Monarch Caterpillars High in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado

Wed Aug 22 05:45:43 EDT 2007

For many years the Monarch Scientific Community has
been telling us directly and indirectly that monarch butterflies
don't breed in the Rocky Mountains or migrate across the
Rocky Mountains: Examples:

Dr. Chip Taylor writes the following on his website:
http://www.monarchwatch.org/biology/westpop.htm

"The western [monarch] population overwinters along the
California coast and breeds in areas west of the Rockies. The
eastern population overwinters in Mexico and breeds east of
the Rocky Mountains."

Dr. Karen Oberhauser said the following on the Journey
North website:

"Some [monarchs] do live in parts of the Rocky Mountains.
However, at very high altitudes there is no milkweed. It is too
cold for milkweed to grow, so monarchs couldn't reproduce there."

And when a student asked Dr. Oberhauser: "Why does the Rocky
Mountain range act as a separating obstacle for the Eastern and
Western Monarch populations?  Karen answered:

"While they go over and through other mountain ranges, none are
as high or as large as the Rockies. During the time that monarchs
are migrating, it's generally too cold in the Rocky Mountains to
allow flight, so they serve as a fairly effective border."

Dr's Lincoln Brower, Karen Oberhauser and Sonia Altizer
have also widely published the following map showing monarchs
in the USA are divided into 3 DIFFERENT populations, two of
which are separated by the Rocky Mountains :
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/cdnmh.jpg

And here is a monarch distribution map Karen Oberhauser
currently has on her website showing monarchs don't occur
in the Rocky Mountains:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/karen.jpg

Last week I decided to see what's going on in the Rocky
Mountains myself.  The Rocky Mountains reach their
maximum height and width in the state of Colorado as
you can see from this color relief map of the USA:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/usa.jpg

However, despite the height and girth of the Rocky Mountains
in Colorado, I found monarch caterpillars were common,
even at high elevation locations near the Continental
Divide. In only two days of searching I was able to find
caterpillars at 10 widely separated locations near the
Continental Divide in the southern half of the State (I did
not search northern Colorado). Here are the 10 locations:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/colof.jpg

And here are close up and landscape photos of the
monarch caterpillars I saw at all 10 locations:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Location #1: Cimarron, Colorado, elevation 6,910 feet:

Close up photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/coloh.jpg
Landscape photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/colog.jpg
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Location #2: 4 miles west of Sapinero, Colorado,
elevation 8,151 feet:

Close up photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/coloj.jpg
Landscape photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/coloi.jpg
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Location #3: Gunnison, Colorado, elevation 7,703 feet:

Close up photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/colol.jpg
Landscape photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/colok.jpg
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location #4: 1.8 miles east of  Maysville, Colorado,
elevation 8,205 feet:

Ultra close photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/colop.jpg
Close up photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/coloo.jpg
Landscape photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/colon.jpg
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Location #5:  Near intersection of Christy Ave. & 8th
Street in Saguache, Colorado, elevation: 7,695 feet

Ultra close photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/coloq.jpg
Semi-close up photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/color.jpg
Landscape photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/colos.jpg
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Location #6 2 miles north of Alamosa, Colorado along
Hwy 17, elevation: 7,539 feet:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/colot.jpg
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Location #7 1 miles east of Monte Vista, Colorado
along Hwy 160, elevation: 7,663 feet

Closeup photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/colov.jpg
Landscape photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/colou.jpg
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Location #8: Del Norte, Colorado along Hwy 160
elevation: 7,880 feet

Closeup photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/colox.jpg
Landscape photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/colow.jpg
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Location #9: 1 mile east of South Fork, Colorado along
Hwy 160, elevation: 8,180 feet:

Closeup photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/coloz.jpg
Landscape photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/coloy.jpg
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Location #10: 10 miles southwest of the Continental
Divide (Wolf Creek Pass) along Hwy 160 and exactly
one mile northeast of the Archchuleta County border
in Colorado, elevation 7,700 feet

Ultra closeup photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/colozc.jpg
Semi-closeup photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/colozb.jpg
Landscape photo:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/coloza.jpg
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I also checked the Rocky Mountains and Continental
Divide areas of New Mexico.  In New Mexico I found
monarchs breed RIGHT ON TOP of the Continental
Divide for almost the full length of the State:

Example of one location on the Continental Divide in
northwestern New Mexico (between Gallup and
Albuquerque) I visited:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/cdnmg.jpg

Landscape view of this location on top of the Continental
Divide where I saw several monarchs on Aug. 15, 2007:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/cdnma.jpg

Photo of two of the several monarchs I saw at this location:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/cdnmb.jpg

Close up view of these same two monarchs that positively
identify them as monarchs (not queen butterflies which
were also abundant on the Continental Divide)
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/cdnmc.jpg

Landscape view of another nearby spot just 1 mile to the east
where I saw three more monarchs that same day:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/cdnmd.jpg

Close up view of the female I saw laying eggs that positively
identifies the butterfly is a monarch
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/cdnme.jpg
And also demonstrates that Monarchs breed on top of
the Continental Divide.

Close up view of the male I saw that positively identifies
the butterfly is a monarch
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/cdnmf.jpg

Paul Cherubini
El Dorado, Calif.

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