-written by Mike Slee for 3D IMAX, starring Megan Follows, Gordon Pinsent, and Shaun Benson. The film covers Dr. Fred Urquhart's nearly 40-year-long scientific investigation into the monarch butterfly ("Danaus plexippus"), tracking the details of what is considered one of the longest known insect migrations: the flight of the monarch butterfly from Central Mexico to the United States and Canada and back. Monarch butterflies are a familiar sight in the United States and Canada most of the year, but disappear from most locations in
Flight of the Butterflies
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access to nectar plants. If there is a hard frost in these areas they do not survive. "Asclepias curassavica", an introduced annual ornamental, provides larval food if native species are unavailable, although because of the risks to monarchs from the spread of the parasite, OE, this plant is not recommended for planting. Year-round breeding of resident monarch populations exist in the Caribbean, and in Mexico as far south as the Yucatán peninsula. Surprisingly, monarchs do not migrate over most of their global range. Tagging records demonstrate that the eastern and western populations are not entirely separate. Arizona butterflies have been
Monarch butterfly migration
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of monarch butterflies during the fall migration to overwintering sites in Mexico: (1) Monarch Watch is a continent-wide project, while (2) the Cape May Monarch Monitoring Project is an example of a local project. The Austrian project Viel-Falter investigated if and how trained and supervised pupils are able to systematically collect data about the occurrence of diurnal butterflies, and how this data could contribute to a permanent butterfly monitoring system. Despite substantial identification uncertainties for some species or species groups, the data collected by pupils was successfully used to predict the general habitat quality for butterflies. Citizen science projects have
Citizen science
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about 200 species of oak (about a third of oak species). It is estimated that temperate forests in Mexico contain about 7,000 species of plants. The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve contains the over-wintering habitats of the eastern population of the monarch butterfly. The reserve is located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests ecoregion on the border of Michoacán and Mexico State. Millions of butterflies arrive in the preserve annually. Butterflies only inhabit a fraction of the 56,000 hectares of the reserve from October–March. The biosphere's mission is not only to protect the butterfly species, but its habitat as well.
Forests of Mexico
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the insect's life pattern. In addition to finding the overwintering sites, he discovered that it takes two or three generations for the monarch butterflies to reach the Canadian breeding grounds, while one much-longer-lived "supergeneration" makes the return trip south into central Mexico. With Mike Slee announced as director, the film went into principal development in February 2007. In August 2007, the U.S. National Science Foundation awarded a three million dollar grant to Canadian SK Films to both develop the film for the giant screen and create its educational outreach program. The grant amount is the maximum available from the NSF.
Flight of the Butterflies
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the eastern North American seaboard. The timing of the eastern flyway lags behind the more central flyway. Monarchs migrating along the coast are less likely of being recovered in Mexico. This suggests that butterflies migrating along the eastern seaboard are migrating to locations other than Mexico, or they have a higher rate of mortality than those migrating inland. Monarch butterflies are thought to respond to different cues that promote the fall season, southern migration. These include the angle of light coming from the sun, the senescence of larval host plants, the decreasing day period and temperature drop. The migration begins
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separate species, "Abies colimensis". The sacred fir is the preferred tree for the monarch butterfly ("Danaus plexippus") to reside in colonies during its hibernation in the forests of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Although monarch butterflies are known in other parts of the southern Mexican highlands as some specimens do not migrate, the bulk of them gather in a few protected fir forests near the towns of Angangueo (Michoacán) and Avándaro (State of Mexico), from December to March. The wood of the sacred fir is rather soft and thus not very suited for woodworking. Nonetheless, its distribution is decreasing because of
Abies religiosa
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not in central Mexico. Tagged monarchs from Tallahassee were recovered in Virginia and Georgia. The distance and length of these journeys exceeds the normal lifespan of monarchs, which is less than two months for butterflies born in early summer. The first generation leaving the overwintering sites only migrates as far north as Texas and Oklahoma. The second, third and fourth generations return to their northern breeding locations in the United States and Canada in the spring. Generally speaking, the eastern population migrates from southern Canada and the Midwest United States almost directly south toward Mexico. Monarchs from the Northeast tend
Monarch butterfly migration
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being offered in the big-screen 3D format, "The Film Stage" offered it as a net positive that IMAX theaters will "have a balance of blockbusters and nature films." Flight of the Butterflies Flight of the Butterflies is a 2012 Canadian documentary film directed and co-written by Mike Slee for 3D IMAX, starring Megan Follows, Gordon Pinsent, and Shaun Benson. The film covers Dr. Fred Urquhart's nearly 40-year-long scientific investigation into the monarch butterfly ("Danaus plexippus"), tracking the details of what is considered one of the longest known insect migrations: the flight of the monarch butterfly from Central Mexico to the
Flight of the Butterflies
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organized by their efforts directed to each of the four stages in the monarch life cycle. The winter roosts in both Mexico and California were declared to be threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in the IUCN Invertebrate Red Data Book. Historical conservation regulations began when the residents of Pacific Grove, CA passed an ordinance prohibiting the disturbance of the "peaceful occupation of the Monarch butterflies". The protistan parasite "Ophryocystis elektroscirrha" may kill many migrating monarchs. It reduces flying ability, reducing the chance of reaching the overwintering sites. Work to protect the
Monarch butterfly migration
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Monarch butterfly migration Monarch butterfly migration is the phenomenon, mainly across North America, where the subspecies "Danaus plexippus plexippus" migrates each summer and autumn to and from overwintering sites on the West Coast of California or mountainous sites in Central Mexico. Other subspecies perform minor migrations or none at all. This massive movement of butterflies has been called "one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in the world". The monarchs begin their southern migration September to October. Eastern and northeastern populations, originating in southern Canada and the United States, travel to overwintering sites in central Mexico. They arrive at their
Monarch butterfly migration
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at the northernmost summer range approximately in August. Migrating monarchs are thought to rely heavily on the nectar of fall flower composites that lie along the migration path. Research is ongoing. In most individual adult butterflies, diapause begins with the its southern migration, but unlike other insects in this state, it remains active. When diapause is initiated the butterflies accumulate and store lipids, proteins and carbohydrates. Monarchs migrating to Mexico accumulate more lipids than those migrating to California. Fats and lipids reduce water to provide energy reserves and prevent desiccation. These substances are used to maintain the insect throughout diapause
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of butterflies can be shipped across state lines in the United States. Butterfly houses, conservatories, and exhibits can receive butterflies and moths from areas outside of the United States. These shipments are regulated and do not allow the release of butterflies from these controlled environments. The shipments are also regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture. The same operations do receive shipments of native butterflies from breeders within the United States who have the proper permits. Commercial and captive breeding releases of painted lady and monarch butterflies have been criticized for their potential of reducing biodiversity in wild populations.
