|
| Event | Monarch PEAK Migration |
| Date of Sighting | 09/23/01 |
| Comments | On the 23rd of September 2001, between 1:45 to 2:00 PM, I counted 89 monarchs nectaring in the gardens. It was sunny and humid with the temperature in the upper 70's F. The butterflies were very skittish and would fly up and cruise about when approached. Almost all were in mint
condition, and judging from our Sweet Briar College censuses (20 mile south
of here), all the females are now un-mated. Most of these butterflies were
moderately plump, meaning that they have been nectaring assiduously and
converting the sugars to lipids that they store in their abdominal fat
bodies. In the evening, a cold front came in with heavy rain.
The 24th of September was a day of stormy weather with an accumulation of two inches of rain. A few very unhappy looking monarchs were seen flying during lulls in the rain, but I made no census. By late PM, the cold front had blown through and by midnight the sky was bespeckled with stars. The 25th of September dawned brilliantly clear and cool (below 60F). Clouds built up to a partly cloudy condition by 2PM, at which time the temperature was approximately 61 degrees F. Between 2:35 and 2:45 PM, I counted a total of 9 monarchs, only one tenth of the number that was there the day before yesterday! So, when did the monarchs leave? Not on the cold front per se which arrived during the night of the 23rd. They could have left during the rain or lulls in the storm on the 24th, or they could have left this morning (the 25th)... Here is where we need patient observers. Someone to sit in their garden from dawn to dusk for several days. Careful records are crucial to obtain. The reason we do not have them is because no one since Jenny Brooks in Lawrence Kansas in 1907 has had the patience to do just this!!!! Any volunteers???? (Brooks, Jenny 1907. A night with the butterflies. Harpers Magazine 115:108-111.) |
| Location | Sweet Briar |
| State/Province | VA |
| Latitude | 37.57 |
| Longitude | -79.06 |
| email this observer (----@sbc.edu) | |
| Observer's First Name | Lincoln |
| Observer's Last Name | Brower |
| Teacher's First Name | Lincoln |
| Teacher's Last Name | Brower |
| Grade | |
| School | Sweet Briar College |
| City | Sweet Briar |
| State/Province | VA |
| Country |
 |
 |