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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2009 11:20:41 GMT
This is the time of year here where we are seeing large groups of Monarch butterflies fueling up for their annual migration southward for the winter. As you can see from the map,many pass through Louisiana and Florida has always been a major fly through zone as well. Some of our Monarchs do stay here year round it has been determined ,but the large majority head further south into Mexico. There's a wonderful Federal campground on the Gulf Coast of Florida near Pensacola where we used to go camping this time of year. There we would see the dunes full of monarchs. Unfortunately,that park was wiped out by a succession of hurricanes and I was told yesterday that work is still underway to restore the roads there. www.monarch-butterfly.com/
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Post by hwinpp on Oct 7, 2009 11:37:02 GMT
Hey, can't see your last three images!
Do they return to north America or do they stay in the south and a new generation starts off the next year in the north?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2009 13:04:55 GMT
They show on my screen I don't know what that is when that happens. Hmmmm. Anyway, in answer to your question,of the many hundreds of thousands that make the migratory journey,many do make the return in the spring. There's a woman who I am good friends with here who is my butterfly guru. She,yes,it's hard to believe,is able to tag many of the ones who leave and has been able to keep records on the return rate.(It's harmless to the butterfly and given the seal of approval from NABA and the Xerces Society,both large scientific organizations that study these patterns).
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Post by imec on Oct 7, 2009 13:17:34 GMT
Can't see them either - I do find this whole migration thing very interesting though. I've always thought of butterflies as kinda magical.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2009 14:02:32 GMT
I don't know what happened,will try again soon. Have to go to work ,sorry. It is very fascinating. I've always wanted to go to Mexico to see their arrival.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 7, 2009 14:33:20 GMT
Those sequences of building and emerging from the chrysalis are absolutely fascinating.
I just saw the first monarch caterpillar day before yesterday, although the monarchs have been happily visiting the zinnias. I didn't have any Asclepias planted this year, so had far fewer monarchs than usual.
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Post by fumobici on Oct 7, 2009 17:46:49 GMT
I saw more butterflies here this Summer than I can ever recall having seen before. Must've been good weather for them.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2009 18:06:56 GMT
I used to love seeing the monarch butterflies when I lived in the Southeast, and all of the other butterflies, too. I remember there were some spectacular blue ones. You don't see very many interesting ones in France, mostly just things like cabbage butterflies.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2009 11:03:46 GMT
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Post by hwinpp on Oct 8, 2009 11:08:19 GMT
You might even be able to hear them! If there are millions and millions of them.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 14, 2010 17:05:03 GMT
Look what I came across completely by accident. I surely wish I'd found it sooner, but it's still viable. It's written both for children and for adults. Track the monarchs' movement northward. click on the pic -->
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Post by Kimby on Apr 15, 2011 16:08:42 GMT
We saw clusters of them in the trees when we lived in Santa Barbara, CA. And Wisconsin used to have gazillions of them. But as roadside "weeds" are sprayed and mowed, the milkweed plant they need to survive is becoming less available. When we take our 30 mile bike rides in Wisconsin I'm always on the lookout for them. In recent years, I have seen maybe 2 monarchs in 4 or 5 long rides. Not a good prognosis.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 15, 2011 21:47:06 GMT
Kimby, they love the non-native Asclepias varieties as well, some of which are much more ornamental than the local "weeds".
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Post by Kimby on Apr 16, 2011 22:05:35 GMT
Kimby, they love the non-native Asclepias varieties as well, some of which are much more ornamental than the local "weeds". And some of the natives are pretty ornamental, too. I posted a pic of Butterfly Weed (an orange and yellow milkweed) somewhere on the Color! thread a while back.
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Post by Kimby on Apr 29, 2011 17:05:07 GMT
Here's a picture of the Butterfly Weed at my parents' cabin: It's a native, orange milkweed. And the butterflies do love them.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 31, 2019 19:06:19 GMT
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Post by casimira on Jan 31, 2019 22:40:42 GMT
You beat me to it Bixa! I heard the report on NPR today and was elated!!
I have been participating in a program here, The Monarch Initiative for about 5 years now. We work with volunteers that put butterfly gardens, (planting larval and nectaring plants) on the grounds of several NOLA Public Schools and it has been a great success.
Of course, all the obstacles mentioned in the report remain, it is one of the more encouraging signs of public awareness and educating people about what is happening in the environment.
I hope I can one day go to Mexico and see the spectacle. A few friends of mine from here have gone and were "blown away".
Thanks for posting this Bixa.
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Post by Kimby on Feb 1, 2019 0:19:39 GMT
I collected and scattered Butterfly Weed seeds at the place in Florida and was delighted to see some had taken root and were blooming after the long summer. And we saw monarchs in our yard, too, though not actually landing on the plant.