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a role. Not all who study monarch migration agree on the mechanisms that allow the migrating butterflies to find overwintering sites. It is proposed that the ability to find overwintering sites in California and Mexico is an inherited trait. It has also been called a genetic memory. The possibility of an inherited map has been posited suggesting that the butterflies may follow streams and recognize landmarks. Other studies provide evidence against the theory of an inherited map. Migration theories take into account the terrain monarchs encounter during their migration. Mountains, rivers, lakes and oceans are credited with influencing the migration.
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Butterflies: Increase the Eastern population of the monarch butterfly to 225 million butterflies occupying an area of approximately 15 acres (6 hectares) in the overwintering grounds in Mexico, through domestic/international actions and public-private partnerships, by 2020.• Pollinator Habitat Acreage: Restore or enhance 7 million acres of land for pollinators over the next 5 years through Federal actions and public/private partnerships. Many of the priority projects that the national strategy identifies will focus on the I-35 corridor extending for from Texas to Minnesota that provides spring and summer breeding habitats in the monarch's key migration corridor. There have been a number
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aroused by stimuli encountered around pathogen-infected individuals, such as the smell of vomit. More broadly, "behavioural" ecological immunity has been demonstrated in multiple species. For example, the Monarch butterfly often lays its eggs on certain toxic milkweed species when infected with parasites. These toxins reduce parasite growth in the offspring of the infected Monarch. However, when uninfected Monarch butterflies are forced to feed only on these toxic plants, they suffer a fitness cost as reduced lifespan relative to other uninfected Monarch butterflies. This indicates that laying eggs on toxic plants is a costly behaviour in Monarchs which has probably evolved
Immunology
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her family to the state capital, Morelia, and by age 17 she was living and working in Mexico City. She loved adventure, exploring Mexico, Canada, the United States and Central America alone or with friends. When she was 21 a Canadian friend introduced her to Brugger, a 53-year-old textile engineer and amateur naturalist. In 1972 Brugger showed her a notice in a local newspaper written by Fred and Norah Urquhart, Canadian entomologists who had been studying the migration patterns of monarch butterflies since 1937. They suspected the monarchs spent the winter in Mexico and were looking for volunteers to hunt
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other state lands. State parks do not have specific policies regarding the maintenance of trees on which the monarchs overwinter. California historical sites are exempt from having to create monarch conservation plans. Twenty of state parks contain monarch overwintering groves. The habitat of the western population of monarch butterflies is protected from visitors and commercial activities on federal land. Plant collection, animal collection, and the disruption of habitat are not permitted. Federal lands do not possess policies or guidelines regarding the maintenance of trees on which the monarchs overwinter. Overwintering monarch roosts have been observed at the Los Padres National
Monarch butterfly conservation in California
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than pesticides, which may also kill butterflies and their larvae. There are also diseases that afflict butterflies, such as bacteria in the genus "Pseudomonas", the nuclear polyhedrosis virus, and "Ophryocystis elektroscirrha", which only infects queen butterflies and monarch butterflies. In the absence of pesticides, aphids and true bugs may infest plants. Some gardeners may wish to release ladybugs (ladybirds) and other biological pest control agents that do not harm butterflies in order to control aphids. However, the release of ladybugs is not a good idea in places such as the United States where the species that is released is generally
Butterfly gardening
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in 1997. Around 14,000 visitors stop by each year to see butterflies up close, learn about their life cycle, and find out how to attract butterflies to their own gardens. A highlight each year is the monarch migration; the orange and black butterflies are seen in the thousands as they travel to and from Mexico to breed. Navarre Park provides a play area for children, basketball courts, picnic pavilions, and restroom facilities. The park hosts several large community events each year. Education in Navarre is administrated by the Santa Rosa County District School system headquartered in Milton, Florida. The schools
Navarre, Florida
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other butterflies are killed by cars every year While there are few scientific studies on the subject, the practice of butterfly gardening and creating "Monarch Waystations" is commonly thought to increase the populations of butterflies. Efforts to increase monarch populations by establishing butterfly gardens and waystations require particular attention to the butterfly's food preferences and population cycles, as well to the conditions needed to propagate milkweed. For example, in the Washington, D.C. area and elsewhere in the northeastern United States, monarchs prefer to reproduce on common milkweed ("Asclepias syriaca"), especially when its foliage is soft and fresh. As monarch reproduction
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Most lepidopterans that migrate are butterflies, and the distance travelled varies. Some butterflies that migrate include the mourning cloak, painted lady, American lady, red admiral, and the common buckeye. A notable species of moth that migrates long distances is the bogong moth. The most well-known migrations are those of the eastern population of the monarch butterfly from Mexico to northern United States and southern Canada, a distance of about . Other well-known migratory species include the painted lady and several of the danaine butterflies. Spectacular and large-scale migrations associated with the monsoons are seen in peninsular India. Migrations have been
Lepidoptera
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parasitoid. Subspecies include: As the global temperature of the Earth warms each year, many butterfly species are forced to shift northward in order to keep living in their preferred climates. Scientists have found that migratory species, such as monarch butterflies, are better able to adapt to the rising temperatures than sedentary species, such as Glanville fritillaries. Glanville fritillaries will migrate around the Åland Islands to different habitat patches, but they will not embark on great transcontinental seasonal migrations like other butterflies do. Because of this they are very susceptible to climate change, which is something to keep in mind when
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Monarch butterfly conservation in California The U.S. state of California has instituted numerous conservation programs, policies, laws, reserves and Habitat restoration projects throughout the state to facilitate the health and migration of the western population of the monarch butterfly ("Danaus plexippus"). The population of western monarchs require very different breeding and overwintering habitat when compared to the eastern population of monarch butterflies. They require specific micro-climatic conditions to survive the winter and they are sensitive to habitat changes at the overwintering sites. The large aggregations of butterflies are seen as the most vulnerable at their overwintering locations along the coast.
