RE: [nysbirds-l] Monarch Butterlies

2013-10-08 Thread Rick 
Andy:  I think I can help clarify this somewhat:

 

· To simplify a bit, there are two major migratory Monarch
populations in North America, east of Rockies and west of Rockies. We’ll
discuss the former here.

· Each year, the final brood of summer Monarchs in the East fly down
to overwinter in Oyamel Fir forests in the Transvolcanic mountains of
Michoacán, Mexico (at 2400 to 3600 meters).  

· In the spring, new broods travel north, repopulating North America

· Historically, millions of Monarchs have congregated in a small
areas in Mexico each winter.

· Many of these southbound emigrants come from the East (incl.
southern Canada), but numerically most hail from the upper Midwest.

· Lately, illegal logging in Mexico has damaged the overwintering
sites

· More importantly, perhaps, much of the corn grown in the Midwest
is genetically modified to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup; farmers
douse the landscape with this herbicide to eliminate weeds, thus destroying
the host plant for Monarchs (milkweeds), while leaving the corn unaffected
(at least by this; their specialized genetics seem to be leaving them
susceptible to other blights, however, such as Goss’s wilt, as recently
reported in NYT.)

· Some are now suggesting this will lead to a loss in the biological
phenomenon of Monarch migration.

· A number of factors led to a small northern return flight of
Monarchs in 2013

· Some reached northern climes late in the summer, however where
milkweed was profuse this year, so there is at least some eastern southbound
migration this fall

· It is likely to be small trickle compared to earlier years,
however

· Invertebrates are hearty and resilient, but no telling how long
they will be able to withstand the headwinds they now face

 

That is the story for the moment….

 

Thanks for asking,

Rick Cech

 

From: bounce-108492854-3714...@list.cornell.edu
[mailto:bounce-108492854-3714...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of
andya...@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, October 08, 2013 10:01 PM
To: nysbirds-L@cornell.edu
Subject: [nysbirds-l] Monarch Butterlies

 

I have heard comments on the decline of quantities Monarch Butterflies this
fall. I have also found a great decrease in the migration in the east

 on Long Island. The  fall monarch nature trips also have found very few.

 

I would appreciate it, if someone who is knowledgeable about this would care
to comment. I have heard all kinds of speculations from birders, but no
comments from those who study this, and are knowledgeable about the reason
and have statistics showing how much this Monarch Butterfly migration is
much lower than previous years. In fact I think the migration has been lower
every  recent year, but this year is the worst. 

 

Thanks for your input, I realize this is not birding, but I think it is of
interest to birders.

 

And Murphy

 

 

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Re:[nysbirds-l] Monarch Butterlies

2013-10-08 Thread Thomas Fiore 
Andy and all,

the below link may assist in understanding. Issues from their main  
central Mexican wintering roosts, from much of their migratory passage  
habitat and - [possibly even more than the latter two factors] - that  
which is discussed in the link can be factored in to a decline of the  
N. American population of Monarch butterflies and the phenomenon of  
their great migrations.

http://e360.yale.edu/feature/tracking_the_causes_of_sharp__decline_of_the_monarch_butterfly/2634/

Just by chance I had a brief correspondence with a hawk-watch counter  
at Detroit where a slightly more hopeful number of Monarchs were seen  
on this day, all headed south from there - said to have been upwards  
of 75-100. We hope there may yet be more as it may remain at least  
mild enough for late emergence of migratory-brood adults thru some of  
the U.S. and for now perhaps even in s. Canada.

Good everything-watching,

Tom Fiore,
Manhattan

--
On Oct 8, 2013, at 10:01 PM,  wrote:

> I have heard comments on the decline of quantities Monarch  
> Butterflies this fall. I have also found a great decrease in the  
> migration in the east
>  on Long Island. The  fall monarch nature trips also have found very  
> few.
>
> I would appreciate it, if someone who is knowledgeable about this  
> would care to comment. I have heard all kinds of speculations from  
> birders, but no comments from those who study this, and are  
> knowledgeable about the reason and have statistics showing how much  
> this Monarch Butterfly migration is  much lower than previous years.  
> In fact I think the migration has been lower every  recent year, but  
> this year is the worst.
>
> Thanks for your input, I realize this is not birding, but I think it  
> is of interest to birders.
>
> Andy Murphy

