Extracted from an email letter published by Don Davis of Toronto
The Saturday, November 1st issue of the Globe and Mail ("Canada's National Newspaper") contains a special section on Ecotourism in the Travel Section. About 2/3rds of the front page of the travel section contains a dreadful photograph attributed to the National Geographic Society of a monarch adult, pupa and larva. The pupa is not hanging but rests sideways on top of a tree branch. I understand the intent, but with the pupa resting on its side and a monarch partially sitting on the pupa, the photo looks a bit incongruent.
Printed at the bottom of the photo is a statement concerning ecotourism, including the following: "Proof that the seductive power of nature has never been stronger: Some 1.5 million eco-tourists will head to Mexico this year to see the monarch butterfly in its winter habitat.....". I recall someone noting that when the El Rosario site first opened to the public, about 15,000 visited the site that year.
Inside, on page F4, is an article by Ron Butler of Tucson, Arizona about visiting the monarch overwintering sites. He states: "The city of Morelia, 240 kilometres west of Mexico City, is the logical departure point for visitors to see the refuge. Tours by deluxe vans with English and Spanish speaking guides are provided on Wednesday and Saturday by Gisela Medina's Operadora Monarca, Av. Madero Ote. 635, C.P. 58000, Morelia, Michoacan. Tel. 52(43) 13-03-36. The 12-hour tours ($55.00 U.S. per person, with a minimum of four) include lunch and the sanctuary's $2.50 entrance fees.
I see from the new Discovery Channel Guide that the new monarch butterfly documentary entitled "THE MONARCH: BUTTERFLY BEYOND BORDERS" will air on December 7th at 9 pm on the Sunday Showcase , and again on December 8, 1 am and Sunday, December 14th at 5 pm. I understand that there may be a media event and special screening in early December.
The following information was received today from film producer David Springbett: "We've just received funding to do a Spanish version of the program, and the program, in both English and Spanish versions is scheduled for screening at the Morelia conference. I'm hoping to get there myself, funding willing!"
The following comment concerning my interview was also received from someone who viewed a preview copy of the film: "As I related to you, you are seen talking at the roost site. You are explaining how to tag a butterfly. Your Monarch Watch T-Shirt stood out well. During one part at the roost site, you can been seen in the background (briefly)."
Here is an interesting migration report from the extreme south-eastern shore of Lake Ontario in New York State: I first reported seeing Monarchs migrating in the middle of September. That day they appeared to be passing at a rate of 5 or more per minute. I expected them to be all gone by now but the warm days we have had here must have delayed the migration. The last couple days I have notice them going south at a rate of one every two or three minutes. This is from the shores of Lake Ontario near Pulaski, NY. Just thought you may be interested. Ray Roux rroux@juno.com I note that the closest towns to Pulaski include Mexico, New York, and Texas, New York! Don Davis Toronto, ON
NEW MONARCH BUTTERFLY DOCUMENTARY TO AIR A new monarch butterfly documentary entitled "The Monarch: a Butterfly Beyond Borders" will air on The Discovery Channel on Sunday, December 7th at 9:00 pm. Produced by Asterisk Productions Ltd. of Victoria, British Columbia, this film has been in the works for well over a year, as the film crew travelled all over North America to gather footage. I first met David Springbett, Heather Macandrew and Mike Simpson in Toronto on August 2/96, as they recorded the signing of an agreement for the Conservation and Protection of the Monarch Butterfly by the Council for Environmental Cooperation (NAFTA). The next day, they visited Dr. Fred Urquhart and his wife, Norah, at their home in Scarborough. As fate would have it, we met again. This time, at the Sierra Chincua overwintering colony (10,000 ft elevation) in the State of Michoacan, Mexico in February 1997. At that time, I was interviewed and filmed as I demonstrated the technique for alar tagging monarch butterflies developed by Dr. Urquhart. As I stood on the edge of the mountain, scores of monarch butterflies landed on my clothing and millions of monarchs flew in the background. I am told that this interview will be included in the documentary. After it airs on December 7th, the film will be available in Canada for purchase from Asterisk Productions (asterisk@islandnet.com, (250) 480-5256). However, in the United States, it will be available soon from Bullfrog Films (1-800-543-3764) Don Davis Toronto, ON
