Monarch Facts

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Monarch Facts The monarch butterfly (Daneus plexippus) is an iconic species native to most areas across North America. About the weight of a paperclip, these flashy orange and black insects can fly up to 3,000 miles during their remarkable migration. In the fall, they migrate south to Mexico to wait out the winter, and then migrate north to the U.S. and Canada in the spring to begin breeding. Monarch caterpillars feed solely on milkweed (Asclepias) plants, while the adult butterflies can feed on nectar from a variety of plants, including milkweed. The adult butterflies are crucial pollinators, and many agricultural crops rely heavily on insect pollinators to generate produce. The monarch population has declined 90% in the past several decades. In addition to the ever present threats of natural predators, parasites and disease, monarchs have been losing vast areas of habitat to land development and agriculture. Increased prevalence of herbicide tolerant crops and the accompanying rise in pesticide use has had devastating effects on milkweed, and monarchs along with it. Invasive species crowd out milkweed, and sometimes cause monarchs to lay their eggs in the wrong places. Changing climate and its extreme weather events also pose a significant threat to the survival of monarchs and their host plants. Luckily, there is much that can be done to protect the monarchs! For example, governments can provide pollinator habitat on publicly owned land, farmers can follow pollinator-friendly best management practices on their land, schools can incorporate monarch education and conservation into their studies and projects, and individuals can make an impact in a variety of ways, including planting native pollinator gardens and participating in ‘citizen science’ efforts to monitor monarch populations. For more information on how everyone from businesses to school children can help save the monarch, read the DEP’s New Jersey Monarch Butterfly Conservation Guide. .

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Monarch Butterfly, Danaus Plexippus Linnaeus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Danainae)1 Andrei Sourakov2
EENY-442 Monarch Butterfly, Danaus plexippus Linnaeus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Danainae)1 Andrei Sourakov2 Introduction The monarchs, Danaus plexippus Linnaeus, are among the best known of the world’s butterflies due to their remark- able ability to migrate, wide distribution, and charismatic appearance. The last Pleistocene glaciations in North America instigated migration to Mexico in the east and to the Californian coast and deserts in the west. In the western U.S., the overwintering colonies are smaller and more numerous, while in Mexico, they are few but more spectacular, with billions of butterflies concentrating in one spot. Distribution Danaus plexippus is found throughout the Americas and Australia, with individuals reported in New Guinea and Western Europe. Sedentary populations that are found in Mexico, and Central and South America (including the Caribbean islands) are somewhat different from migratory Figure 1. Adult monarchs, Danaus plexippus Linnaeus, from Gainesville, populations of D. p. plexippus found in North America. Florida. Several subspecies, such as M. p. megalippe (Mexico, Credits: Andrei Sourakov, Florida Museum of Natural History southern U.S.) and M. p. menippe (South America) have Description been described. Monarchs fly from sea level up to 2,500 meters. Orange-and-black warning coloration of monarchs is noticeable, and its memorable pattern is directed at Some of the D. p. plexippus reach Cuba instead of Mexico, repelling insectivorous birds. Experiments conducted with where they mix with the resident population of D. p. captive blue jays showed that monarchs indeed are toxic megalippe, from which they noticeably differ in behavior (Brower et al. 1968). Being distasteful due to ingestion by and wing length and shape (Dockx 2007).