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Re:[nysbirds-l] Monarch Butterlies

2013-10-08 Thread Thomas Fiore 
Andy and all,

the below link may assist in understanding. Issues from their main  
central Mexican wintering roosts, from much of their migratory passage  
habitat and - [possibly even more than the latter two factors] - that  
which is discussed in the link can be factored in to a decline of the  
N. American population of Monarch butterflies and the phenomenon of  
their great migrations.

http://e360.yale.edu/feature/tracking_the_causes_of_sharp__decline_of_the_monarch_butterfly/2634/

Just by chance I had a brief correspondence with a hawk-watch counter  
at Detroit where a slightly more hopeful number of Monarchs were seen  
on this day, all headed south from there - said to have been upwards  
of 75-100. We hope there may yet be more as it may remain at least  
mild enough for late emergence of migratory-brood adults thru some of  
the U.S. and for now perhaps even in s. Canada.

Good everything-watching,

Tom Fiore,
Manhattan

--
On Oct 8, 2013, at 10:01 PM, andya...@aol.com wrote:

 I have heard comments on the decline of quantities Monarch  
 Butterflies this fall. I have also found a great decrease in the  
 migration in the east
  on Long Island. The  fall monarch nature trips also have found very  
 few.

 I would appreciate it, if someone who is knowledgeable about this  
 would care to comment. I have heard all kinds of speculations from  
 birders, but no comments from those who study this, and are  
 knowledgeable about the reason and have statistics showing how much  
 this Monarch Butterfly migration is  much lower than previous years.  
 In fact I think the migration has been lower every  recent year, but  
 this year is the worst.

 Thanks for your input, I realize this is not birding, but I think it  
 is of interest to birders.

 Andy Murphy

--

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http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

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RE: [nysbirds-l] Monarch Butterlies

2013-10-08 Thread Rick 
Andy:  I think I can help clarify this somewhat:

 

· To simplify a bit, there are two major migratory Monarch
populations in North America, east of Rockies and west of Rockies. We’ll
discuss the former here.

· Each year, the final brood of summer Monarchs in the East fly down
to overwinter in Oyamel Fir forests in the Transvolcanic mountains of
Michoacán, Mexico (at 2400 to 3600 meters).  

· In the spring, new broods travel north, repopulating North America

· Historically, millions of Monarchs have congregated in a small
areas in Mexico each winter.

· Many of these southbound emigrants come from the East (incl.
southern Canada), but numerically most hail from the upper Midwest.

· Lately, illegal logging in Mexico has damaged the overwintering
sites

· More importantly, perhaps, much of the corn grown in the Midwest
is genetically modified to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup; farmers
douse the landscape with this herbicide to eliminate weeds, thus destroying
the host plant for Monarchs (milkweeds), while leaving the corn unaffected
(at least by this; their specialized genetics seem to be leaving them
susceptible to other blights, however, such as Goss’s wilt, as recently
reported in NYT.)

· Some are now suggesting this will lead to a loss in the biological
phenomenon of Monarch migration.

· A number of factors led to a small northern return flight of
Monarchs in 2013

· Some reached northern climes late in the summer, however where
milkweed was profuse this year, so there is at least some eastern southbound
migration this fall

· It is likely to be small trickle compared to earlier years,
however

· Invertebrates are hearty and resilient, but no telling how long
they will be able to withstand the headwinds they now face

 

That is the story for the moment….

 

Thanks for asking,

Rick Cech

 

From: bounce-108492854-3714...@list.cornell.edu
[mailto:bounce-108492854-3714...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of
andya...@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, October 08, 2013 10:01 PM
To: nysbirds-L@cornell.edu
Subject: [nysbirds-l] Monarch Butterlies

 

I have heard comments on the decline of quantities Monarch Butterflies this
fall. I have also found a great decrease in the migration in the east

 on Long Island. The  fall monarch nature trips also have found very few.

 

I would appreciate it, if someone who is knowledgeable about this would care
to comment. I have heard all kinds of speculations from birders, but no
comments from those who study this, and are knowledgeable about the reason
and have statistics showing how much this Monarch Butterfly migration is
much lower than previous years. In fact I think the migration has been lower
every  recent year, but this year is the worst. 

 

Thanks for your input, I realize this is not birding, but I think it is of
interest to birders.

 

And Murphy

 

 

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