Looking back at 2016, monarch butterflies reigned supreme--or at least they did in this Bug Squad blog!
Finding--and photographing--a tagged monarch butterfly (monarch@wsu.edu A6083) in our pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif. on Labor Day, Sept. 5, highlighted the year. The migratory butterfly, a male, was part of a research project led by Washington State University entomologist David James, who maintains a network of Pacific Northwest citizen scientists who rear, tag and release monarchs (Danaus plexippus).
Turns out that Steve Johnson of Ashland, Ore., a member of the Southern Oregon Monarchs Advocates (SOMA), reared A6083. Johnson tagged and released the monarch in Ashland on Aug. 28, which means "that it flew 285 miles in 7 days or about 40.7 miles per day" to reach Vacaville on Sept. 5, James related.
Amazing! Amazing and serendipitous for several reasons: (1) I'd written a piece about James' research in October 2014, alerting readers to watch for tagged monarchs (and never expecting to see or photograph a WSU-tagged butterfly in our own backyard) (2) WSU is my alma mater, and (3) our family rears monarchs as a small-scale conservation project to help the declining monarch population.
Our pollinator garden caters to bees and butterflies. For the monarchs, we provide four species of milkweed, ranging from narrow-leaf to broadleaf, and grow such nectar-producing plants as Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) to butterfly bush (Buddleia), and Lantana.
This year our monarch-rearing season proved quite lengthy; it crept into winter. Monarchs continued to lay their eggs throughout November, with chrysalids forming in December. Today the reared-and-released tally is 62 and counting...counting because No. 63 eclosed Dec. 29 and has not yet been released, and No. 64 is still a chrysalis.
"Monarch Moms" and "Monarch Dads" and "Monarch Kids" differ in their rearing activities, but the concept is the same: protect them from predators and parasites. Otherwise about 97 percent of the eggs never complete the cycle of egg, caterpillar, and chrysalis to adult. We rear our caterpillars indoors in a zippered, meshed butterfly habitat (purchased from the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis), but some laundry bags will suffice. We fill a heavy, flat-bottomed, narrow-necked tequila bottle with water and just add milkweed and 'cats. There they munch on milkweed, pupate, and eclose. The best part of rearing monarchs? Releasing them. The lift-off, the flutter of wings, and it's time to be a butterfly.
A look back at the WSU traveler and a view of the monarch life cycle that unfolded in our pollinator garden:
Attached Images:
![This tagged butterfly, part of WSU entomologist David James' migratory research project, flew from Ashland, Ore. on Aug. 28 to Vacaville, Calif. on Sept. 5, or a distance of 285 miles in seven days, or about 40.7 miles a day. It was reared and tagged by Steve Johnson of Ashland and was on its way to an overwintering site along coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) This tagged butterfly, part of WSU entomologist David James' migratory research project, flew from Ashland, Ore. on Aug. 28 to Vacaville, Calif. on Sept. 5, or a distance of 285 miles in seven days, or about 40.7 miles a day. It was reared and tagged by Steve Johnson of Ashland and was on its way to an overwintering site along coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/40901.jpg)
This tagged butterfly, part of WSU entomologist David James' migratory research project, flew from Ashland, Ore. on Aug. 28 to Vacaville, Calif. on Sept. 5, or a distance of 285 miles in seven days, or about 40.7 miles a day. It was reared and tagged by Steve Johnson of Ashland and was on its way to an overwintering site along coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
![A monarch butterfly laying an egg. Monarchs lay their eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves, their host plant. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A monarch butterfly laying an egg. Monarchs lay their eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves, their host plant. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/40905.jpg)
A monarch butterfly laying an egg. Monarchs lay their eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves, their host plant. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
![A tiny monarch egg. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A tiny monarch egg. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/40906.jpg)
A tiny monarch egg. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
![A monarch caterpillar munching away on showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A monarch caterpillar munching away on showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/40907.jpg)
A monarch caterpillar munching away on showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
![The jade-green chrysalids, rimmed in gold, look like precious jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) The jade-green chrysalids, rimmed in gold, look like precious jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/40908.jpg)
The jade-green chrysalids, rimmed in gold, look like precious jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
![A newly eclosed monarch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A newly eclosed monarch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/40909.jpg)
A newly eclosed monarch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
![Its wings dried, a newly eclosed monarch is ready for release. This one decided to linger. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Its wings dried, a newly eclosed monarch is ready for release. This one decided to linger. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/40910.jpg)
Its wings dried, a newly eclosed monarch is ready for release. This one decided to linger. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
![Monarch nectaring on milkweed blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Monarch nectaring on milkweed blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/40911.jpg)
Monarch nectaring on milkweed blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
![A male monarch spreads its wings on Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A male monarch spreads its wings on Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/40912.jpg)
A male monarch spreads its wings on Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)