Today, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources announced the creation of the position of "BIODIVERSITY SPECIALIST" at Presqu'ile Provincial Par ... Presqu'ile is renowned for its biodiversity. It is a major staging point for the migration of the monarch butterfly. On September 14th, an estimated 8000 monarch butterflies stopped to feed and rest in the park. Over 313 species of birds have been seen in the park
As noted earlier, projects on the development of a captive breeding technique for the extirpated Karner Blue butterfly and on an endemic species of dragonfly, Somatochlora brevicincta, from one site in Quebec, are likely to be funded this year under the Endangered Species Recovery Fund, a joint fund of the Canadian Wildlife Service and the World Wildlife Fund. (as per the Entomological Society of Canada Bulletin). The Commission for Environmental Cooperation has released the Joint Public Advisory Committee Report on 1996 Public Meetings held Montreal, San Diego, and Toronto. Among the public comments were written submissions by a representative of a Mexican environmental organization requesting that the CEC support a plan for creation of a monarch butterfly sanctuary at Los Azufres, 2.5 hours from Mexico City and Guadalajara. In the three minutes allowed for presentations, Michael Bradstreet presented a very reasoned and convincing argument for the protection of critical bird habitat. (This writer attended the Toronto meetings as an observer). Copies of this report, as well as copies of the full text of written submissions, are available. To order a copy of this report, contact Manon Pepin, JPAC Coordinator, at: mpepin@ccemtl.org. Copies are available in French and Spanish. Also, the report will be available on the Commission's home page: http://www.cec.org. Monarch Watch Life Cycle Poster: This beautiful 18" x 22" laminated Life Cycle Poster is now available from Monarch Watch for $10.00 (shipping included) It illustrates the transformation of the Monarch from egg to adult and includes the age at each stage. To see what this poster looks like, go to the Monarch Watch Web Site at: http://monarch.bio.ukans.edu. Look under the "WHAT'S NEW" section and click on "Life Cycle Poster" Please make all checks payable to Monarch Fund and send to: Monarch Watch - c/o O.R. Taylor - Department of Entomology Haworth Hall - The University of Kansas - Lawrence, KS 66045 Monarch Watch Phone: 1.888.TAGGING E-mail: monarch@falcon.cc.ukans.edu
Many of us on the Monarch Watch dplex-l monarch butterfly internet discussion group have written Rick Gore, Science Editor, National Geographic Magazine to encourage National Geographic to write a new, revised monarch butterfly article. In 1997, it will be 60 years since Dr. Fred Urquhart put the first tag on a monarch butterfly. If you support this proposal, please drop Rick Gore a note at: ngmag@nationalgeographic.com. Your support would be appreciated.
Congratulations to Mrs. Conroy's Grade 5/6 class at St. Peter's School in Trenton, Ontario, for successfully rearing monarch butterflies (some larva and pupa provided by yours truly) and for sending paper butterflies and messages of good will to the Children's Museum in Mexico as part of the Journey South Program (http://www.ties.k12.mn.us/~jnorth/jsouth). Elizabeth Donnelly tells me that she expects to receive over 8000 paper monarchs at her Minnesota headquarters. Any butterflies received after the October 20th deadline will be sent on later to Mexico. An article and picture of the class appeared in the October 18th Trentonian (Trenton, Ontario). More news to follow! Don Davis Toronto, Canada
I just received the note below that between a quarter and half a million monarch butterflies passed through Point Pelee National Park today! I had just returned from the Leslie Street Spit where I released about 300 tagged monarchs - using up my supply of Monarch Watch tags. Very strong easterly winds and overcast but sunny in Toronto. Some monarchs feeding on goldenrod. But as I said, I have to bet to the J.O.B..