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Propagating Native Milkweeds for Restoring Monarch Butterfly Habitat©
Propagating Native Milkweeds for Restoring Monarch Butterfly Habitat© Thomas D. Landis and R. Kasten Dumroese 3248 Sycamore Way, Medford, Oregon 97504-9005, USA Email: [email protected] The number of monarch butterflies, charismatic nomads of North America, is rapidly declining. Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.), which are the sole food source for monarch caterpillars, have also experienced a decline throughout the breeding range of this butterfly. Milkweeds can be grown from seeds or vegetatively from root cuttings or rhizomes. Seed germination is often improved with stratification and plants are easily grown with standard propagation methods. However, some species require adjustments to the substrate to reflect unique soil conditions of their natural habitat. We encourage you to grow and outplant milkweeds to create habitat for monarch butterflies and help restore their populations. THE POPULATION CRASH OF MONARCH BUTTERFLIES The causes behind the decline in pollinators are many, but most can be related either directly or indirectly to human activity. Habitat loss is always near the top of the list ― habitat destruction or fragmentation into small, disperse patches threatens all types of insect pollinators (Mader et al., 2011). Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are, however, an interesting example of pollinator decline because, unlike many other organisms that rely on one specialized habitat, adult monarchs are generalists that thrived all across North America ― that is, until recently. With its large size and striking orange and black coloration, the monarch butterfly has been considered the most well-known butterfly in the world (Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 2008). The monarch is a tropical butterfly that readily recolonizes much of temperate North America through annual migrations.
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January 2016 the Plight of the Monarch Conservation Legacy
CONSERVATION LEGACY MAKING A DIFFERENCE The Plight of the Monarch Article and Photos by CLINTON FAAS (Writer's note: TWA’s Conservation Initiatives promote landscape-level conservation of habitat and species as well as address current issues affecting landowners in Texas. Through monitoring and working with state, federal and non-governmental organizations, TWA aims to provide relevant and up-to-date information for its members regarding these topics. The Monarch Butterfly represents one such topic that allows land managers to come together with many focus groups to reach a common conservation goal in the management of a declining species.) t’s an iconic species — one that doesn’t require a background in entomology to identify. The orange andI black wing pattern is easily recognizable to anyone that has ever watched a butterfly flutter past. Although there are imitators, the Monarch (Danaus plexippus) is one of the most well known butterflies in the United States. It brings back a sense of nostalgia for many of us: thoughts of insect collections as a kid and mason jars with holes poked in the metal lids, the coming of fall and the arrival of spring and, even if unknowingly, a connection to wildlife in a busy, urbanized world. But where have they gone? And, some may ask, “Why does it even matter?” As recently as the 1990s, an estimated one billion monarchs made the migration south, through Texas and into Mexico. A 2013 count revealed that the long-term average number may have declined up to 90 percent in the last 20 years, leaving the total United States population at around The iconic Monarch butterfly is easily recognizable with its black and orange wing pattern.
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Service Projects for the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail the U.S
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Service Projects for the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Florida Piedmont Partners for Monarchs are Service is partnering St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge has distributing milkweed to various partners built a greenhouse with college volunteers to be planted in existing fields, power and is propagating local milkweed for lines, and edges. with the Rosalynn Carter planting in schoolyard habitats. They also plan to create 10-15 new schoolyard The Asheville Ecological Services Office Butterfly Trail to restore habitats to create a coastal monarch trail. is collaborating with Monarch Watch to create monarch habitat on 20 school, important habitat for the Georgia business, and public community sites The Georgia Ecological Services Office with educational signage. They will monarch butterfly. Together is working with the Environmental also be propagating milkweed plants Education Alliance and National Wildlife for the sites and training teachers and Federation to conduct monarch habitat volunteers for student projects including they will add 100 sites along restoration on 13 public sites and 10 Eco monarch tagging. Toe River Watershed Schools. They also are partnering with Partnership is also an important the monarch’s migration Monarchs Across Georgia to conduct a contributor in these efforts. monarch workshop for teachers in Plains, routes in the Southeast. Georgia, the home of the Rosalynn Carter Tennessee Butterfly Trail. The Tennessee Ecological Services Office has developed cooperative agreements The Georgia Ecological Services with Cumberland and Morgan County Office is working with the Atlanta Soil Conservation Districts and with Botanical Garden to create a monarch Clinch Powell Resources Conservation demonstration site at Panola Mountain and Development Council to propagate State Park and expand monarch habitat milkweed and plant pollinator gardens to at Blue Heron Nature Preserve.
