Accent on Natural Landscaping

Donna VanBuecken

Late Monarch Arrivals in Texas may mean Loss of Population Growth

Last month, Chip Taylor, Founder and Director of Monarch Watch, responded to a question related to the potential for monarch migration routes being shut down between Mexico and Texas because of the cold weather, and what this would mean for monarch population growth. The writer understood monarchs arriving early in Texas might not find nectar sources or milkweed on which to lay eggs, which could result in loss of population growth. But why would late arriving monarchs result in similar losses?

Typically this delayed arrival results in lower population numbers because the overwintering monarchs arriving late in Texas means, generationally, there may not be enough time egg to egg to increase population growth before starting the cycle all over again.

Late Arrivals

Monarch butterfly depositing an egg on the host milkweed plant. Photo by Candi Sarikonda

Chips response was “late arrivals mean late egg laying that produces a cohort of new adults 30+ days later that is also late relative to those that arrived earlier and matured their offspring earlier. The net effect for the population is to send a first generation north with a higher mean age to first reproduction than if all eggs were laid earlier. This later first generation cohort is likely to arrive later in the North as well as producing more late effects. The overall outcome could be a smaller fall population under some conditions.

Population growth is all about age to first reproduction – sometimes characterized as generation length. In terms of insects, I think of egg to egg intervals. I want them to be as short as possible if I want a population to grow. Degree days are one way to capture these population characteristics but degree days are not as good as direct observation for a number of reasons.

Importance of First Sightings Data

The dynamics of the growth of the population last year – when compared to all previous years – caused me to realize that the temporal and spatial distribution of eggs as well as the quantity laid by returning females – were important determinants of monarch population growth.

I’m slow to figure things out. It took me 26 years and lots and lots of First Sightings Data posted to Journey North to figure that out.

Thanks to Journey North and all those citizens who post their observations to that site.”

Note: The cold temperatures did abate last month, and monarchs had favorable conditions along both pathways out of Mexico.

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Doug Tallamy & Mariette Nowak to Speak in Stevens Point April 12, 2019

Great news! Nationally known speaker and Wild Ones Honorary Director Doug Tallamy will be a keynote speaker for the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership Convention and Water Action Volunteers Symposium to be held April 10-12, 2019 at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Stevens Point. Doug will speak on April 12th at 9AM.

Additionally, Mariette Nowak, Author of Birdscaping in the Midwest, Past Director of Wehr Nature Center, Milwaukee County and President of Wild Ones Kettle Moraine Chapter will be speaking later in the afternoon from 2:45-3:45PM.

The Keynote Presentation

With a conference theme of “Pay it Forward,” Dr Tallamy’s presentation argues we all can “pay it forward” to nature by including many more native plants in our domesticated landscapes. He will take a closer look at how nature can (and does!) provide for itself through the complex web of life which is most often based on the relationship between plants and insects. Whether at an “up north” cabin or in the middle of Milwaukee, our deeds will be multiplied and eventually will return to us in the form of a more diverse and resilient natural community.

Doug Tallamy is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has taught for nearly forty years. His research demonstrates the enduring connections between plants and the insects that feed on them. Though we may think of these insects as pests, they are in fact critical food sources for native birds and small mammals.

Dr Tallamy is the author of the best-selling garden book, Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, and was awarded the 2008 silver medal by the Garden Writers Association. He also co-authored with Richard Darke The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden, a how-to book to “enable you to create a garden that is full of life and that fulfills both human needs and the needs of wildlife communities.”

Birdscaping Your Shoreline Property

The Tennessee Warbler migrates through Wisconsin from the Canadian Boreal forest. It is often referred to as a “nectar thief” because it will pierce the base of a flower tube to get nectar and not exchange any pollen. Photo by Dave Nowak

Mariette will present ways to increase the variety of birds on your shoreline property by growing native plants which offer birds a natural habitat and a yearlong smorgasbord of berries, nuts, seeds and insects. By doing so, she’ll show you how you can play a vital role in preserving and enhancing native communities that support not only birds, but also other wildlife including butterflies, bees, and bats. By taking on this role, you become a steward of your piece of Earth and pay forward its diversity and beauty to future generations. 