Terry Sprague in Prince Edward County reports that on Saturday, monarchs were everywhere at Prince Edward Point and Sandbanks Provincial Park on the Prince Edward Peninsula. He states that there were at least 75 monarchs in sight at any one time. Anyway, the exciting news from Pelee:
Don: Today was an AMAZING day. I don't know if you got my message yesterday that monarchs were concentrating at Pelee, but the overnight roost at the tip was estimated at about 6000. A pretty good number, but small potatoes for what was to come. This morning Alan Wormington, Paul Pratt, Karl Konze, Jim and June Flynn and myself watched an UNBELIEVABLE exodus of monarchs from the tip of Point Pelee. Propelled by a strong northeast wind, first thing in the morning a WALL of monarchs struck out across the lake. With four people splitting up the sky and doing several one minute counts we conservatively estimated that 4,000 ++ monarchs were passing every MINUTE. This went on at the same rate for around 90 minutes. An absolute minimum of a QUARTER OF A MILLION monarchs passed us during that period, and probably with the limits of our sight, a more accurate total would be in the half million ++ range. It was by far the biggest movement of monarchs any of us had ever witnessed, anywhere, anytime. It absolutely redefined my personal thoughts on how many monarchs pass through the Pelee peninsula. It was staggeringly beautiful, wonderful, spine-tingling, and much more. Everywhere you looked to the west over the basin, the sky was filled with monarchs at all heights. At one point, I put the scope on the horizon at 20x and counted through the eyepiece doing several one minute averages of passing monarchs. The average through the scope was 2600 monarchs a minute through the field of view. This covered a fraction (less than 10%) of the sky. So our numbers are probably way, way, low. You should have been here Don. YOU would have appreciated it! Tom
Keep us informed! Don Davis
Monarch continue to migrate along the south shores of Lake Ontario and Erie - although we have had some wet weather the last few days, and the temperatures are quite cool tonight. I received a telephone call from a gal working for TV Ontario - Studio One television show - wanting to do a show about the monarch butterfly. She said that she had been talking to Tom Hince at Point Pelee, and that he reported that the park had 700 monarchs yesterday. Apparently Dr. David Gibo at Erindale College, University of Toronto, reports this to be one of the best migrations in quite a few years.
Two days ago, and over a couple of days, I tagged and released 200 monarch butterflies in Toronto. When I went back the second day, I saw something I had never seen before. On the concrete surface was one of my tagged monarchs - dead. The entire abdomen was opened and a yellow jacket wasp was dining on the inner organs. And no camera to photograph it!
I received a copy of The Monarch Messenger newsletter from Dick Walton at the Cape May Bird Observatory (premier issue). We appreciate being kept up to date on developments there. One of my Ontario tagged monarchs was recovered there a number of years ago.
When I was capturing monarchs on the Leslie Street Spit the other day when it was overcast, the monarchs were so pre-occupied with feeding that I was actually able to stalk up to them on the goldenrod and hand capture a couple of beautiful females ( Not bad, eh!) .
Another funny story from Presqu'ile: I arrived at Owen Point at a roped-off area where birders were observing shorebirds. Some distance off in the restricted area was a lone monarch. The naturalists suggested that I call the monarch over to our roped-off area - which I did in jest. Well, if the darn butterfly didn't fly right over to our spot and I captured it with one swoop. The two birders were left staring at each other as I walked off without a word!
And lastly, in an unusual move, the Government of Canada has issued a travel warning for visitors to Mexico. Apparently there has been an increase in crime and guerilla activities in tourist areas. The Toronto Star article also included Michoacan in the list of provinces where visitors should take whatever necessary precautions are necessary for a safe trip.
On Friday morning, a total of 92 monarchs hatched in my rearing cage. This kept me quite busy for a while as most decided to emerge all at once. I still have about 90 small larvae developing from eggs.
