Correo Real Newsletter No. 6 Journey North Sightings in Mexico Recent news Learning more Spring 2018 May 1th Journey North By: Elizabeth Howard - Journey North Sightings Wane This is the time of year when very few adult monarch butterflies are alive. As the monarchs from Mexico fade away, we’re waiting for the next generation to come out in full force. A surge in sightings will occur when the new adult butterflies emerge and migrate northward. Eggs Across the Landscape Monarchs are leaving a trail of eggs as they travel. The migration map shows where eggs of the next generation have been laid. High quality habitat is critical for monarchs at this stage of the annual cycle. It’s interesting that the monarch population is at its smallest every year around Earth Day - a timely reminder to preserve habitat. "A worn female laid eggs on my barely sprouted tropical milkweed." Anissa - Greenville, South Carolina How Many Eggs? After a single mating, a female can lay eggs throughout her lifetime. Each butterfly lays hundreds of eggs — as many as 700 have been counted. Because she dedicates her energies to egg-laying, the female only lives a few weeks during this stage of her life. Females are in urgent pursuit of milkweed now. People reported monarch eggs on milkweed at all stages of growth, from newly-emerged plants to tender flower buds. It takes about one month for an egg to become an adult. However, timing varies greatly depending upon temperature. The life cycle is slowed by the cold. Sightings in Mexico April 19, Antiguo Morelos, Tamaulipas I want to make the report of 2 monarchs for the municipality of Antiguo Morelos, Tamaulipas, for years that there was no sighting of such species for which I pass my report of 2 individuals in the municipal seat, perching on fruit trees of mango and lemon past April 8. Biol. Guadalupe Martínez Briseño Now is the time to observe caterpillars and pupae April 16, Acámbaro, Guanajuato. Caterpillar about to pupate found hanging in J on the wall of a private house in the central area of Acámbaro. María Yaotzatzic April 16, Monterrey, N.L In the butterfly garden of the Museum El Papalote de Monterrey we have a population of caterpillars that are reafy to pupae. Priscila Moreno April 16, Monterrey, N.L. Another cocoon more in the garden of house in the colony Villa de las Fuentes. Paola Hernández April 17, Monterrey, Nuevo León Sighting of a butterfly in Rio La Silla Park at 12:40 Julio Moreno April 18, Monterrey, Nuevo León Three sightings of monarch butterflies among 12 and 16 o'clock in Rio la Silla Park at the Cortijo del Río neighborhood. Julio Moreno April 19, Acámbaro, Guanajuato. In the garden of pollinators on September 16 a male butterfly was born today and also we found a caterpillar in the first larval stage. Oscar Alejandro Morales April 21, Acambaro, Guanajuato Main Garden, Acámbaro Guanajuato, A Monarch Butterfly from South to North, 12:05 hours, temperature 24 degrees, without wind Oscar Alejandro Morales April 22, Monterrey, Nuevo León Sighting of a monarch today at 11:00 in La Silla River Park. Julio Moreno April 23, Acámbaro, Guanajuato Across the main garden of Acámbaro a monarch flying from south to north at 12:05 a day without wind and with a temperature of 24 ° C. Oscar Alejandro Morales April 24, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon I found these 4 caterpillars in a vacant lot in the Colonia Colinas de San Jerónimo. (4th stage larvary and feeding on A. curassavica). 7:39 hours Patricia Taméz April 24, Santiago Nuevo Leon Monarch butterfly in Santiago, injured wings, feeding on wild sunflowers, at 5:00 p.m. José A. Alanis April 24, Acámbaro, Guanajuato. Central Zone, in Main Garden 2 Monarch butterflies in courtship flight, 1:00 pm, 1 Monarch Butterfly feeding in Garden for Monarch Pollinators; 1:05 p.m., in this garden 14 caterpillars are observed in the first stage and 10 eggs, at 4:05 p.m. there are 2 monarch butterflies flying and feeding in this same garden; 17:00, Monarca Pollinators Garden September 16 1 Monarch Butterfly flying, very hot day 31 degrees and no wind. Oscar Alejandro Morales. April 28, Acambaro Gto. I present to you a new Mini Monarch Butterfly, newborn today, which I started on April 21, 2018, it only took 8 days to be born. Oscar Alejandro Morales Letters to Correo Real "We Are Powerful: How I Help the Monarch Butterfly" In my life, I have seen that many young people believe that a person needs to reach a particular age to do something important. This lie could not be more wrong. The reality is that I and the other young people of my age see the problems of our community and we already have the skills to improve them. We are powerful. We are the future. A young man is never too By: Peter Gordan