Monarch Conservation

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http://www.kentucky.com/2014/09/19/3437729/waystations-help-monarch-butterflies.html

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/outdoors/29974777-452/family-documents-step-by-step-development-of-monarch-butterfly.html#.VCAyaUxOkuo

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/gardening/article/Monarch-butterflies-depend-on-the-milkweed-to-5767077.php

http://m.thestar.com/#/article/news/insight/2014/09/21/wild_in_the_city_monarch_butterflies_on_the_move_across_toronto_waterfront.html

http://www.abc-7.com/story/26560574/honey-bee-shortage-threatens-natures-balance

http://m.thestar.com/#/article/news/gta/2014/09/17/beekeepers_feeling_the_sting_of_honey_bee_losses.html

A&M researchers, scientists push for monarch conservation | thebatt A&M researchers, scientists push for monarch conservation Spring population expected to rise despite habitat loss By Danielle Docherty On September 3, 2014 photo by Jonathan Sheen Craig Wilson, A&M researcher, said the monarch migration is in critical need of restored habitat.   It is a biannual phenomenon at risk of disappearing all together, but monarch butterflies are again poised to pass through Texas on a 3,000-mile journey from Canada to their wintering grounds in Mexico.  A recent University of Guelph study said 90 percent of monarch habitat has been destroyed, prompting many in the scientific community to seek government action. Although evidence from the spring migration points to a slight population increase, the monarch’s numbers remain dangerously low and many researchers are concerned with the migration’s survival. “We’re at risk of losing a symbolic backyard beauty that has been par...

Sun Current | From egg to butterfly The kids living around Marion McNurlen’s Morningside home love to set free the monarch butterflies raised by McNurlen. Marion McNurlen holds the mesh lid where caterpillars have turned into the chrysalides that will eventually produce monarch butterflies. McNurlen finds the eggs on milkweed leaves, keeping them in her home until they turn into butterflies and are set free by the neighborhood children. (Sun Current staff photo by Lisa Kaczke) Her 2-year-old granddaughter watches the egg become a caterpillar that turns into a chrysalis before letting the adult butterfly go in her grandmother’s yard. It’s about teaching children so they’re interested and raising children who will be advocates for critters, McNurlen said. McNurlen has let 60 monarch butterflies go over the past several years that she found as eggs and raised to butterflies in her home. Her love of monarch butterflies has turned a lot of friends on to raising them as well. This has been...

A flower fit for a monarch A flower fit for a monarch Waterloo Region Record By   Editorial A weed is merely a plant that grows where it is unwanted. In the eyes of many farmers, according to conventional wisdom and until recently Ontario law, the common milkweed is what its name says it is — a weed, an enemy fit only to be destroyed. But in the tiny eyes of the monarch butterfly, the milkweed is life. Adults drink nectar from its fragrant flowers. Females lay their eggs on the undersides of its leaves. And as for the caterpillars that will become the next generation of monarchs, the milkweed leaves are its sole source of nourishment. No milkweed, no butterfly. Sadly, this scenario has been playing itself out in southern Ontario where, as both rural and urban communities waged war on the milkweed, the sight of the monarch, with its blazing orange wings, fluttering through the air has grown increasingly uncommon. These are remarkable creatures who each year, and over the course o...

Monarch butterflies get a little TLC at Kings County couple’s home | The Chronicle Herald BROOKLYN CORNER — A monarch maternity ward, complete with milkweed feeding stations, is in full swing in tiny Brooklyn Corner, Kings County. Larry and Alison Bogan have been operating a monarch butterfly sanctuary in their basement for the past eight years, nursing the brightly coloured insects to life, tagging some and releasing them into the wild. “We started finding caterpillars in a patch of milkweed plants in 2006 when we let the field go to wildflowers,” Larry Bogan said during a brief tour of his home and surrounding land Friday. “The milkweed spreads by the root and kind of took over the field. The monarchs just know there’s milkweed here and they come.” So begins the interesting life cycle of the monarch. In the spring and summer months, eggs are laid on the leaves of the milkweed plant. These eggs hatch after four days, producing larvae (caterpillars) that feed on the leaves for about ...

