Monarch Mexican Migration and land management

[Patrick Foley]

Paul,

As you already know, and seem unwilling to acknowledge publically, 
Eucalyptus globulus is one of the 24 species on the California Invasive 
  Plant Council's highest priority list,  List A1  : Most Invasive 
Wildland Pest Plants; documented as aggressive invaders that displace 
natives and disrupt natural habitats.

Eucalyptus displaces native plants, spreads well in coastal fog drip 
areas, allelopathically inhibits the growth of herbaceous understory 
plants and is a serious fire hazard implicated in major fires in Oakland 
and Santa Barbara.

Eucalyptus does produce lots of nectar (as does Yellow Star Thistle, 
also on the A1 list). Honey bee keepers are delighted by both plants who 
blossom at times when most flowers are unavailable. However, honey bees 
are not native to the Americas. California has over 1400 species of 
native bees, and any advantage we give to honeybees is a potential 
danger to the world's greatest diversity hotspot for bees. Honeybee 
colonies forage actively year round if there is nectar. Few natives have 
evolved such capabilities. Late summer Yellow Star thistle, and early 
winter Eucalyptus give a terrific advantage to perennial social bees 
such as the honey bee.

Ecology is the study of the interactions of organisms with their 
environment. "Monarch scientists" are only ecologists to the extent that 
they acknowledge and work with the ecosystem as a whole rather than 
confine themselves to an obsession with one species.

Patrick
patfoley at csus.edu

Paul Cherubini wrote:

> Patrick Foley wrote:
> 
> 
>>Planting Eucalyptus is dumb in so many ways you don't want me to get
>>started.
>>We have been over the Eucalyptus issue before. You may remember the
>>reasons I gave for _not_ planting this invasive, highly flammable
>>non-native tree. If not, I'll send you some literature citations.
> 
> 
> Eucalyptus monarch overwintering sites in California are actually
> considered important sanctuaries by all monarch scientists and also the
> California state park system: Check out this interpretive sign the
> park personnel have displayed at the Lighthouse Field State Park,
> Santa Cruz, Calif. eucalyptus / cypress monarch overwintering site:
> http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lfstate2.jpg
>                                                                                                                                                              
> The very young, yet very tall Australian eucalyptus trees at this site
> are located in a residential area and the monarchs cluster close to the
> streets: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lfstreet.jpg  primarily
> in young understory cypress trees
> http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lfcydist.jpg
> http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lfcyclose.jpg
>                                                                                                                                               
> The blossoms of the eucalyptus trees also provide flower nectar:
> http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lfflower.jpg
>                                                                                                                                                                     
> It takes only a few hundred dollars worth of eucalyptus trees and
> about 15 years to create an overwintering site like this from scratch
> since the eucalyptus grows so fast.   Therefore, monarch conservation
> solutions need not be complicated and expensive.
> 
> Paul Cherubini
> 
>  
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