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Sc-Monarch-Butterfly.Pdf
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service February 2019 Conserving South Carolina’s At-Risk Species: www.fws.gov/charleston www.fws.gov/southeast/endangered-species-act/at-risk-species Species facing threats to their survival Monarch butterfly habitats are high altitude Mexican conifer engaging citizen scientists in monitoring (Danaus plexippus) forests, coastal California conifers, or Eu- Monarchs during their migratory, breed- calyptus groves. In South Carolina during ing, and overwintering seasons. Addition- the fall, winter, and early spring, Mon- ally, more research needs to be conducted archs can be found basking or roosting on to better document the distribution of evergreen trees and shrubs such as: wintering Monarchs along the South Car- Southern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana olina coast. Monarchs that winter along var. silicicola), Wax myrtle (Morella ce- the Atlantic coast, the extent of which is rifera), Red bay (Persea borbonia), and Ley- not yet determined, may provide a re- land cypress (Cupressus x leylandii). serve of wintering Monarchs that could become extremely valuable to the long- Status term survival of the eastern migratory Monarch butterfly/Photo credit: Jennifer The Monarch population has recently de- population of North American Monarchs. Koches clined to a fraction of its previous size. In the 1990s, estimates of up to one billion References Description Monarchs overwintered in the oyamel fir Jepsen, S., D. F. Schweitzer, B. Young, The Monarch butterfly is a large orange forests northwest of Mexico City, and N. Sears, M. Ormes, and S. H. Black. butterfly that is similar in appearance to more than one million Monarchs overwin- 2015. Conservation Status and Ecology of the smaller Viceroy (Limenitis archippus), tered in forested groves on the California Monarchs in the United States.
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Head Antenna E Wings Legs Thorax Eyes Abdomen Proboscis
Virtual Monarch and Meadow Month Lesson: Monarch Butterfly and Caterpillar Anatomy In this lesson, participants will learn basic monarch butterfly and caterpillar anatomy and can practice labeling butterfly graphics. Monarch Butterfly Anatomy Butterflies are insects in the order Lepidoptera, which means “scaly wing”; this refers to the thousands of overlapping scales that not only give the butterflies their iconic colors, but also aid in flight. When you hear the word insect, you should automatically think 6 legs and 3 body parts; this rule helps you separate insects from similar animals like spiders, which have 8 legs and 2 body parts. When we talk about body parts we mean that they have a head (with eyes, antennae, and their mouthparts), then a thorax (where all of their legs and wings attach), and finally an abdomen (usually the largest segment, where most of their organs are). A butterfly’s mouth is called a proboscis, which is a tube-like structure that is normally curled up against the front of the butterfly’s face, but is extended into flowers’ nectar well to suck up nutrients. Monarchs are especially famous for their migration habits, so we can’t forget to mention their 4 brightly colored wings! Can you label these images with the monarch butterfly’s body parts? Here’s a word bank! Head Wings Thorax Abdomen Antenna Legs Eyes Proboscis e Scroll to Page 2 for the answers! 1 Monarch Caterpillar Anatomy The monarch butterfly caterpillar is fantastical even before it becomes a chrysalis and transforms its long, Discussion + Home Exploration: For more squishy body into the graceful winged adult that we info about insects, check out this video! love to watch flitting from flower to flower.
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(Lepidoptera: Pieridae) Butterflies Are Palatable to Avian Predators
insects Article Evaluating an Alleged Mimic of the Monarch Butterfly: Neophasia (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) Butterflies are Palatable to Avian Predators Dale A. Halbritter 1,2,* , Johnalyn M. Gordon 3, Kandy L. Keacher 4, Michael L. Avery 4,5 and Jaret C. Daniels 2,6 1 USDA-ARS Invasive Plant Research Laboratory, 3225 College Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, USA 2 Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida, 1881 Natural Area Dr, Steinmetz Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA; jdaniels@flmnh.ufl.edu 3 Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 3205 College Ave, Davie, FL 33314, USA; johnalynmgordon@ufl.edu 4 Florida Field Station, USDA-APHIS National Wildlife Research Center, 2820 E University Ave, Gainesville, FL 32641, USA; [email protected] (K.L.K.); [email protected] (M.L.A.) 5 2906 NW 14th Pl., Gainesville, FL 32605, USA 6 McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, 3215 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA * Correspondence: dhalb001@ufl.edu or [email protected]; Tel.: +1-661-406-8932 Received: 28 September 2018; Accepted: 22 October 2018; Published: 29 October 2018 Abstract: Some taxa have adopted the strategy of mimicry to protect themselves from predation. Butterflies are some of the best representatives used to study mimicry, with the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) a well-known model. We are the first to empirically investigate a proposed mimic of the monarch butterfly: Neophasia terlooii, the Mexican pine white butterfly (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). We used captive birds to assess the palatability of N. terlooii and its sister species, N.
