Update on Monarch Watch

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

Thoughts from the Garden

Looks like we are losing many of the rose bushes.  If you have suggestions on replacement bushes, something evergreen, blooms through the summer please let me know.  "Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out".
~John Wooden

Neighbor Program Sign Up Time Again

 You can really help the garden with no effort or cost to you.  Sign up for the two "Neighbor Programs" offered by Kroger and Randalls.  For Kroger, this has to be done again, one time each year at this time.  The funds we get from these programs provide new plants and materials to refresh the garden throughout the year.  To open a copy of what is below so you can print it out, just CLICK HERE  Or.. you can just ask the Kroger Clerk to enter our                Barcode Number  1 00000 82607   then scan your Kroger Card

Workday on Friday June 8

Norchester Garden Club President has announced a workday at 8:30 AM.  Weeding and trimming is on the agenda and all are welcome to drop by and help out.

New Feature Added

Now you can choose to be notified by email whenever this blog is updated.  Enter your email address in the window on the right side of this screen (scroll down just a bit if needed) submit, and follow the simple directions. You will get a message window from "Feedburner" which asks you to enter a word that is displayed.  This is just a one-time spam protection feature.   If you change your mind and would like your email removed from the list, just drop us a note to abcs.park@att.net

Another Garden Visitor

From: S.W. (name deleted) To: ABCS.park@att.net <ABCS.park@att.net>; Subject: Matzke garden Sent: Mon, Jun 4, 2012 12:27:14 AM I'm from Huntsville and a friend took me to Matzke Butterfly Garden today. I was impressed with all the lovely flowers and hard work. We noticed a shrub outside the fence near the water bowl that had green butterfly shaped seed pods. I believe they were seed pods. Can you tell me the name of the plant? Thank you, S.W.   It is always nice to hear from visitors who drop a note to our email at ABCS.park@att.net As some of you know.  S.W. was asking about the Butterfly Vine. The flowers are yellow and the seeds are in the shape of a butterfly. Easy to start from seed, full sun. More information by clicking HERE

Away from OUR garden but not ALL Gardens

This busy gardener spent the day at Monticello, Jefferson's home in Virginia.  What a treat to visit the 1000 feet of his "vegetable garden"; he tried some 30 kinds of peas alone!  Jefferson recorded the temperature every day from age 22 to 83 and his records include much of the plants, trees, vines, and his inventions (which are impressive).  The garden tour was lead by a very knowledgeable person, giving us Jefferson's planting background, leaves, fruit, roots.  Water did not come to Monticello until 1960.  Jefferson had constructed 4 cisterns holding 3600 gallons of water from roof run off.  Of course, he did not do most of the work but that is another story!  Anyway it is mind boggling the garden stuff Jefferson did attempt and was able to accomplish. I am now off to work my own!  Back to Matzke Park real soon.

Here are three of a number of pictures we took.

Temperatures in mid-Virginia have been in the high 80's during the day, but cooling off into the mid 60's in the evening, thankfully.

For the rest  of our pictures you can click on

http://tinyurl.com/bq5guge