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stem as hosts. Adults are aposematic (brightly colored as a warning signal). Numerous wasps and tachinid flies are parasitoids of milkweed butterfly caterpillars. The extensive modification of landscapes in the United States and Canada, large-scale use of pesticides, and increased deforestation in Mexico threaten the migratory monarch butterfly. Danainae Danainae is a subfamily of the family Nymphalidae, the brush-footed butterflies. It includes the Daniadae, or milkweed butterflies, who lay their eggs on various milkweeds on which their larvae (caterpillars) feed, as well as the clearwing butterflies (Ithomiidae), and the tellervini. Some 300 species of Danainae exist worldwide. Most of the
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females. On the US East Coast, they have overwintered as far north as Lago Mar, Virginia Beach, Virginia. At least twenty colonies exist in Mexico. California overwintering sites exist in areas that are developed and are not considered especially forest-like. These sites have been referred to as having a uniform vegetation population of either Monterey pine or eucalyptus trees and are sometimes present in urban areas. Over wintering sites are dynamic in that tagged butterflies are observed in different roosts throughout the winter. Monarchs overwintering along the Gulf Coast and in Florida do not enter diapause and breed year-round. The
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means of attracting them include constructing "butterfly houses", providing sand for puddling, water, and other resources or food items, including rotten fruit. Some people only like to look at the butterflies, while others like to take pictures as well. Others try to help the butterfly population by planting native plants which rare or threatened butterflies feed on. Done correctly, butterfly gardening can increase the populations of butterflies. Many butterflies are becoming less abundant as a result of habitat destruction and fragmentation, and they do not feed on the plants regularly found in gardens. Others may also help in tagging monarch
Butterfly gardening
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The butterflies congregate, clustering onto pine and oyamel trees. To many, the trees appear orange and branches sag from the weight. In spring, these butterflies migrate across America, sometimes ending up in Eastern Canada. Over the time it takes them to make this journey, four generations of monarch butterflies are born and die. The monarch butterflies migration patterns are altered by climate change. During migration, monarchs fly north once they are exposed to cooler temperatures. Dense congregations are thought to conserve heat. If warmed by the sun, the butterflies take flight. The beating of their wings has been compared to
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track their migration path from Canada and the United States to south-central Mexico. The tagging method used is derived from the one that was developed by Canadian scientist, Fred Urquhart. The tagging process was adapted by Orley Taylor to minimize the damage to the butterflies. Color-coded tags are glued to a monarch butterfly's wing. Volunteers have tagged over 1.5 million monarchs in the last 26 years from Colorado to Canada. The monarch butterfly is also known as the milkweed butterfly due to its subsistence on the milkweed plant for its habitat. Largely due to commercial farming practices, the habitats of
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well due to erosion by wind and waves. Visitors were formerly permitted to climb up, walk and even drive on the bridges. Now the arch is closed to public access. Natural Bridges State Beach is home to a eucalyptus grove that provided habitat for monarch butterflies. Up to 150,000 butterflies migrate up to to the park to escape the cold weather of winter in the northwestern United States and Canada. The city of Santa Cruz holds an annual festival to mark the return of the butterflies. Monarchs settle in groves along the coasts of California and Baja California. At Natural
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Danaini The Danaini are a tribe of brush-footed butterflies (family Nymphalidae). Their type genus "Danaus" contains the well-known monarch butterfly ("D. plexippus") and is also the type genus of the tribe's subfamily, the milkweed butterflies (Danainae). The Danaini do not have a fixed colloquial name for the entire tribe, but in particular for subtribe Danaina the term tiger butterflies is occasionally used in reference to the numerous species in several genera. Subtribe Danaina Subtribus Euploeina The fossil milkweed butterfly "Archaeolycorea" from the Oligocene or Miocene Tremembé Formation of Brazil is often assigned to this tribe, specifically the Euploeina. Whether this
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is correct is not entirely certain. Danaini The Danaini are a tribe of brush-footed butterflies (family Nymphalidae). Their type genus "Danaus" contains the well-known monarch butterfly ("D. plexippus") and is also the type genus of the tribe's subfamily, the milkweed butterflies (Danainae). The Danaini do not have a fixed colloquial name for the entire tribe, but in particular for subtribe Danaina the term tiger butterflies is occasionally used in reference to the numerous species in several genera. Subtribe Danaina Subtribus Euploeina The fossil milkweed butterfly "Archaeolycorea" from the Oligocene or Miocene Tremembé Formation of Brazil is often assigned to this
Danaini
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(the layer of cells that secrete the larva's cuticle), where they undergo two phases of vegetative reproduction. After the caterpillar pupates, "O. elektroscirrha" starts reproducing sexually. Three days before adults emerge, developing parasite spores can be seen through their pupal integuments. The adult butterflies emerge covered with spores, mostly on their abdomens. Parasites do not continue to replicate on adult butterflies and spores must be eaten by larvae before they can cause new infections. "O. elektroscirrha" is geographically widespread, and may have a long history of occurrence with monarch butterflies. Infection by "O. elektroscirrha" causes monarchs to have lower survival
Ophryocystis elektroscirrha
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silk moths, Fred Urquart initiated monarch butterfly tagging and used wing incisions, spots arrangements, colored spots, spraying with dyes, painted letters and numbers to mark the butterflies. These methods were unsuccessful as there were no instructions to return the butterfly or record the recovery. Currently, many organizations study migration by tagging. New methods of studying the migration include the use of VHF transmitters and commercial aircraft. Isotopic tagging has been employed. Theories that explain monarch migration are many. "Science has not yet offered a sufficient explanation for how that [the migration] happens." Researchers often propose that multiple migratory mechanisms play
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route and destination of the insects started in 1937 and lasted for 38 years. He and Norah tracked the trails of the butterflies by tagging the wings of thousands of individual butterflies. They founded the first Insect Migration Association, today known as Monarch Watch, and recruited hundreds of volunteers - "citizen scientists" who helped in their research by tagging butterflies and reporting findings and sightings. The Urquharts raised thousands of monarchs at their home in Scarborough, Ontario, as well as using the facilities of the University of Toronto to analyze their findings and do research. They identified several distinct migration
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Mexico, so they were seeking volunteers to look for the butterflies. Brugger searched for several years, first as a volunteer, then as a paid assistant to the Urquharts. In 1974 he married Trail, then known as Cathy Aguado, who was also a butterfly lover, and they continued the search together. On 2 January 1975, they finally found a mountaintop forest containing millions of resting monarch butterflies. Their discovery was reported as the cover story in National Geographic magazine in August 1976. Eventually a dozen such sites were located and were protected by the Mexican government as ecological reserves. The area
