Monarch migration

[1lessdog]

Who as seen the migration of the Monarch Butterfly. It has years since I have seen it. I have only seen it twice. But it was unbelievable. I seen 1000's of them. I was in a treestand the first time when they were going by me I could here there wings flapping there were so many. Both times was way before cell phones.

 

[Kurtr]

I think it was as around 89 we were out dove hunting and seen thousands just floating through the sky. We were by a row of bushes and they were landing on them it was a crazy sight. Never seen anything like it again .

 

[Jiffy]

The last time I saw it Fargo/Moorhead sprayed for misquotes and killed them all.

 

[deleted user]

Who as seen the migration of the Monarch Butterfly. It has years since I have seen it. I have only seen it twice. But it was unbelievable. I seen 1000's of them. I was in a treestand the first time when they were going by me I could hear there wings flapping there were so many. Both times was way before cell phones.

Not since the early 2000’s.

 

[Fallguy]

I have never witnessed that personally.

My students are currently doing their Insect Collections, so we talk about this life cycle. The migration is wild. From Canada to Mexico and back. The amazing thing is that it takes 5 generations of butterflies to complete the round trip. Some of those individal monarchs fly up to 80 miles a day.

 

[Davy Crockett]

Never saw the migration either and seeing fewer Monarchs every year , even with all the flowers we have around the place. Same with fireflies , the yard used to light up at night. We would put a white sheet on the clothes line and catch them, this year I saw two one night.

 

[Prairie Doggin']

Never saw the migration either and seeing fewer Monarchs every year , even with all the flowers we have around the place. Same with fireflies , the yard used to light up at night. We would put a white sheet on the clothes line and catch them, this year I saw two one night.

My kids thought fireflies were just made up for cartoons until a few years back. I spotted a couple and rounded the up to catch them. They were probably in their upper teens, and had never seen a firefly. In reality, I probably hadn't seen one since they were born, either.

 

[Fallguy]

My kids thought fireflies were just made up for cartoons until a few years back. I spotted a couple and rounded the up to catch them. They were probably in their upper teens, and had never seen a firefly. In reality, I probably hadn't seen one since they were born, either.

My inlaws have a place on Toad Lake in Becker Co MN. There's a swamp across the road so we have amazing firefly displays.

As a kid I remember a friend showing me how you can catch them, smash them between your palms and your hands glowed for a while.

Also...misnamed as they are actually a beetle.

 

[Laker3588]

The last couple years I've had a lot of milkweed in my timber. I spotted several monarch caterpillars this summer eating milkweed. There's been dozens of them in the tmber the last few weeks. I knew milkweed was important but I didn't realize until I looked it up it's the only thing the caterpillars can eat

 

[Davy Crockett]

The county weed boards spray it in the road ditches every June. I don't know much about the weed itself but I mow around it.

 

[Allen]

Never saw the migration either and seeing fewer Monarchs every year , even with all the flowers we have around the place. Same with fireflies , the yard used to light up at night. We would put a white sheet on the clothes line and catch them, this year I saw two one night.

The only flower you need for Monarchs is the common milkweed. As far as I know, the only thing the Monarch caterpillars eat is milkweed. In some years I have hundreds of them at my place, this year I have only seen a few dozen.

 

[LBrandt]

I seen ONE today. LB

 

[Fallguy]

They had a segment on 60 Minutes tonight on the Monarch migration. It was really good. The generation that makes the south journey from these parts to Mexico are called the "super generation ". They don't develop sexual organs, rather using the resources for extra energy for migration. Then it takes 3 or 4 generations to make the trip back north next year. Those ones can reproduce. Fascinating!

 

[Lycanthrope]

not thousands, but Im seeing quite a few monarchs out at my land for the last week or two. Every time I go out there they are flying around my sedum plants. This time of year, Id think they would be gone already, a hard frost might make them not very happy campers...

 

[Davy Crockett]

Been about 5 or 6 days since I have saw them before the rain and cloudy weather set in, before that there was a short period where I was seeing quite a few, like half a dozen a day but not near as many as I used to see.

 

[Davy Crockett]

The only flower you need for Monarchs is the common milkweed. As far as I know, the only thing the Monarch caterpillars eat is milkweed. In some years I have hundreds of them at my place, this year I have only seen a few dozen.

For breeding grounds yes, but I was seeing the end results, AKA butterflies in the blooming alfalfa that could have made a 3rd cutting this year.

 

[Fallguy]

For breeding grounds yes, but I was seeing the end results, AKA butterflies in the blooming alfalfa that could have made a 3rd cutting this year.

You got that right! Another cool thing about insects: division of resources between life stages. But the milkweed diet as a caterpillar does give the Monarch a bad taste as an adult, hence the orange and black warning colors. So then we'd have to talk about the viceroy, and then mimicry, and then evolution, and well...rules so I'll shut up. I'm geeking out here. Two of my favorite subjects...insects and evolution. I had some damn good professors at JC and VCSU. Dr. Jensen or Delorme anyone?

 

[Davy Crockett]

You got that right! Another cool thing about insects: division of resources between life stages. But the milkweed diet as a caterpillar does give the Monarch a bad taste as an adult, hence the orange and black warning colors. So then we'd have to talk about the viceroy, and then mimicry, and then evolution, and well...rules so I'll shut up. I'm geeking out here. Two of my favorite subjects...insects and evolution. I had some damn good professors at JC and VCSU. Dr. Jensen or Delorme anyone?

Keep going, this is interesting.

 

[NDSportsman]

Anyone have a good way to kill off the damn aphids and asian beetles? They are fricking thick and I don't even have bean fields around me this year.

 

[Fallguy]

Anyone have a good way to kill off the damn aphids and asian beetles? They are fricking thick and I don't even have bean fields around me this year.

They go hand in hand as one feeds upon the other.