Monarch Larvae in Western Oregon, USA

Stelenes at aol.com Stelenes at aol.com
Mon Jul 3 13:27:54 EDT 2000


In the mid-montane elevations of the Klamath National Forest, one of the northernmost areas of the state of California and the coastal side ranges, just south of the Western Oregon border, on Thursday, 29 June, Monarchs were common.

In addition to above average monarch numbers, I was lucky to see all of the following in generally record numbers, a couple of Polygonia species, an explosion of Calif Sisters, Lorquin's Admirals, Frits, Buckeyes, Blues, Wood nymphs, Checkerspots and Crescents, Pale Swallowtails, Rutulus Swallowtails, grass skippers, duskywings, Imported Pierids, Clodius Parnassians, et. al. Interestingly enough, by local accounts, it has not been especially a wildflower year.  I understand that the these record numbers now are no where near the still greater abundance seen four weeks ago...Perhaps the preditor populations for butterflies in general were impacted by another event(s)?....

Doug Dawn
(Today in Jacksonville, FL)



 Patricia Harding wrote:

 > We have found Monarch Larvae on a very small patch of a native
 > milkweed in our garden this weekend. They are more than an inch long,
 > so I guess they have been there awhile.
 > Patricia and Jeff Harding
 > Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon, USA

 In the Sierra Foothills east of Sacramento monarchs are really abundant
 this summer. The past several days I have seen many freshly hatched adults 
 at various milkweed patches. This means egg laying females were in the
 area around 45 days earlier (mid-May). No doubt many of these females 
 moved into the Pacific Northwest later in May and early June laying
 eggs en route.

 The abundance of monarchs around the West this summer is particularly
 mysterious since the overwintering population along the California coast
 last winter was way below normal. The spring migration in March and April was
 also pretty weak so I am perplexed at where the big wave of mid-May females
 came from?

 Paul Cherubini, Placerville, Calif.



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