One of our neighbors actually has a “butterfly farm” I hear. She hatches and releases them. This I gotta see!
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Post by bjd on Feb 1, 2019 6:20:54 GMT
You might be interested in Barbara Kingsolver's book, Flight Behavior. It takes place in Appalachia and is the story of a woman coming to terms with her own life while she becomes aware of climate change and natural destruction of monarch butterfly stopping grounds.
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Post by casimira on Feb 1, 2019 15:56:22 GMT
I had not heard of that novel BJD. I love Kingsolver's work. Thank you for that recommendation.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 1, 2019 16:57:21 GMT
I hope I can one day go to Mexico and see the spectacle. Casimira, scroll to the bottom of this link, starting where it says "Michoacán Today". It will whet your desire to see that area. www.history.com/topics/mexico/michoacanOne of our neighbors actually has a “butterfly farm” I hear. She hatches and releases them. This I gotta see! Oooo! Hope you get to see it. Would absolutely love for you to make a report on that. You might be interested in Barbara Kingsolver's book, Flight Behavior. Thanks, Bjd. I've heard of the book, but am glad to have your recommendation.
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Post by lagatta on Feb 1, 2019 17:11:20 GMT
We have planted some butterfly-friendly plants at our housing co-op and the city administration is also promoting butterfly gardens. They have to be clearly marked as if not some maintenance workers might pull up the "weeds".
Is Trump planning a giant net to catch them at the border?
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Post by bjd on Feb 1, 2019 19:12:15 GMT
Casi and Bixa, the Kingsolver book is like all her others -- a bit slow getting into but then it gets good, so don't be discouraged.
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Post by casimira on Feb 2, 2019 15:19:48 GMT
We have planted some butterfly-friendly plants at our housing co-op and the city administration is also promoting butterfly gardens. They have to be clearly marked as if not some maintenance workers might pull up the "weeds". Is Trump planning a giant net to catch them at the border?I recall hearing somewhere along the line that one section of the proposed wall would cut right through an area of forestation where a huge population of the monarchs go and would severely threaten their habitat.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 2, 2019 16:05:35 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 2, 2019 18:00:35 GMT
I even had a butterfly net as a child. I wonder how many modern children have one.
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Post by mossie on Feb 2, 2019 20:26:02 GMT
Yes we had a butterfly net. This was to catch and kill the dreaded Cabbage White Butterfly whose caterpillars ruined the greens in the garden by eating big holes in the leaves and shitting everywhere. So remember to wash any greens before cooking them and look between the leaves. We'd be jokingly told that the caterpillars were helping out our meat ration if we inadvertently eat one.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 2, 2019 21:46:25 GMT
Grrrr. I keep trying to catch those little devils as they merrily flit around leaving their instantly hatching eggs on my alyssum and nasturtiums. I can usually keep their nasty wiggly young from wiping out the nasturtium leaves because I know the tell-tale signs of the greedy beasts, so can stop them before they gorge themselves and get bigger & hungrier. But they're capable of nibbling the alyssum down to the nubs before I know what's happened.
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Post by casimira on Feb 2, 2019 22:05:22 GMT
Cabbage White butterflies on alyssum and nasturtiums? Never heard of that before. How curious. Hmmm...
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Post by Kimby on Feb 16, 2019 16:38:18 GMT
One of our neighbors actually has a “butterfly farm” I hear. She hatches and releases them. This I gotta see! Oooo! Hope you get to see it. Would absolutely love for you to make a report on that. Well, I saw the butterfly farm, and it was quite elegant in its simplicity. About the size of a large laundry hamper, it consists of clear vinyl sides and fine netting on the top, with zippers holding it together. Inside were 4-6 large pots of milkweed plants from the home center nursery, not in bloom, but serving as food source for the dozens of striped larvae of various age and size munching on them. My friend receives periodic shipments of 28 larvae at a time to release into the enclosure. Chrysalises formed by the pupating larvae also hang from the enclosed plants. (If you haven’t seen a monarch chrysalis, google it - they are exquisite little gems.) The monarch hotel requires daily monitoring because as soon as an adult monarch emerges, it needs access to flowers to feed on. So the butterflies are released into the environment, but many stick around because my friend’s yard is lushly landscaped with butterfly-appealing plants. The final part of the process is the rehab area for defoliated but still living milkweed plants, as well as a cluster of new arrival plants waiting for their turn to go into the butterfly farm. At any given time, she has about40 plants in the cycle. When this friend needs to leave town, she has to find a babysitter to check on the farm and release any newly emerged adult monarchs so they can repopulate this little corner of Florida. I hope there are “farms” like this all over the country.
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