I checked the garden this morning to see how it is holding up with all the rain. Other than being rather overgrown, things look very wet but otherwise OK. The following is a report we recently got from the Monarch Watch organization. It has some useful links:
Greetings Monarch Watchers!
It has been a while and it seems we
have quite a bit to say, but we'll try to keep it brief...maybe we'll
save back a few things for next month :-)
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Monarch Population Status
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What
a spring it was - the warmest in 117 years of record keeping and the
warmest 12 months ever recorded in the United States. In response to the
warm conditions the plants and insects made early appearances. Some
plants bloomed 6 weeks early, others a more modest 2 weeks. Most insects
appear to have kept pace including monarchs that arrived 2-3 weeks
early over most of the northern breeding range - raising the possibility
of a large fall migration - maybe the last big migration of this
decade.
Climatologists are telling us that hotter summers with
strong droughts are ahead and that won't be good for monarchs. Habitat
decline will continue as well - so let's tag while we can!
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Monarch Tagging Kits
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Tags
for the 2012 tagging season have been manufactured and orders for them
are coming in rapidly. If you would to tag this fall, please order your
tags as soon as possible. If your fellow monarch enthusiasts see a large
migration shaping up, we are likely to be out of tags by the 1st of
September and we don't want you to be disappointed.
Monarch Watch
Tagging Kits are only shipped to areas east of the Rocky Mountains. As
usual, each tagging kit includes a set of specially manufactured monarch butterfly
tags (you specify quantity), a datasheet, tagging instructions, and
additional monarch / migration information. Tagging Kits for the 2012
season start at only $15 and include your choice of 25, 50, 100, 200,
300, or 500 tags.
This year we are going to make it a little
easier for you to submit your tagging data to us electronically (though
you can still mail in a hard copy if you like) - details will be
included in the kits and available online soon.
Monarch Watch
Tagging Kits and other materials (don't forget to pick up a butterfly
net!) are available via the Monarch Watch Shop online at http://shop.monarchwatch.org
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Monarch Tag Recovery Database Updated
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The Monarch Watch Tag Recovery Database (http://monarchwatch.org/recoveries)
was updated this spring - more than 16,000 records now, in a searchable
format. Check to see if any of your tags were recovered in Mexico this
year :-)
Tip: to generate a list of all tags reported to us this
year, simply select 2012 from the "Year" dropdown menu in the "Recovery
Information" section and hit the "Submit" button.
Thanks to all of you who have participated in the tagging program and to those who have contributed to the tag recovery fund (http://monarchwatch.org/donate).
These contributions are needed since we compensate the ejido members in
Mexico who search for the tags among the dead butterflies beneath the
colonies. Thanks also to the many people who helped acquire the tags in
Mexico on our - and your - behalf.
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"Chip in for Monarch Watch" Coming in August
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Many
of you have asked if we are going to continue our now annual "Chip in
for Monarch Watch" fundraising campaign, in honor of our director Chip
Taylor. We first launched this campaign in the Fall of 2009 and it has
been a tremendous success on many levels - so YES we will definitely be
running this campaign once again. We love to read all of the comments
people leave for us and/or Chip and the funds raised help us keep the
program growing.
The page for the 2012 campaign will be launched
shortly, but in the meantime you can check out comments and photos
submitted in previous campaigns at http://monarchwatch.org/chip/ - some will make you laugh, others might make you cry. No matter how they move you, they are all well worth a look.
Thank you for your interest!
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Flight of the Butterflies in 3D
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At
a recent monarch conference we were treated to a special viewing of the
official "teaser" trailer for a monarch film that should be hitting
IMAX theaters later this year. The photography looks amazing and seeing
the monarchs in Mexico on the big, big screen should be quite a treat,
especially in 3D!
From the film's site:
"Flight of the
Butterflies in 3D" is a natural history epic. It's a detective story. It
took Dr. Fred Urquhart almost 40 years to discover the butterflies'
secret hideaway and a year for the award-winning production team to film
the butterflies. The technology of IMAX immerses you in the astounding
migration experience as the butterflies migrate north and then
miraculously find their way back from Canada and Mexico.
For more information and to watch the official teaser trailer visit http://flightofthebutterflies.com
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Monarch Rearing Kits
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As
many of you know, sending out Monarch Rearing Kits is a big part of our
program. The fall is our busiest season and we send out thousands of
caterpillars each week to addresses all over the U.S. (east of the Rocky
Mountains). We have lots of kits already on the shipping calendar, but
there is still time to place an order. Available shipping weeks appear
on the kit's product page and you make your selection when you place
your order.
Our Monarch Rearing Kit contains fourteen to sixteen
first to third instar monarch larvae (caterpillars) and rearing
instructions. The larvae arrive in small cups and must be transferred to
milkweed plants or leaves to feed. Please make sure you have a good
supply of fresh milkweed available before your caterpillars arrive.
Pupation will occur in about 10 days and adults will emerge 10-14 days
after pupation.
Monarch Rearing Kits are available via the Monarch Watch Shop at http://shop.monarchwatch.org
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Recently Shared via Facebook
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These
two articles have been viewed/shared by more than 7,000 people via our
Facebook page - check them out and you'll see why :-)
Founder of the Monarch Butterfly Roosting Sites in Mexico Lives a Quiet Life in Austin, Texas
Texas Butterfly Ranch Blog, July 10th: http://bit.ly/N0rGRn
Monarch butterfly caterpillar not a 'bad-guy bug,' Ortho is told
Los Angeles Times, July 10th: http://lat.ms/LIYoqK
If you use Facebook, be sure "like" our page: http://facebook.com/monarchwatch
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Our Amazon Earnings
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As
you may already know, you can help support Monarch Watch with each
purchase at Amazon.com and Endless.com (Amazon's specialized Shoe and
Handbag store). Monarch Watch earns a small referral fee equal to 4-15%
of the item total when you use the links available on our site to visit
these online stores.
In the second quarter of 2012 (April-June) 765 items were ordered in support of Monarch Watch, earning our program $1115.58!
A
complete list of items will be available for those that are curious to
see what folks are buying to support Monarch Watch. (Note: No personal
information is tied to purchases; that is, we do not know who purchased
the items, only that the items were purchased via the link(s) from our
site and therefore in support of our program.)
Thank you to everyone who contributed to these numbers - remember to stop by our site first whenever you shop online!
Complete details are available at http://monarchwatch.org/amazon
Please
help us by spreading the word to friends, family, coworkers, and any
other Amazon.com or Endless.com shoppers you can think of - thank you
very much for your continued support!
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About Monarch Watch
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Monarch Watch (http://monarchwatch.org)
is a nonprofit education, conservation, and research organization based
at the University of Kansas that focuses on the monarch butterfly, its
habitat, and its spectacular migration.
If you have any questions about this email or any of our programs please feel free to contact us anytime.
Thank you for your continued interest and support!
Monarch Watch
http://monarchwatch.org
monarch@ku.edu
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