Family’s fancy fields monarch butterfly fleet - Toledo Blade Susan Garn picked up a monarch butterfly that had just emerged from its chrysalis Wednesday but couldn’t quite fly yet. She held it up in the palm of her hands and let it float away. Susan Garn stands near the milkweed plants that the monarch caterpillars feed on at her Perrysburg home. THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT Enlarge  |  Buy This Photo Motherly love is exactly what she gave 158 monarch butterflies that went through the Garn family protection service from egg to monarch. After tending to zero monarchs last summer because of freezing temperatures in Mexico, Mrs. Garn was worried this year would be the same. Then came late June when she found the first ones in the front shrubs. A newly hatched Monarch butterfly dries its wings after exiting its chrysalis at the Garn home in Perrysburg. THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT Enlarge  |  Buy This Photo “Grant, Grant,” she shouted to her husband before marking her calendar an...

Bringing a Sense of Wonder to the Classroom With Butterflies T he Monarch Teacher Network recently held a two day workshop in Meaford. Teachers from several Ontario school boards gathered at St Vincent Euphrasia Elementary to learn all about the Monarch Butterfly, a spectacular species at risk pollinator, and how to bring a sense of wonder into their classroom this September. With support from the Toronto Region Conservation Authority and the TD Friends of the Environment, the Monarch Teachers Network volunteers brought together the story of the Monarch and education. Participants learned about the life cycle, the scientific history of the search for Monarch over wintering sites and the proper techniques for rearing Monarchs through out their life cycle. Monarch Teacher Network was able to provide participants with the opportunity to tag Monarchs (with small specially developed stickers that have a specific identification number on them) which will allow the butterfly to be tracked t...

Annual count starts for declining monarch populations — NewsWorks Cape May's annual Monarch Monitoring Project kicks off this week amid calls for the federal government to protect the iconic black-and-orange butterflies. For the next two months, volunteers will count the butterflies making their southbound migration from Canada to Mexico as they pass over Cape May Point. This year, the numbers they collect may be more timely than ever as conservation groups try to land the butterfly on the threatened species list of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Sarina Jepsen is from the Xerces Society, one of the three conservation groups petitioning the federal government for protected status. "There are numerous local monitoring projects and all are incredibly important," Jepsen said. "It's very challenging to monitor a broadly distributed species that covers so much of the landscape, so the more people that are involved the better we can compare those different counts t...

If you raise Monarchs then you need to become familiar with something called 'Oe.' Oe is the shortened version of Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, a protozoan parasite that infects the Monarch (and Queen butterfly) world-wide. http://www.learnaboutmonarchs.com/learnaboutoespore.html

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http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/life/2014/08/29/monarch-butterfly-decline-roundup-herbicide/14832497/

http://monarchbutterflygarden.net/common-monarch-diseases-prevention/

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/monikamaeckle/2014/08/monarch-butterflies-heading-our-way-in-promising-rebound-season/

http://www.dailynews.com/lifestyle/20140828/monarch-butterflies-strike-a-chord-with-readers

http://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/local/2014/08/30/monarch-butterfly-counts-continue-plummet-iowa/14854637/

http://eatlocalgrown.com/article/13424-how-to-protect-bees-in-your-community.html

News  >  ReWild  >  Invertebrates  > Groups Want Monarch Butterfly Declared A Threatened Species  In a move that would have been nearly incomprehensible 20 years ago, environmental groups are asking the federal government to grant Endangered Species Act protection to a popular butterfly that was once one of North America's most common large insects. In a  petition   filed Tuesday with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, three conservation organizations and a leading lepidopterist are asking USFWS to declare the monarch butterfly a threatened species. The petition is prompted by a staggering drop in monarch numbers over the last two decades; current estimates put that drop at 90 percent in the last 20 years. The groups cite a rise in use of the herbicide Roundup as a key factor in the monarchs' decline. Farmers using the herbicide have wiped out much of monarch's supply of milkweed plants across the continent; monarchs ...

Larry Bogan is saving the monarch butterfly one at a time The retired Acadia University physicist and long time naturalist is trying to boost the Monarch population CBC News Posted: Aug 25, 2014 6:14 PM AT Last Updated: Aug 25, 2014 6:14 PM AT Source...  A Nova Scotia man is doing what he can to save the monarch butterfly, including raising the insects in his home in the Annapolis Valley. Larry Bogan is a retired Acadia University physicist and long time naturalist who committed himself to boosting the monarch population. “They’re a marvellous phenomena,” he says. “They're fun to watch.”  Bogan has gone as far as to allow his fields to be taken over by milkweed. Normally it’s a nuisance weed hated by farmers, but loved by the monarch butterfly. “It helps the population of the monarchs, which are very low now,” he says. That population deficit is in part because there is too little milkweed in the United States and Canada. That, in turn, stymies a migration that tak...