Kenneth C. Brugger
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Geographic" magazine in August 1976; the article was titled "Discovered: The monarch's Mexican haven" and featured a cover photograph of Trail covered with butterflies. A dozen such sites are now known in Mexico; they are protected as ecological preserves by the Mexican government. The area is now a World Heritage Site known as the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. Current conservation efforts are aimed at protecting monarchs in their breeding areas in the US and Canada. Among other discoveries, the Urquharts learned that the butterflies only travel in daylight and can fly up to in a day. The trip north spans
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monarch butterflies have declined. In an effort to mitigate the destruction of the monarch butterflies natural habitat, Monarch Watch has called for volunteers to plant milkweed wherever possible. Milkweed is essential to the life-cycle of the monarch butterfly as they lay their eggs on the underside of the plant's leaves. It is possible to register and certify a site that is designated as a "Monarch Waystation." These sites can also be added to an interactive map that is monitored by Monarch Watch. The program also offers free milkweed plugs to people that engage in the creation of habitats for monarchs
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captured at overwintering sites in both California and Michoacan, Mexico. In some instances monarchs from Arizona and New Mexico were found overwintering in California and in Mexico. Fall-migrating monarchs are not the same ones that migrated northward approximately five months before. Instead the northern-migrating butterflies are at least four generations removed from overwintering sites. The eastern population migrates up to 4830 miles (7,778 km) to overwintering sites in Mexico. Other insects show migratory behavior but not nearly for as long distances. The exception would be the desert locust, "Schistocerca gregaria": it was reported once in 1950 that individual swarms were
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has been established to ensure the forests remain healthy and control clandestine logging and forest fires. On the Mexico State side, the largest sanctuary is located between San José Villa de Allende and Ixtapan del Oro. It is not actively promoted for tourism to keep damage to the area to a minimum.(StateMex) During winter 2008-2009, there are plans to tag as many of the wintering butterflies as possible using very light self-stick tracers as to not impede their flight. The purpose of this is to determine the butterflies exact migration route as they fly back north to the U.S. and
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for caterpillars. Visitors can typically see over 60 species of butterflies on a visit to the center. Over 200 species of butterflies have been identified in the center's grounds, including the monarch butterfly, the Mexican bluewing, and the red-bordered pixie. Habitat restoration has also attracted birds to the center which can not be seen anywhere else in the continental US, such as green jays and chachalacas. The proposed US-Mexico border wall is slated to pass through the grounds of the National Butterfly Center. On July 20, 2018, a National Butterfly Center employee was surprised to discover a bulldozer crew clearing
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how the birds knew their position relative to their destination, but merely observed that they behaved as if they did know it. A study demonstrated that monarch butterflies use the sun as a compass to guide their southwesterly autumn migration from Canada to Mexico. Migrating butterflies were captured and held for cycles of 12 hours of light and 12 of dark. One group's light began each day at 7:00 am, while the other group's began 6 hours earlier at 1:00 am. The monarchs were held in captivity for a few days and then released in a flight cage under natural
Sun compass in animals
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The experiment implied that the sandhoppers use the sun and their internal clock to determine their heading, and that they had learnt the actual direction down to the sea on their particular beach. Experiments with Manx shearwaters showed that when released "under a clear sky" far from their nests, the seabirds first oriented themselves and then flew off in the correct direction. But if the sky was overcast at the time of release, the shearwaters flew around in circles. Monarch butterflies use the sun as a compass to guide their southwesterly autumn migration from Canada to Mexico. In a pioneering
Animal navigation
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Aporo, Michoacán Aporo is a small town and municipality in the far eastern part of the state of Michoacán, Mexico. Most of the municipality is forested and considered to be part of Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, where millions of monarch butterflies arrive to stay five months each winter. The town and municipality have mostly adobe structures with tile roofs and the main architectural site is the San Lucas Evangelista Church, which was built in the 20th century. The town of Aporo is a small rural community of less than 3,000 people, accounting for about seventy percent of the municipal population.
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during the colonial period in America make no mention of monarch butterflies. Observations of monarchs began and seemed to be related to the deforestation of the Northeast. Monarchs were presumably residents of subtropical and tropical areas but began to move north to breed on the increased numbers of larval host plants that replaced the deforested areas. Populations found in other regions do not migrate over such long distances (in Australia, for example) This may suggest that the migratory behavior of the eastern population of the monarch butterfly developed after other populations of monarchs had become established in other regions. Another
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may be targeted at single species and, in some cases, butterflies are observed and counted as they move from one area to another. A heavily researched example of butterfly migration is the annual migration of monarch butterflies in North America. Some programs will tag butterflies to trace their migration routes, but these are migratory programs and not butterfly counts. Butterfly counts are sometimes done where there is a concentration (a roost) of a species of butterflies in an area. One example of this is the winter count of western monarch butterflies as they roost together at sites in California, northern
Butterfly count
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Filming took place through 2011 and 2012, and tracked the butterflies from their winter habitats in central Mexico to their breeding grounds in the southern United States to their summer habitat in Canada, and their subsequent return to Mexico. In filming the butterflies, director Slee considered using balloons, helicopters, and cables, but ultimately decided on use of a 70-foot crane. SK Films announced that principal filming of the one-year project was completed in early March 2012. The film had its world premiere on September 24, 2012, at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., hosted by the
Flight of the Butterflies
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parasite found in the western population, the eastern monarchs were found to be more resistant to the parasite than even the western monarchs. When monarchs from the western population were inoculated with the parasite found on eastern monarchs, no significant differences were observed. The degree of variation can be attributed to different variations in host and parasitic conditions. Butterfly releases have been criticized because the monarch butterfly population is being overutilized. Breeders often use wild monarch butterflies to initiate their seasonal breeding, the released butterflies add to the population of wild monarchs. Some breeders are able to generate substantial income.