In answer to questions received, here are some tips to save time and effort:
In other news, I have completed writing some articles of the next issue of "ONTARIO INSECTS" which will be released within a couple of weeks. This newsjournal is produced by the Toronto Entomologists' Association. Inquiries in regard to subscription rates could be sent via e-mail to editor Phil Schappert at: philjs@yorku.ca.
Have you, your school class, your cub pack, etc, created paper monarch butterflies to send to the Children's Museum in Mexico? Check out the "JOURNEY SOUTH" project at: http://www.ties.k12.mn.us/~jnorth/jsouth. Brought to you by Elizabeth Donnelly and the folks at Journey North.
Monarch tags from the Monarch Watch can be obtained in Canada through the Nomad Scientists (nosci@web.net). Don Davis
The monarch migration is happening in Southern Ontario. Anyone crossing the province on our major four-lane (Highway 401) will note monarchs soaring high across the highway in a specific south-westerly direction. Although numbers of monarchs are still thin, I too have seen roosting behaviour.
In early August, I tagged a few monarchs just to find out how many were around at Presqu'ile. Most were fairly worn individuals. I kept rough records, but didn't really expect they would get too far. I received an e-mail message from Elizabeth Agnew at the W.W.F. offices in Toronto. It seems that one of these critters managed to travel from Presqu'ile to the east end of Metropolitan Toronto (Agincourt). The fellow did not want to touch the butterfly, but his description of the number and the part of the tag he could see (including "CANADA" above the number) tells me that it is one of mine.
You may recall my description of what I call my "FIELD OF DREAMS" - a wheat field not far from Presqu'ile containing a large number of larvae. Herbicides prevented any other plants from growing in the wheat field, and hence other insects that might prey on monarch eggs and larva. Hence, many milkweed plants had as many as 5 fully-developed larva on them. An unusual sight in a year when the population seems down.
When I arrived back at this field on Wednesday, it had not yet been thrashed. So I went about collecting larva, and managed to gather over 500 before the harvest began. Also, I tagged a number of newly-emerged adults. Even in some of the areas that had been thrashed the week before, larva could be found clinging to the remaining milkweed stalks and leaves (the thrasher cut the wheat about 8 inches off of the ground). Later, the wheat stalks were baled for later use as feed or bedding. I also noted old female monarchs flying into the short wheat stalks as if trying to find young milkweed plants on which to lay eggs.
I took some of these back to Toronto and put them into my high tech lab (A.K.A. the bathroom window containing a few milkweed stalks and enclosed by some cheese cloth). Sure enough, they were gravid females and they provided me with 200 or so eggs. All of this unexpected material creates a lot of work in terms of feeding and cleaning holding containers. Fortunately, almost all of the larva I collected were ready to pupate. Five hundred fully developed larva eat about a bushel basket of milkweed a day! Not a problem if you are living near Presqu'ile. But in Metro Toronto, it's a different story.
Labour Day weekend is the Monarchs and Migrants Weekend in Toronto.
Work is progressing well on the new Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory. Check it out at: www.niagara.com/~jshoup/botanic/wingsl.html.
This past weekend at Presqu'ile Provincial Park, more monarch larvae were seen than in previous weeks. Also, for the first time by this writer, larvae in the later instars were found. However, adult monarchs were almost non existent.
A few adult monarchs were seen outside of the park, and their flight direction suggested that they were migrants.
Given that monarch larvae and adults have been relatively scarce so far this season, I decided to travel a bit about Northumberland County to see if I could find any areas that were doing better than Presqu'ile Provincial Park. As I have noted in the past, monarch larvae face numerous predators - hemiptera, hymenoptera, earwings (european species that is found in great numbers), and so on - and especially so with the lush vegetation and, until recently, frequent rainfall.
