Monarch Butterflies: Flying Jewels

Southwest Monarch Tagging and Migration Research - and 2008 Field Work Dates

Summer and Fall are the seasons to look for Monarch butterflies, those lovely "flowers on the wing" seeming more like artworks than insects. If one is perched on a flower in your garden grab your binoculars and look closely at a rear wing. Do you see a tiny blue tag? Write down the tag number and report your sighting to Boyce Thompson Arboretum! BTA education Coordinator Chris Kline and a crew of volunteers began sticking tiny blue tags on the wings of hundreds of Monarch butterflies prior to releasing the insects. Would you believe tags have been recovered as far afield as Mexico City?

"Four years ago our small cadre of Arizona State Parks volunteers began sticking tiny blue adhesive tags on the hindwings of Monarch butterflies, which were subsequently released in hopes of sightings, recoveries and a mapping project to better understand the delicate insects' migration," said Kline. "More than 3,000 marked monarchs later, the most far-flung recoveries have come back from Mexico City!" 

  Kline directs education programs at Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park and he invites all who are interested in butterflies to learn more on the guided Saturday butterfly walks June 28, July 26, August 23 and September 27 at 9:30 a.m. These walks typically last about two hours, exploring Arboretum collections which include the Demonstration and Hummingbird-Butterfly, Desert Legume and Herb Gardens. Butterfly walks and other guided weekend nature tours are included with regular Arboretum daily admission of $7.50, or $3 for ages 5-12

Research continues this summer and fall, with training sessions and field work and field work planned across Arizona: from the cool higher elevations of Springerville to the Canelo Hills, Santa Cruz County, and eastwards to the the Blue River boundarylands near New Mexico off state route 191 below Hannagan Meadow. For those who really want to be immersed in lepidoptery (the study of butterflies), Kline also seeks volunteers to assist with monarch training and tagging sessions. Participants are responsible for their own travel arrangements; the following field trips are scheduled: 

Monarch Field Trip Dates

* Jacob's Lake August 12-15 
* Springerville August 16
* Canelo Hills August 30 ( again September 14)
* Hereford September 6
* Blue River October 2-4
* Hualapai Mountains October 15-17
* Perkinsville October 18
* Sonoita November 1
   
  "The focus of this year's work is two-fold: first, we want to explore the edges of the state better, hence trips to the Blue River, Hualapai Mountains, 
and Jacob Lake. Secondly, we want to learn more about the travel corridors these insects use within the state. Our training events are free, but I do ask 
that participants have a serious interest in being a part of the Southwest Monarch Study project either through tagging monarchs, looking for tagged 
monarchs, or monitoring milkweed populations for monarch caterpillars," said Kline. On past trips participants have camped together at Forest Service group 
use sites, or arranged to stay at "Butterfly Friendly" bed-and-breakfasts in Southern AZ such as the Portal Peak Lodge and the San Pedro River Inn near Palominas. "The Inn has a wonderful sunflower field where we will spend most of our time," said Kline. "Wear shoes that can afford to get wet! Also bring a butterfly net if you have one, your camera, drinks and snacks. I expect there will be several monarchs flying at this time, but these are wild animals so I can't make any guarantees!"Sierra Vista has a variety of hotels about ten miles away; there are also nearby campgrounds in the Huachuca mountains, and the San Pedro River Inn."

The photo at right shows Mr. Kline holding a Queen Butterfly, a smaller variety of butterfly commonly mistaken for its larger relative the Monarch. Tina Faust's glorious closeup image (above at right) shows a Monarch.

                                                            "The Southwestern Monarch Migration Research Project is an example of citizen science, with schools and butterfly enthusiasts trained to tag and release Monarchs to assist with migration research," said Kline. "Santa Cruz and Cochise Counties boast some of the best monarch habitat in Arizona."

HOW DO WE TAG?

  "How do we tag? Of course, the first step is to catch the little buggers, which is easier said than done," said Kline. "The tag is a circular adhesive label, 5/16 of an inch in diameter. On the tag is printed a tag number and an email contact address. The tag is placed on what is called the discal cell, located on the underside of either hindwing. Out of habit, I generally tag the left hindwing. We then record data before we let the monarch go, including the butterfly's sex, tag number, and general condition of the monarch. Then the monarch is released. We also record location - by GPS coordinates if we can get them - and what the monarch was doing when we caught it. Last year we learned a lot about the nectar sources that monarchs use as they travel through the state. This year we will be watching patches of thistle, sunflower, and rabbitbrush very closely," Kline added. 

WHY DO WE TAG?

  "Why are we doing this? At this point, very little is known about monarch butterfly migration through the southwest US and northern Mexico," said Kline. "What little is known is based largely on flimsy evidence and anecdotal observation.... like 'I was in Guadalupe Canyon and saw a monarch fly over the fence into Mexico'. Who knows, two hours later that monarch may have flown back into the US and proceeded on to California! As far as I know, we are the only tagging program currently in the southwest."

WHERE DO THEY GO?

  "It has been accepted in the scientific community that Monarchs living east of the Rocky Mountains migrate to the Transvolcanic Range around Mexico City," said Kline. "Monarchs living west of the Rocky Mountains generally migrate to the coast of California. Arizona's placement below the Rockies begs the question: Do our Monarchs go west to California, south to Mexico, or do they stay in Arizona? At the present time, the scientific community is unsure where southwestern Monarchs migrate -- or if they migrate at all. It is possible that they find Arizona to be home sweet home throughout the year because of the relatively mild winter climate in many parts of the state."

  "According to currently accepted migration theory, monarchs west of the Continental Divide migrate to California, east of the Divide to Mexico. I 
suspect this theory is wrong since all three of our long-distance recoveries have been in Mexico, not California. There is a growing movement that believes monarchs west of the divide and roughly east of a line from Boise, Idaho to Yuma, AZ actually migrate south through Arizona to Mexico. But three recoveries do not provide enough contradictory evidence, hence the reason we continue to tag."

  The Southwest Monarch Study hopes to fill in gaps in the scientific knowledge of the migration of Monarch Butterflies in Arizona. With the help of 
volunteers, we hope to expand our tagging in Arizona. We will then track the butterflies by mapping where and when the tagged Monarchs are recovered. 
Hopefully, over time, we will be able to gather enough evidence to challenge the currently accepted theory. It's a challenging project, and one which has united Boyce Thompson Arboretum with the Desert Botanical Garden and also schools throughout Arizona. Teachers and classes have participated in tagging field trips, and are helping raise awareness of the project in hopes of spurring reports of sightings and tag recoveries.

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