[Pollinator] Monarch butterflies return in surprising numbers

Wed Nov 23 08:08:55 PST 2011

Monarch butterflies return in surprising numbers

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/22/DDCR1M167F.DTL

Mary Flaherty, Special to The Chronicle

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2011/11/22/DDCR1M167F.D
TL&o=0&type=printable> Monarch Butterflies clustered on Albany Hill in
Albany, C...
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2011/11/22/DDCR1M167F.D
TL&o=1&type=printable> Monarch Butterflies clustered on Albany Hill in
Albany, C...

Monarch butterfly naturalist Adrienne De Ponte had a surprise waiting for
her this fall when she arrived in the San Leandro grove where she's been
leading tours for 11 years.

After witnessing fewer and fewer butterflies appearing each autumn to
overwinter in the grove, this year she found 5,000 of the orange-and-black
butterflies clustered in the eucalyptus trees - up from 3,000 at their peak
last year. 

"It was the largest population of monarchs I've ever seen so early in the
season," said De Ponte. By Nov. 14 the number had grown to at least 8,000,
she said. "This is such an exciting year."

Same story at Point Pinole, where no clusters had been seen for about five
years, said Park Supervisor John Hitchens. 

"We had almost kind of given up," Hitchens said. Around Nov. 1, a cluster
appeared and is now several hundred strong, he estimated. 

It's happening all over California.

"We are getting reports of higher monarch numbers from almost everyone,"
said Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society, which monitors
80 to 90 monarch winter sites in California. But this is coming after a 90
percent drop in the Western monarch population between 1997 and 2010, he
said.

Although the annual Western monarch count doesn't take place until
Thanksgiving <http://www.sfgate.com/thanksgiving/>  weekend, the preliminary
numbers are causing, well, quite a flutter. In many locations, counters are
reporting two to four times more monarchs than last year. At Albany Hill,
where no one has seen more than 100 in five years, there were 1,400 Nov. 12
- and numbers everywhere aren't due to peak until early December.

Monarch butterflies are one of only two insects in the world that make a
true, annual migration. The population east of the Rockies migrates by the
millions to Mexico. (The Eastern population, which has also decreased, is
not seeing an increase so far this year.)

The smaller Western population funnels from west of the Rockies and as far
north as Canada to the California coast. The monarchs cluster in trees that
provide shelter from winter storms. On sunny days they flit from their
roosts with a shower of orange wings.

The monarchs start arriving in October. Those that survive winter weather
scatter around late January to repopulate inland regions. Three to four
generations of egg laying, caterpillar hatching and metamorphosis occur
during the year, with each generation spreading farther from the coast
before returning the next winter.

Fluctuations in insect populations are normal, but the enormous decrease in
monarchs indicated problems somewhere in the life cycle. Theories include
loss of milkweed - the only plant on which monarchs lay their eggs -
development, agriculture and drought. Other reasons could be loss and
deterioration of winter sites, and use of pesticides, both on farms and in
gardens.

It's hard to know what changed this year, say experts. One hypothesis, Black
and others say, is more rain last year. More rain means more and healthier
milkweed, and therefore, more habitat.

Temperature, combined with the rain, may also be a factor, says Laurie
Davies Adams, executive director of the Pollinator Partnership, in San
Francisco. This summer's lower temperatures were closer to those of decades
past, when monarch populations were higher, she said.

"But all these things are as speculative as the stock market
<http://finance.sfgate.com/hearst?Account=sfgate> ," she added. 

Another factor could be an increase in milkweed planting. The Xerces Society
facilitated planting 11,000 acres of pollinator plants - including milkweed
- in California over the past decade, Black said.

"I don't think there's evidence that we can take credit" for the monarch
increase, Black said. "But we hope that's been part of it."

Also, home gardeners seem more interested in cultivating what was once seen
as an eyesore, said Bobby Gendron, who has operated Butterfly Encounters, an
online seed business, for 15 years. 

"Last year was our best year as far as milkweed seed sales - and this year
we're on track to do about the same in sales," Gendron said. 

Black agrees that gardeners seem more open to milkweed, and adds, "The neat
thing about protecting monarchs is anybody can do it. You can provide
flowering plants, as well as pollinators, and avoid pesticides. You can do
something to help."

Attracting monarchs 

Experts recommend planting native varieties of milkweed. For more on that
issue see www.xerces.org. To find milkweed vendors, see
www.plantnative.org/nd_ca.htm. An app for finding pollinator plants in your
area, BeeSmart, is available at www.pollinator.org.

Where to see the butterflies 

If you go, be sure to bring along binoculars. Monarchs cluster 20 feet or
more off the ground.

Monarch Bay Golf Club, San Leandro: Naturalist-led walks at 1 p.m. Sat. ($12
adults; $5 children) and Dec. 18 ($12 adults only). 13800 Monarch Bay Drive.
Register at www.sanleandrorec.org. (510) 577-3462; for group tours, e-mail
sanleandrobutterflies at earthlink.net.

Ardenwood Historic Farm, Fremont: Naturalist-led walks starting at 1:30 p.m.
weekends beginning Dec. 10. Entry fee: $2 adults; $1 children. 34600
Ardenwood Blvd., Fremont. (510) 544-2797. www.ebparks.org/parks/ardenwood. 

Point Pinole, Richmond: No tours, but the butterfly location is marked. 5551
Giant Highway, Richmond. For directions see www.ebparks.org/parks/ptpinole.
(510) 237-6896.

Natural Bridges State Beach, Santa Cruz. Public walks weekends. $10 vehicle
fee. 2531 West Cliff Drive. (831) 423-4609.
www.thatsmypark.org/cp-parks-beaches/natural-bridges-state-park.

For more sites, see www.xerces.org/where-to-see-monarchs-in-california.

E-mail Mary Flaherty at datebookletters at sfchronicle.com.

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_______

Scott Hoffman Black

Executive Director

     The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Chair

     IUCN Butterfly Specialist Group

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

1971 - 2011: Forty Years of Conservation!

We have moved!

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Toll free: 1-855-232-6639 ext. 101

Cell: (503) 449-3792

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international
nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of
invertebrates and their habitat.

To join the Society, make a contribution, or read about our work, please
visit  <http://www.xerces.org> www.xerces.org.

NEW BOOK NOW AVAILABLE:

<http://www.xerces.org/announcing-the-publication-of-attracting-native-polli
nators/> Attracting Native Pollinators. Protecting North America's Bees and
Butterflies

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