What I came across can only be described as an extreme anomaly. I came across a wheat field that had been partially thrashed. The centre half of the field had been too wet to harvest and had been left. In this section of the field was an abundant supply of milkweed. On examination, I found what can only be described as a "motherlode" of monarch larvae - almost all of them in the fifth instar and ready to pupate. Also in this field were newly-hatched monarchs as well as old females. I collected as many larvae as I could, and then came back later with a large green garbage container! I ran out of time, having collected about 250 larvae! Having more larvae than I could handle, I headed over to nearby Port Hope, Ontario, and to Rod Parrott's breeding facility.
Rod breeds butterflies and moths - and also provides material for The Insectarium in Montreal. As I approached his home, I could see the tree tree branches in his front and back yard covered with sleeves to contain cecropia, tiger swallowtail, and other larva. Rod was glad to take some of these monarch larva off of my hands. He explained that before the wheat had been planted, fungicides and herbicides had been sprayed on the field (and possibly pesticides). As a result, the wheat had little competition from other plants and organisms. The milkweed survived this spraying. As well, this created ideal conditions for the monarch larva to develop as there were no predators. Also, with the wheat being a so dry, it might not attract many insects. I only saw a few beetles and spiders.
What I do know is that in this wheat field, ideal conditions existed for the survival and development of monarch larvae. I can only compare the experience to picking berries! Some milkweed plants had as many as 5 larvae on them! It was not uncommon to see three or four on a plant. On occasion, I spotted pupae on milkweed leaves or on wheat stalk. Nearby, there was an abundant supply of joe-pye weed for the adults to feed on. However, all the adult monarchs I spotted - which all appeared to be newly hatched - seemed to be headed in a south-westerly direction. Over two days, I tagged about 40 adult monarchs. Today, I picked up another 100 larvae.
Sadly, this field preparation procedure may be good for the wheat, but obviously bad for the environment. Also, in a few days, the wheat will be harvested and the surviving larvae and pupae will be gone. I would be interested in knowing more about this field preparation procedure.
I should also mention that this wheat field was strategically located, within about 1/2 kilometre of Lake Ontario - and hence along a major migration path for the monarch.
Rod also mentioned that during field trips this spring, his wife discovered a monarch larvae in the fifth instar in May - again supporting the concept that some monarchs do fly directly northward from Mexico. Rod also told me he has seen absolutely no painted lady butterflies - neither the American nor the European variety. He feels that earwings are having a major impact on the monarch population as the earwings tend to collect and hide in the upper most leaves of the milkweed plant and prey on monarch eggs and larvae.
On return to Toronto, I found that "Gravid Gertie" - a sole egg-laying female monarch that I had found at Presqu'ile had laid about 200 eggs on a couple of milkweed plants I had set in a vase in a window. Sounds like I am going to be busy trying to find enough milkweed to keep all of these larvae fed. Five hundred fully developed monarch larvae can consume a bushel of milkweed each day! I had brought back about 8 worn females from the wheat field with me, hoping they might still be capable of laying eggs.
The "5TH ANNUAL CHRISTMAS AT PRESQU'ILE" quality arts and crafts show and tea room will be held on November 2,3,6,9,10/96 from 10 am to 4 pm. It is sponsored by The Friends of Presqu'ile Park and there is no admission charge. Parking is free. About this time of the year, purple sandpipers are moving through the park, and we start looking out for snowy owls.
Those wishing information about Ontario provincial parks, about the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, or about the new agency, "ONTARIO PARKS", can have a look at the MNR Web Site: www.mnr.gov.on.ca . There is a 1.3 Mb .mov file containing an address by the Administrator of Ontario Parks that I must learn how to play! Don Davis
Last week, a few days were real scorchers in Ontario. The temperatures reached 88 F, and with the high humidity, it felt much warmer. The Toronto Star said that dairy cattle were producing evaporated milk! Much more comfortable this week. Ontario peaches are arriving in the stores and taste great. With last week's heat, the few monarch pupae that I had were emerging faster than anticipated.