Commercial butterfly breeding
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monitoring began in 1997. The timetables of the re-colonization range is not correlated to the censuses of overwintering monarchs in Mexico. During the migration, the eastern and western populations tend to group together during the migration and then at the overwintering sites. These roosts form along the migration routes, and scientists have used these roost locations to map out the flyways. Prior to the discovery of the overwintering sites in Mexico, Fred Urquhart observed roosting behavior in south-migrating butterflies in Mexico and Michoacan. He documented 1500 monarchs roosting at lighthouse point Florida. In California, monarchs have been observed roosting in
Monarch butterfly migration
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Monarch Watch Monarch Watch is a volunteer-based citizen science organization that tracks the fall migration of the monarch butterfly. It is self-described as "a nonprofit education, conservation, and research program based at the University of Kansas that focuses on the monarch butterfly, its habitat, and its spectacular fall migration." The informal organization is largely supported by teachers and students participating in "classroom projects, collaborative research" among other opportunities. Its founder and director is Orley R. "Chip" Taylor, a "world-renowned expert on butterflies and their migration patterns." The organization creates and distributes tags to place on monarch butterflies in order to
Monarch Watch
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light and they are able to use the polarization of the sky when the sun is occluded by clouds. The orientation mechanisms of nocturnal moths and other insects that migrate have not been well studied, however magnetic cues have been suggested in short distance fliers. Recent studies suggest that migratory butterflies may be sensitive to the Earth's magnetic field on the basis of the presence of magnetite particles. In an experiment on the monarch butterfly, it was shown that a magnet changed the direction of initial flight of migrating monarch butterflies. However this result was not a strong demonstration since
Insect migration
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place on weekends during the fall and winter. Tours of the tidal pools take place year-round as do nature walks. Natural Bridges State Beach Natural Bridges State Beach is a California state park in Santa Cruz, California in the United States. The park features a natural bridge across a section of the beach. It is also well known as a hotspot to see monarch butterfly migrations. The Monarch Butterfly Natural Preserve is home to up to 150,000 monarch butterflies from October through early February. The first inhabitants in the Santa Cruz area were small groups of Native Americans. The Ohlone
Natural Bridges State Beach
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This noise-induced alignment appears to be an intrinsic characteristic of collective coherent motion. Insect migration is the seasonal movement of insects, particularly those by species of dragonflies, beetles, butterflies and moths. The distance can vary from species to species, but in most cases these movements involve large numbers of individuals. In some cases the individuals that migrate in one direction may not return and the next generation may instead migrate in the opposite direction. This is a significant difference from bird migration. Monarch butterflies are especially noted for their lengthy annual migration. In North America they make massive southward migrations
Swarm behaviour
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population of those east of the Rockies may reach as far north as Texas and Oklahoma during the spring migration. The second, third and fourth generations return to their northern locations in the United States and Canada in the spring. Captive-raised monarchs appear capable of migrating to overwintering sites in Mexico, though they have a much lower migratory success rate than wild monarchs do. Recent discoveries have located monarch overwintering sites in Arizona. In both caterpillar and butterfly form, monarchs are aposematic—warding off predators with a bright display of contrasting colors to warn potential predators of their undesirable taste and
Monarch butterfly
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series, the film was selected for the Tribeca Film Festival. In 2011 he began filming the IMAX 3D project "Flight of the Butterflies". Covering Dr Fred Urquhart's nearly 40-year-long scientific investigation into the monarch butterfly. Principal filming of the one-year project was completed in early March 2012, The film had its world premiere on 24 September 2012, at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Federal government of Mexico, through the Mexico Tourism Board and the Embassy of Mexico. Mike Slee Michael John Slee (born 23 August 1959) is a British film-maker, producer/director and
Mike Slee
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and rose to the position of chief engineer for Jockey's worldwide knitting operations. He designed innovative knitting machines, including a compactor that minimized shrinkage in knitted underwear. Following a divorce in 1965 he moved to Mexico to work as a textile consultant. In 1972 Brugger was working in Mexico City. An amateur naturalist, he responded to a notice in a local newspaper written by Fred and Norah Urquhart, Canadian zoologists who were studying the migration patterns of monarch butterflies. The Urquharts had tracked the migration route as far as Texas, where it disappeared, and they thought it might continue into
Kenneth C. Brugger
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tug at heartstrings", and make the viewer feel personally invested in Urquhart's quest. "Ottawa Citizen" wrote that Fred Urquhart's search of discovery into the life of the monarch butterfly was "a remarkable story" and capturing it made "a stunning documentary that fills the screen." "Slashfilm" offered that before major studios recognized the financial potential of IMAX big screens for releases of blockbuster productions, the "theaters primarily played nature and science documentaries". They welcomed the return of such to IMAX theaters through "Flight of the Butterflies". And in noting the film's imminent October release, and the number of blockbuster films now
Flight of the Butterflies
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sumacs, locusts, oaks, osage-oranges, mulberries, pecans, willows, cottonwoods, and mesquites. While breeding, monarch habitats can be found in agricultural fields, pasture land, prairie remnants, urban and suburban residential areas, gardens, trees, and roadsides – anywhere where there is access to larval host plants. Habitat restoration is a primary goal in monarch conservation efforts. Habitat requirements change during migration. During the fall migration, butterflies must have access to nectar-producing plants. During the spring migration, butterflies must have access to larval food plants and nectar plants. The monarch butterfly undergoes four stages of complete metamorphosis: The eggs are derived from materials ingested