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Milkweed Butterflies AKA Monarchs
Milkweed Butterflies AKA Monarchs Laurie Cameron Decline in Population The population of these once-common, iconic orange-and- black butterflies has seen a rapid decline of nearly seventy percent in the past two decades. One reason is that the heart of monarch breeding range is the agricultural areas in the midwest where milkweed plants have given way to corn and soybean fields. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, it’s estimated that monarch butterflies may have lost more than 165 million acres of habitat — an area about the size of Texas — including nearly one-third of their summer breeding grounds in the past 20 years. Monarch butterflies go through four stages during one life cycle, and through four generations in one year. Life cycle All butterflies have "complete metamorphosis." To grow into an adult they go through 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa (AKA chrysalis), and adult. Each stage has a different goal - for instance, caterpillars need to eat a lot, and adults need to reproduce. Life Cycle & Migration In February and March, the final generation of hibernating monarch butterflies comes out of hibernation to find a mate. They then migrate north and east in order to find a place to lay their eggs. This starts stage one and generation one of the new year for the monarch butterfly. Life Cycle & Migration: March and April The eggs are laid on milkweed plants. Life Cycle & Migration: March and April They hatch into baby caterpillars, also called the larvae. It takes about four days for the eggs to hatch.. Life Cycle & Migration: March and April Then the baby caterpillar doesn’t do much more than eat the milkweed in order to grow.
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Appendix A: Monarch Biology and Ecology
Appendix A: Monarch Biology and Ecology Materials for this appendix were adapted from MonarchNet.org, MonarchJointVenture.org, MonarchLab.org, and MonarchParasites.org. Monarch Life Cycle Biology: Overview: All insects change in form as they grow; this process is called metamorphosis. Butterflies and moths undergo complete metamorphosis, in which there are four distinct stages: egg, larva (caterpillar) pupae (chrysalis) and adult. It takes monarchs about a month to go through the stages from egg to adult, and it is hormones circulating within the body that trigger the changes that occur during metamorphosis. Once adults, monarchs will live another 3-6 weeks in the summer. Monarchs that migrate live all winter, or about 6-9 months. Monarch larvae are specialist herbivores, consuming only host plants in the milkweed family (Asclepiadacea). They utilize most of the over 100 North American species (Woodson 1954) in this family, breeding over a broad geographical and temporal range that covers much of the United States and southern Canada. Adults feed on nectar from blooming plants. Monarchs have specific habitat needs: Milkweed provides monarchs with an effective chemical defense against many predators. Monarchs sequester cardenolides (also called cardiac glycosides) present in milkweed (Brower and Moffit 1974), rendering them poisonous to most vertebrates. However, many invertebrate predators, as well as some bacteria and viruses, may be unharmed by the toxins or able to overcome them. The extent to which milkweed protects monarchs from non-vertebrate predators is not completely understood, but a recent finding that wasps are less likely to prey on monarchs consuming milkweed with high levels of cardenolides suggests that this defense is at least somewhat effective against invertebrate predators (Rayor 2004).