We continue to see more monarchs. Pamela Burns from Rondeau Provincial Park on Lake Erie, not far from Point Pelee, reports an increase in numbers. She reports that during a drive from London to Rondeau via Hwy. #3, a monarch crossed the highway every kilometer. Gayle Steffy also reports an increase in monarchs being seen in her state.
An interesting scientific paper of interest to those breeding monarch butterflies: From Phytochemistry, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 139-44 , 1996 - OVIPOSITION STIMULANTS FOR THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY: FLAVONOL GLYCOSIDES FROM ASCLEPIAS CURASSAVICA.
The May 1996 issue of UNESCO Courier makes brief mention of the impact of weather on the monarch butterfly. A nature magazine for children, called "WILD" (Canadian Nature Federation), produced an article entitled, "FLYING DOWN TO MEXICO" by William E. Ferguson. I am assuming that this is the same Dr. Bill Ferguson from California who, while walking through a Michoacan forest in 1987, and surrounded by thousands of flying monarch butterflies, spotted a tagged one and managed to knock it down with his hand. It turned out to be one of mine - released at Presqu'ile Provincial Park in Ontario months before.
The Journey North Program will be carrying out the first annual "symbolic monarch butterfly migration" in collaboration with Mexico City's Museo del Nino (Children's Museum). Students across Canada and the United States will create thousands of paper butterflies that will "migrate" to Mexico for the winter - arriving in Mexico around the time of the Dia de los Muertos just as the real monarchs do. Watch for a special announcement next month and instructions for creating these butterflies, or contact Elizabeth Donnelly at: edonnelly@jriver.jriver.com. Don Davis
Ontario weather conditions are becoming a major concern to farmers and others. While we have had some sunny days, particularly in those centres near the Great Lakes (I believe the humidity rising off of the lakes tends to drive clouds away from those areas), The Toronto Sun newspaper reports that some areas have had almost daily bouts of rain. The weather has been wonderful for mosquitoes - found in abundance across the province. At Presqu'ile Provincial Park, Steve Laforest reports that things are fairly quite bird wise, except for occasional sightings of a northern mockingbird. By the end of June, as happens each year, the first SOUTHBOUND migrants (greater/lesser yellowlegs that have already nested and hatched young in the Arctic during a short "window of opportunity") will begin stopping to feed on the beaches of Presqu'ile on their long journey southward. Hard to believe! My three monarch butterfly larva are doing well and are now about 3/4 of an inch long. The four peregrine falcon chicks in downtown Toronto - now named Laurie, Carla, Moe, and Shemp - are just about ready to fledge. One other pair of peregrines was found in the Bloor/Islington area of Toronto, but no eggs or young are present. No news on the endangered Henslow's sparrows heard singing behind Terry Sprague's home east of Presqu'ile Provincial Park in Prince Edward County. Scott Plunkett of the Canadian Nature Federation tells me that they will soon be mailing out their 1996 edition of identification and reporting kit for the Canadian Nature Federation Lady Beetle Survey.
A number of "4th of July" Butterfly Counts are being organized across the province. Mike Gurr, a member of the Toronto Entomologists' Association is again working for the summer at Presqu'ile Provincial Park. He reports seeing about 5 monarch butterflies over the past week and a half. He also notes that about 12 Arctic skippers have been seen - a good number for Presqu'ile. It is suspected that clay-colored sparrows are nesting in the park as they are still being heard in the Calf Pasture area. A sedge wren was heard outside of the park. Mike also reports finding a tattered peacock butterfly - a British species - at Darlington Provincial Park, and wonders if it is an escapee or not. My three monarch butterfly larva transformed themselves into pupae last night! Hope you can get a hold of some home-grown Ontario strawberries. They are terrific! They certainly don't lack for moisture. Temperatures remain in the 12 C to 24 C range, but may hit 30 C this weekend. >From the Saturday, June 22nd Globe and Mail: "SAVE OUR MONARCHS!!! Join Monarch Watch and spend quality time with your child: Kit only $22 all included (guaranteed). Call 1-888-996-9299 Visa/MC" Don Davis
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