Monarch butterfly
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a few days to find a mate and then lay their eggs. Others may remain active for a longer period (from one to several weeks), or go through diapause and overwintering as monarch butterflies do, or waiting out environmental stress. Some adult species of microlepidoptera go through a stage where no reproductive-related activity occurs, lasting through summer and winter, followed by mating and oviposition in the early spring. While most butterflies and moths are terrestrial, many species of Pyralidae are truly aquatic with all stages except the adult occurring in water. Many species from other families such as Arctiidae, Nepticulidae,
Lepidoptera
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during migration. "Aphrissa statira" has a wingspan of about to . Because of their yellow color, they can be difficult to differentiate from cloudless sulphur butterflies when flying. In general, the color of their wings vary between individual butterflies, with the most variation in color seen in Colombia, Central America, and Mexico. The subspecies "A. statira cubana" has also been characterized in Cuba, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands. The lustrous underside of the wings of both sexes is pale green or white with more yellow on the edge. They exhibit sexual dimorphism; males have a different color than females do
Aphrissa statira
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include the Mexican chickadee, Montezuma quail, Strickland's woodpecker, zone-tailed hawk and several species of jay. Pine-oak forests in Coahuila are part of the migration route of monarch butterflies ("Danaus plexippus"). Original habitats have been severely reduced by clearance for livestock grazing and logging over hundreds of years. Protected areas include the Cumbres de Monterrey National Park in Mexico and the Big Bend National Park in Texas. The El Cielo Biosphere in Tamaulipas preserves the northernmost tropical Veracruz moist forests in Mexico and extensive temperate cloud forests. Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental ( ) is a mountain range in
Sierra Madre Oriental
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climates of the state. In the extreme southwest of the state, rainforests can be found and desert plants in the Hidalgo border area. In the highest altitudes, such as the peak of the Nevada de Toluca, alpine grassland can be found. In the extreme west, there are forests which receive thousands of monarch butterflies each winter. The state has 49 environmentally protected areas, with the most important being the Nevado de Toluca National Park. Other important areas include the state parks of Otomi-Mazahua, Sierra Morelos and Nahuatlaca-Matlatzinca. The Bonsencheve National Park extends into Mexico State from Michoacán, and is one
State of Mexico
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western population of migrating monarchs overwinters in coastal sites in central and southern California, United States, notably in Pacific Grove, Santa Cruz, and Grover Beach. Western monarchs also overwinter in Baja, California's central valley, and the Sierra Nevada foothills. Not all monarchs migrate. Migrating populations and non-migrating populations coexist in many areas. Monarchs are year-round residents in Florida and monarchs migrate to Florida and Gulf coast areas, and can often continue to breed and survive the winter. The monarch population in Florida may be a result from migratory butterflies that do not migrate north in the spring. These locations provide
Monarch butterfly migration
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flight speed is approximately 9 km/hr or 5.5 mph. For comparison, the average human jogs at a rate of 6–8 mph. Adults exhibit sexual dimorphism. Males are slightly larger than females and have a black patch or spot of androconial scales on each hindwing (in some butterflies, these patches disperse pheromones, but are not known to do so in monarchs). The male's black wing veins are lighter and narrower than those of females. One variation, the "white monarch", observed in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and the United States, is called "nivosus" by lepidopterists. It is grayish white in all areas
Monarch butterfly
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butterflies prefer to reproduce on common milkweed ("Asclepias syriaca"), especially when its foliage is soft and fresh. As monarch reproduction in that area peaks in late summer when most "Asclepias syriaca" leaves are old and tough, the plant needs to be cut back in June – August to assure that it will be regrowing rapidly when monarch reproduction reaches its peak. In addition, "Asclepias syriaca" seed needs a period of cold treatment known as stratification before it will germinate. Research should be conducted as to what species are prevalent in your area, and what plants they prefer to nectar on.
Butterfly gardening
586681
will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out, and after its wings have expanded and dried, it flies off. Some butterflies, especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation, and a few in cold locations may take several years to pass through their entire life cycle. Butterflies are often polymorphic, and many species make use of camouflage, mimicry and aposematism to evade their predators. Some, like the monarch and the painted
Butterfly
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farming ants protect the aphids by fighting off aphid predators. An interesting variation in ant–aphid relationships involves lycaenid butterflies and "Myrmica" ants. For example, "Niphanda fusca" butterflies lay eggs on plants where ants tend herds of aphids. The eggs hatch as caterpillars which feed on the aphids. The ants do not defend the aphids from the caterpillars, since the caterpillars produce a pheromone which deceives the ants into treating them like ants, and carrying the caterpillars into their nest. Once there, the ants feed the caterpillars, which in return produce honeydew for the ants. When the caterpillars reach full size,
Aphid
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the Sierra Madres in Mexico 'funnel' the migration, orienting it to the S/SW. One monarch tagged in Ontario was recovered on an oil rig 100 miles south of Galveston, Texas. One recent hypothesis suggests that monarchs may be chemically marking certain trees, using an unknown substance and so orienting themselves when they return the following winter. The migratory patterns may be based on the position of the sun in the sky including its angle and spectrum changes that occur near the end of the summer breeding season. The proposed Sun compass depends upon a circadian clock based in their antennae.