To register See you there!

Wisconsin Lakes Partnership

Sponsored by the UW-SP College of Natural Resources, UW-Extension Lakes Department, the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership is made up of three partners: the Department of Natural Resources (which supplies scientific research, technical expertise and regulatory authority), the UW-Extension Lakes Program (which provides supporting educational materials and programs), and Wisconsin Lakes (which mobilizes citizens to be advocates for lakes).

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Overwintering Numbers for Western Monarch Migration Alarmingly Down

Reference my earlier post Overwintering Numbers for Eastern Monarch Migration Up. In this post I’m writing that the overwintering numbers for the Western Monarch Migration are alarmingly down. While the Eastern Monarch Migration has declined by more than 80%, the Western Migration has declined by more than 86%.

Graph courtesy of Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

The Monarchs overwintering in California travel west from Idaho and Utah and north from Canada and along the Pacific Coast to overwinter in the coastal forests. There they nestle in eucalyptus trees. Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus) is the predominant Eucalyptus species. They also use Monterey Pines and cypresses, but the Eucalyptus is their preferred roosting tree. Eucalyptus trees flower from December to May, while the monarchs are roosting and when few other sources of nectar are available from native plant species. 

Surveys done by volunteers with the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count found only 28,429 butterflies, an 85.2% fall from the previous year—and a 99.4% decline from the number of monarchs in the state in the 1980s.

Western Monarch Call to Action

Monarch Caterpillar munching on a milkweed (Asclepias L.) plant.
Monarch caterpillar on a Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) plant.

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation has worked with monarch scientists at institutions across the West to develop the Western Monarch Call to Action, a five-point rapid-response action plan to rescue the western population of the monarch butterfly. According to their website, “the call to action is a set of rapid-response conservation actions that, if applied immediately, can help the western monarch population bounce back from its extremely low 2018–19 overwintering size.”

  1. Protect and manage California overwintering sites — stop the destruction and damage from development and inappropriate tree trimming of the Monarchs overwintering trees. Create and implement a manaagement plan to protect and grow needed habitat for the butterfly.
  2. Restore breeding and migratory habitat in California — plant early blooming native flowers and milkweed to restore breeding and migratory habitat. They use native host and nectaring plants growing anywhere, i.e., gardens, parks, along railroads, right-of-ways, farms, etc so they can lay their eggs and find nourishment after they leave the overwintering sites.
  3. Protect monarchs and their habitat from pesticides — seek out and use non-chemical options to prevent and manage pests in landscaping. Stop the use of neonicotinoids in the commercial production of milkweed plants. Suspend or limit the use in croplands and other commercial applications.
  4. Protect, manage and restore summer breeding and fall migration monarch habitat outside of California — identify remnant areas of native monarch habitat and protect them from development, while at the same time restoring and managing in other areas.
  5. Answer key research questions about how to best aid western monarch recovery — monitor and research overwintering sites to determine what is causing the decline in the western Monarch butterfly population. Is it Oe? Destruction of Eucalyptos trees? Development? Neonics?

So if you live west of the Rocky Mountains, please make an effort to identify and help enhance habitat across the Western States Migration route so Monarchs have a place to feed and breed.

 Click on Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper for more information.

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2019 Monarch Conservation Webinar Series

We are excited to announce the topics for the 2019 Monarch Conservation Webinar Series! The Monarch Joint Venture (MJV) is again partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Conservation Training Center to put on another year full of informative and inspiring webinars on all things monarch.

Starting in February, webinars will be held live on the 4th Tuesday of the month at 2 PM Eastern Time. (Plus a bonus webinar in March!) The November and December dates have been moved to avoid conflicting with major holidays. Each webinar will be recorded and available here for later viewing as well.

Check out the webinar titles and dates below, and click on a title to register!

Please note this list is subject to change. Our events page will have the most up to date information on our webinar series, as well as a calendar of additional monarch-related events. Find it here.

We look forward to sharing this great series with you! Thank you for joining us.

Reprinted with permission from the MJV e-newsletter dated 1-28-2019.

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