Record Low Monarch population expected in Mexico this winter.

Chip Taylor chip at ku.edu
Fri Sep 13 12:37:37 EDT 2002


>
>
>The Mid-summer population of monarch adults in the upper
>midwest was only slightly to moderately lower than last
>summer. The cause of the late adult population crash
>summer appears to be a high population of monarch egg and first
>instar larval predators such as ladybugs, ants, spiders, lacewings,
>etc.  Several observers including myself found very few large
>monarch caterpillars in July & August in Minnesota because the
>predation of monarch eggs and baby caterpillars was so high.
>
>Paul Cherubini
>Placerville, Calif.

This is normal mortality and is not likely to be the cause of the 
present low population through most of the monarchs' northern 
breeding habitat. Monarchs have been absent, or nearly so, from large 
areas in the eastern portion of the US and Canada throughout the 
summer - a fact that has nothing to do with predation of immatures in 
these areas. The data from a number of surveys conducted during the 
Bt corn controversy, and surveys currently underway in a number of 
locations, show that over 98% of the monarch immatures do not reach 
the adult stage.

>
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