Monarch butterfly migration
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order to reestablish the population of at risk animals. The purpose of the trading and only breeding certain animals is to maintain clean genetics as well as be able to control the population. Current conservation projects at the zoo include the Species Survival Program, Wild Toledo, as well as working in the Arctic with Polar Bears and the Steller's Eider, working with Wyoming on a Wyoming Toad effort, Reintroducing the Mitchell's Satyr Butterflies to Indiana and Michigan, working with Ohio and Mexico on the Monarch butterfly, a Cuban Boa project in Cuba, the Aruba Island Rattlesnake program in Aruba, assisting
Toledo Zoo
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the Humboldt butterfly, mostly due to human activities. Endangered plant species include the biznaga gigante ("Echinocactus platyacanthus"), the chapote ("Diospyros riojae"), the guayamé ("Abies guatemalensis"), the magnolia ("Magnolia dealbata") and the peyote ("Lophophora diffusa"). monarch butterflies can be found in the area as well, as they pass through to their wintering grounds on the State of Mexico-Michoacán border . There have been plagues in the forests of the area due to the recent drought conditions. The most serious is a bark beetle ("Dendroctonus adjunctus") and mistletoe ("Arceuthobium sp."). The drought conditions have been blamed on global climate change. Areas in
Sierra Gorda
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of the wet season. The onset of the rainy season signals the departure of the monarch butterfly from Mexico. Tropical species of butterflies show larger dot markings on their wings to fend off possible predators and are more active during the wet season than the dry season. Within the tropics and warmer areas of the subtropics, decreased salinity of near shore wetlands due to the rains causes an increase in crocodile nesting. Other species, such as the arroyo toad, spawn within the couple of months after the seasonal rains. Armadillos and rattlesnakes seek higher ground. Wet season The monsoon season
Wet season
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Mexico to locate Rosalia. They find the shack where Rosalia and Albert had lived and discover Rosalia's perfectly preserved corpse in a field of "Asclepias" flowers. Naomi examines the scene and determines that Albert realized the dangers of the virus and murdered Rosalia in order to prevent an outbreak. However, Rosalia's infected blood had seeped into the soil and was absorbed by the surrounding "Asclepias", turning them blue. The monarch butterflies feeding on the blue "Asclepias" became the vector for the Rosalia Virus; the scales shed during their migration had caused the epidemic. Although Rosalia's blood has become unusable, an
Trauma Team
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an important archeological site. The region is home to the Mazahua and Otomi peoples, many of whom produce crafts such as blankets, rebozos and ceramics. The city of Zitacuaro is the site of an important battle during the French Intervention in Mexico, which gives it the title of "Heroic City". Other important communities include Añgangueo, San Matias and Ciudad Hidalgo. The most important places to see monarch butterflies in the winter are in municipalities of Angangeo and Ocampo. The butterfly sanctuaries are called El Rosario, Cerro Campanario, Sierra Chincua and El Llanno de las Papas." In 2008, UNESCO declared this
Michoacán
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butterflies, which helps scientists monitor the monarch population and their migratory routes. Butterflies also serve as flower pollinators and attracting the butterflies can also assist in the pollination of nearby plants. Typically, flowers of plants that attract butterflies also attract other insect pollinators. Butterfly gardening can also serve as an educational opportunity for children and can be a relatively safe way to introduce them to the natural world. Butterflies have many predators, including mantids, wasps, spiders, birds, ants, true bugs, and flies in the family Tachinidae. If these predators are becoming a problem, they can be controlled with traps rather
Butterfly gardening
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surf perch, jacksmelt, sturgeon, white croaker, and flounders are also found. Richmond is one of the few places where you can find the rare Olympia oyster on the west coast, in the polluted waters along the refinery's shoreline. Rainbow trout have recently returned to San Pablo and Wildcat creeks. Red-tailed hawks patrol the skies. Monarch butterflies migrate through the city on their journey between Mexico and Canada. Wildcat Marsh has two ponds where Canada geese often rest, and is also the home of the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse and California clapper rail. Another endangered species in the city is
Richmond, California
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have been accidentally transported by humans, but the presence of suitable host plants in their new environment was a necessity for their successful establishment. Many butterflies, such as the painted lady, monarch, and several danaine migrate for long distances. These migrations take place over a number of generations and no single individual completes the whole trip. The eastern North American population of monarchs can travel thousands of miles south-west to overwintering sites in Mexico. There is a reverse migration in the spring. It has recently been shown that the British painted lady undertakes a 9,000-mile round trip in a series
Butterfly
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North Africa. It appears in the UK in some years as an accidental migrant. Overwintering populations of "D. plexippus plexippus" are found in Mexico, California, along the Gulf Coast, year round in Florida, and in Arizona where the habitat has the specific conditions necessary for their survival. On the US East Coast, they have overwintered as far north as Lago Mar, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Their wintering habitat typically provides access to streams, plenty of sunlight (enabling body temperatures that allow flight), and appropriate roosting vegetation, and is relatively free of predators. Overwintering, roosting butterflies have been seen on basswoods, elms,
Monarch butterfly
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suggesting that the loss of this food source may contribute to the decline of monarchs. The milkweed limitation hypothesis as this has become known, has been tested by other groups of scientists finding conflicting results. Thus, the actual contribution of Roundup use and loss of populations of milkweed to the decline of monarch butterflies is still unclear. Karen Oberhauser Karen Suzanne Oberhauser (born c. 1956) is an American conservation biologist with a specific interest in monarch butterflies. She studied biology at Harvard College and received a PhD from the University of Minnesota. Oberhauser is a professor in the Fisheries, Wildlife
Karen Oberhauser
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stabilisation to create steady shots from moving vehicles, even on rough terrain, allowing the cameras to track alongside reindeer and elephant herds for the first time. Miniature high-definition cameras were used extensively for the "Insects" programme. In the forests of Mexico, the crew erected a spider's web of cables in the canopy to give the sense of flying alongside millions of monarch butterflies. In Zambia, they filmed from a hot air balloon to avoid disturbing the huge flocks of straw-coloured fruit bats. Following recent debate about the use of artifice in natural history programmes, the BBC were more candid about
Life (UK TV series)
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the southern part of the continent - even finding Chichen Itza in the Yucatan Peninsula, Tenochtitlan on Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico (witnessing La Noche Triste), the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests of migrating monarch butterflies, and even abandoned Puebloan cliff dwellings. They become known as the First Herd. It is similar to "Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West" by Deanne Stillman. They are later joined by an orphaned 12-year-old Native American human boy named Tijo (who learns how to speak to equines), some escaped mules and donkeys, a female bald eagle named
Guardians of Ga'Hoole
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several generations of monarchs, while a much-longer-lived "super generation" flies from the northern reaches of the butterfly's range all the way to Mexico, overwinters there, and breeds in the spring to start the next generation flying north. Urquhart was born in Toronto on December 13, 1911. As a child he was fascinated by insects, particularly monarch butterflies, and he wondered where they went during the winter. He attended the University of Toronto, graduating in 1935 with a degree in biology. He received an MA in 1937 and a PhD in 1940. During World War II he taught meteorology to students
Fred Urquhart
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however, it does not handle droughts, strong winds or cold temperatures well. Snails, slugs and aphids have a taste for "Cosmos bipinnatus". Successfully cultivated plants can mature 2 to 4 feet x 12 to 18 inches. The flowers of "Cosmos bipinnatus" attract birds and butterflies, including the monarch butterfly. It can be part of butterfly gardening and pollinators-honey bee habitat gardens. Cosmos bipinnatus Cosmos bipinnatus, commonly called the garden cosmos or Mexican aster, is a medium-sized flowering herbaceous plant native to Mexico. The species and its varieties and cultivars are popular as an ornamental plant in temperate climate gardens. It
Cosmos bipinnatus
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to the Secretariat of Urban Development and Ecology. It was at this time assigned the category of “special biosphere reserve.” In 1986, the area and boundaries of the zones were defined. In 2000, it received its name (Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca). UNESCO declared the biosphere a World Heritage site in 2008 as a Natural Asset. Currently the area is known for tourism, logging, mining and farming. It has remained mostly rural, noted for communities of Otomi and Mazahua. Millions of butterflies travel south into Mexico, from Texas and then follow the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains to the preserve.
Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
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is estimated that up to a billion individuals spend winter here in any given year. These colonies are dense, with between six and sixty million butterflies per hectare. The reserve areas are found in the municipalities of Ocampo, Angangueo, Zitácuaro and Contepec in Michoacán and Donato Guerra, Villa de Allende and Temascalcingo in the State of Mexico. They are divided into five principal zones or nuclei. Eight of the fourteen colonies are in the protected area. The colonies proper cover only 4.7 hectares, but the protected biosphere area covers 56,259 hectares. Five colonies are open to visitors: Sierra Chincua and
Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
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Lepidoptera migration Many populations of Lepidoptera (butterflies or moths) migrate, sometimes long distances, to and from areas which are only suitable for part of the year. Lepidopterans migrate on all continents except Antarctica, including from or within subtropical and tropical areas. By migrating, these species can avoid unfavorable circumstances, including weather, food shortage, or over-population. In some lepidopteran species, all individuals migrate; in others, only some migrate. The best-known lepidopteran migration is that of the eastern population of the monarch butterfly which migrates from southern Canada to wintering sites in central Mexico. In late winter/early spring, the adult monarchs leave
Lepidoptera migration
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Ophryocystis elektroscirrha Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (sometimes abbreviated OE or O.e.) is an obligate, neogregarine parasite that infects monarch ("Danaus plexippus") and queen ("Danaus gilippus") butterflies. There are no other known hosts. The species was first discovered in Florida, around the late 1960s. Since then, it has been found in every monarch population examined to date, including monarchs sampled in North America, Hawaii, Australia, Cuba, and Central and South America. Dormant spores occur on the cuticles of butterflies, in between the butterfly's scales. They are small, brown or black objects about 1/100th the width of a butterfly scale. The only currently known
Ophryocystis elektroscirrha
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history between Ciudad Acuña and Del Rio. The lake given its location is the backdrop for year-round, water-based recreation opportunities, including boating, fishing, swimming, scuba diving and water-skiing. Houseboats and other boating equipment can be rented from the park unit's concessionaires. Amistad National Recreation Area in addition provides opportunities for picnicking, hiking, camping and hunting. The area is rich in archeology and rock art, and contains a wide variety of plant and animal life. In the fall, monarch butterflies by the thousands pass through the area during their 3,000 mile (4,800 km) migration from southern Canada to central Mexico. Unlike
Amistad National Recreation Area
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El Rosario in Michoacan, and La Mesa, Piedra Herrada and El Capulin in the State of Mexico. There are other colonies near San José Villa de Allende and Ixtapan del Oro, but they are not actively promoted for tourism because of the risk of harm to these butterfly colonies. El Rosario is the largest sanctuary in Michoacán, where the butterflies cover about 1,500 trees. While the Biosphere still has problems with infrastructure, most notably with trash (especially around parking and merchant areas), a number of improvements have been recently made, most notably in the sanctuary of El Rosario. These include
Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve
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Cosmos sulphureus Cosmos sulphureus is also known as sulfur cosmos and yellow cosmos. It is native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America, and naturalized in other parts of North and South America as well as in Europe, Asia, and Australia. This plant was declared invasive by the United States Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council in 1996. The flowers of all "Cosmos" attract birds and butterflies, including the monarch butterfly. This species of "Cosmos" is considered a half-hardy annual, although plants may re-appear via self-sowing for several years. Its foliage is opposite and pinnately divided. The plant height varies
Cosmos sulphureus
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adult monarch butterflies store cardiac glycosides from milkweed, making these organisms distasteful. After eating a monarch caterpillar or butterfly, the bird predator will usually vomit, leading the bird to avoid eating similar looking butterflies in the future. Two different species of milkweed bug in the family Hemiptera, "Lygaeus kalmii" and large milkweed bug ("Oncopeltus fasciatus"), are colored with bright orange and black, and are said to be aposematically colored, in that they "advertise" their distastefulness by being brightly colored. Secondary metabolic products can also be useful to herbivores due to the antibiotic properties of the toxins, which can protect herbivores
Herbivore adaptations to plant defense
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upon by a living "crown" of monarch butterflies, as Silas witnesses the event from a discreet distance. Silas has already been told that God no longer supports his reign, and this then implies that David is the divine choice as his successor. This troubles the King so much that he initially plots to have David killed. David, however, soon comes to interpret the appearance of the monarch butterflies as an omen that he is meant to serve King Silas, and the sovereign accepts this, progressively drawing David deeper into his court. Through the series, David and Michelle's romance blossoms, first
Kings (U.S. TV series)
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recognizable that its likeness is on the Mariposa County Seal. Also particularly noteworthy is the courthouse's clock tower and bell, which chimes every hour, on the hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The county took its name from Mariposa Creek, which was so named by Spanish explorers in 1806, when they discovered a great cluster of butterflies (""mariposas"" in Spanish and Portuguese) in the foothills of the Sierras. Each year, the first weekend in May, residents mark the annual arrival of migrating monarch butterflies with a "Butterfly Days" festival and parade. Mariposa County is located at the
Mariposa County, California
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monarch butterfly. The butterflies were once seen there in large masses, but have disappeared from the area because their habitat has been replaced, almost entirely, by the large houses that can be found in the Monarch Beach neighborhood. Monarch Beach became a subdivision of the incorporated city of Dana Point on January 1, 1989. Monarch Beach is about a five-minute walk to Salt Creek Beach. It has straight access to Strand Beach and a picnic area. The neighborhood includes the Monarch Beach Resort & Links Course -- an 18-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. It is also
Monarch Beach, Dana Point, California