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Absence of Toxicity of Bacillus Thuringiensis Pollen to Black Swallowtails Under Field Conditions
Absence of toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis pollen to black swallowtails under field conditions C. L. Wraight, A. R. Zangerl, M. J. Carroll, and M. R. Berenbaum* Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, 320 Morrill Hall, 505 South Goodwin, Urbana, IL 61801 Contributed by M. R. Berenbaum, May 4, 2000 A single laboratory study on monarch butterflies has prompted makes exposure to Bt endotoxin in corn pollen likely throughout widespread concern that corn pollen, engineered to express the Midwest. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) endotoxin, might travel beyond corn We performed a field experiment in which early instar P. fields and cause mortality in nontarget lepidopterans. Among polyxenes were placed in an array along the edge of a field of Bt the lepidopterans at high potential risk from this technology is corn to determine impact of pollen ingestion under field con- the black swallowtail butterfly, Papilio polyxenes, whose host ditions. In addition, we conducted laboratory bioassays to de- plants in the midwestern U.S. are located principally in narrow termine the range of toxicity of pollen from this and one other strips between roads and crop fields. A field study was per- transgenic corn event. formed to assess whether mortality of early instar black swal- lowtails was associated either with proximity to a field of Bt corn Materials and Methods or by levels of Bt pollen deposition on host plants. Potted host Field Experiment. This experiment was performed at the Univer- plants were infested with first instar black swallowtails and sity of Illinois Phillips Tract research area located 1.5 km placed at intervals from the edge of a field of Bt corn (Pioneer northeast of Urbana, along the narrow edge of a field of Bt corn 34R07 containing Monsanto event 810) at the beginning of measuring 30 m wide with rows running 400 m long.
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Petition to Protect the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus Plexippus Plexippus) Under the Endangered Species Act
BEFORE THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR © Jeffrey E. Belth PETITION TO PROTECT THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY (DANAUS PLEXIPPUS PLEXIPPUS) UNDER THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT Notice of Petition Sally Jewell, Secretary U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street NW Washington, D.C. 20240 [email protected] Dan Ashe, Director U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1849 C Street NW Washington, D.C. 20240 [email protected] Douglas Krofta, Chief Branch of Listing, Endangered Species Program U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 420 Arlington, VA 22203 [email protected] Monarch ESA Petition 2 PETITIONERS The Center for Biological Diversity (“Center”) is a nonprofit, public interest environmental organization dedicated to the protection of imperiled species and the habitat and climate they need to survive through science, policy, law, and creative media. The Center is supported by more than 775,000 members and activists throughout the country. The Center works to secure a future for all species, great or small, hovering on the brink of extinction. The Center for Food Safety (“CFS”) is a nonprofit public interest organization established in 1997 whose mission centers on protecting public health and the environment by curbing the adverse impacts of industrial agriculture and food production systems on public health, the environment, and animal welfare, and by instead promoting sustainable forms of agriculture. As particularly relevant here, CFS is the leading nonprofit working on the adverse impacts of genetically engineered crops and neonicotinoid pesticides. CFS and its over half-a-million members are concerned about the impacts of industrial agriculture on biodiversity generally, and on monarch butterflies specifically.
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2016 SC Butterfly Summer
Butterfly Summer By Susan Camp All summer our garden has been filled with a dizzying array of butterflies and moths, not to mention bees and fly pollinators, thanks to our selection of many native plants. There is, of course, the matter of the butterfly bushes (Buddleia spp.) we planted last fall without checking them out for invasiveness, but one of the plants is a sterile variety and the others we watch closely so we can remove spent blossoms before they go to seed. The great thing about having so many varieties of butterflies visit the garden is that we can watch them up close and take pictures to help us identify them. Smartphones are a great invention; I love the handiness of the camera. Every day I hang out in the garden, just waiting for the right butterfly or bee at the right moment. I do a little weeding, a little watering, and a little waiting. The greatest reward is how much we are learning about the winged wildlife feeding off the plants. This summer’s frequent visitors include the native eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), zebra swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus), and black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes), whose picture I have yet to capture. The swallowtails include 560 colorful species, many of which live in the tropics and have long tails. The tiger swallowtail feeds on tulip poplar, black cherry, birch, and linden leaves and the zebra swallowtail prefers pawpaw, all of which we have in our woods. The black swallowtail feeds on plants in the North American carrot family, including cultivated and wild carrot (Queen Anne’s Lace).
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