young to make a difference. I know this truth firsthand. I remember when I was a child, my mother wanted to get all the milkweed out of our garden. Even in this early part of my life, I had learned in booklets that caterpillars of monarch butterflies only eat the leaves of this plant. Without milkweed, there are no monarch butterflies. That's why, when my mother came back from work, I made some signs and protested. Although I was only five years old during that time, my mother saw that I was serious about milkweed, and left him alone. My passion for milkweeds and monarch butterflies increased as I grew up. Then, when I was fourteen, I discovered a terrible truth: because of the pesticides used on farms in the Midwest of the United States, as in my state of Illinois, the amount of milkweed had dramatically decreased. That is why the population of monarch butterflies had declined ninety-five percent in the last twenty years. At this moment, I realized that I had to do something to fix this terrible situation. But I was only a junior in high school. What could I do to help? Although I was young, I knew a lot about monarch butterflies to understand that, without the milkweed, the monarchs would not survive. Finally, I found a way to help. In the fall of 2016, I started an organization called Homes4Monarchs. The mission of my organization is to give packages of common milkweed seeds (the scientific name is Asclepias syriaca), totally free, to the people of my community. During those weeks, I gathered, packed, and distributed more than one thousand two hundred packages of seeds to schools, stores, museums, nature centers, train stations, and other institutions in my community. This year, I have distributed more than four thousand. Homes4Monarchs is just one example that shows that passion can be used to work to improve the community. Now, I look forward to the arrival of monarch butterflies in Chicago. If you have the opportunity to see a butterfly sometime this summer, I hope you think about these words and remember that some person, even you, is powerful. Even you can change the world. Last news The municipal government of San Luis Potosí advances in its commitments in the initiative “Mayor´s Monarch Pledge” During the month of April, the municipality of San Luis Potosí with the support of 20 people from its Coordination of Environmental Education and Clean Points in charge of the Directorate of Ecology and Public Services established 4 gardens for pollinators in the Central Garden of the Delegation of Villa Pozos that included aromatic species such as lavender and rosemary. Festival "Let's celebrate Mother Earth" in Nuevo León In order to celebrate World Earth Day, the organization Oikos Por una Planeta Sustentable organized a festival with stands, conferences and birdwatching at the School of Veterinary Medicine in Escobedo, Nuevo León. Rocío Treviño and Jerónimo Chávez of the Correo Real Program gave a conference about the recent activities on the "”Mayor´s Monarch Pledge, also about the " initiatives of people that sumitt the decree of voluntary natural protected areas in Coahuila and success stories made by the volunteers of the program. We thank the support and collaboration of the Monarch Butterfly Fund to help us with funds to promote the initiative "Mayor´s Monarch Pledge" in Mexico Learning more Why is citizen science important? Fuente: Monarch Joint Venture It is an important tool for public participation in organized science. People who do not have professional training in science can commit to the scientific process of observing and learning about the world around them through citizen science. The data provided by citizen scientists have been crucial to many important discoveries. For example, the discovery of monarch hibernation sites by Dr. Fred Urquhart, Norah Urquhart, Catalina Trail and Ken Brugger that in 1975 found a monarch tagged in the Transvolcanic Mountains of central Mexico. • It is an accessible entrance for conservation, since it brings together people with similar interests, providing them with knowledge to take additional measures to protect the species and improve their environment. • There are many citizen science programs focused on the monarch butterfly and the butterfly count has been an important source of knowledge about its biology and threats of this butterfly, for example: its migratory movement, the increase in parasite OE rates, document the reproduction through observations of eggs, larvae and milkweed in space and time. Get involved in citizen science! It is as easy as making a call on a cell phone and it also has no cost. Your contributions will make an important difference for the monarchs, and with luck they will impact you in a good way.