The first global analysis of genome variation in honeybees has been revealed by scientists. The findings show a surprisingly high level of genetic diversity in honeybees, and indicate that the species most probably originates from Asia, and not from Africa as previously thought. The honeybee (Apis mellifera) is of crucial importance for humanity. One third of our food is dependent on the pollination of fruits, nuts and vegetables by bees and other insects. Extensive losses of honeybee colonies in recent years are a major cause for concern. View the Original article

Honeybee colonies are dying at alarming rates worldwide. A variety of factors have been proposed to explain their decline, but the exact cause -- and how bees can be saved -- remains unclear. A new article examines the viral landscape in honeybee colonies in New Zealand after the recent arrival of the parasitic Varroa destructor mite. View the Original article

Where are the monarch butterflies? De la Tierra Source Steve Tapia is a retired wildlife biologist who worked 23 years with the U.S. Forest Service and four years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Posted: Monday, August 25, 2014 12:15 am This familiar butterfly is one of the most beautiful of living creatures in the opinion of Marian W. Marcher, author of “Monarch Butterfly,” a book I found in special collections section at the Taos Public Library. Every summer it is a real treat to happen upon one of these “flittering art masterpieces,” but you don’t see them very often anymore, if at all. So what is the story with monarchs? A couple of “big picture” reasons for this. First, New Mexico is still in a long-term drought. Yes, it seems that we regularly get a summer rainstorm, and that helps, but according to the National Weather Service, New Mexico is well below the 100-year average for moisture, and monarch butterflies are very moisture-dependent, more so than other critters...

Monarch butterflies released in Deer Lake Western Star On Saturday, 200 monarch butterflies were released at the Deer Lake gazebo to remember and honour loved ones. "Butterfly Blessings" is a fundraising initiative started last year in memory of Victoria Legge and as grown to become a community event. View the Original article

This was a great weekend for monarchs. I saw more today than I saw in the last few years combined. I even had one lay eggs on the milkweed in the yard. It's good to know that so many people are on board to help. I've been giving away seed for many years but this year I had so many requests that I had to purchase more. I'm happy and hopeful that the migration numbers will increase from last year's count. There's still the climate threat but hopefully mother nature will spare in cold weather conditions.  Join us at: http://monarchconservation.yooco.org

Climate Change Coalition To Host Presentation on Monarch Butterflies DoorCountyDailyNews.com The Door County Climate Change Coalition's monthly presentation September 3rd will explore the impacts of global climate change on the monarch butterfly . University of Minnesota professor Karen Oberhauser will give the presentation about monarch ... View the Original article

How A Female Monarch Can Prevent Mating (Creighto…: http://youtu.be/ElTrmnuVH2M

YMCA campers learn to conserve Monarch butterflies Devin Bartolotta Aug 22, 2014 9:06 p.m.    ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) - Monarch butterfly populations have been in trouble in recent years as their habitats have been destroyed by commercialization. This summer, campers at the Rochester YMCA are learning about butterflies and how they can make sure the insects are still around when they are grown ups. "You have to extend the proboscis onto the cotton ball, and if it drinks, it drinks," said camper Veronika Voss. Class is in session at the Rochester YMCA. "The kids are picking up really well with the butterflies, and the scientific processes that go into them," said camp director Patrick Franko. The kids are getting hands-on experience feeding the butterflies and making sure they're well taken care of. "This is keeping the education alive in the summer and emphasizing and encouraging their curiosity," said Monarch butterfly instructor De Cansl...

http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/technology/monarch-butterfly-decline-linked-to-spread-of-gm-crops-1.2665131

http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/canada/windsor/monarch-butterfly-population-set-to-rise-this-year-1.2744262

Life is not scripted, nor is it planned. How you live your life and what you do for other people is determined by the events and people who influence your decisions. I found at a young age that I had a love and appreciation for nature. Something about it drew me in. As I grew older I realized how much the world around me was in turmoil and constant change, yet nature did its thing like it always does, to the beat of its own drum. The only changes were reflections of outside influences. Some influences good and some bad. As I grew older I began to take notice of subtle changes in the world I lived in and began to worry how far we could tip the scales before we destroyed everything around us. Corporations had become so large that that they were no longer accountable for their actions. They controlled the powers that were designed to control them. In the last five years the effects of manmade chemicals and genetic modification of produce have slowly but efficiently taken their toll on ...

Scientists have combined cookies, citizen science and robust research methods to track the diversity of ant species across the United States, and are now collaborating with international partners to get a global perspective on how ants are moving and surviving in the modern world. The School of Ants project was developed to help researchers get a handle on the diversity of ant species across the United States. View the Original article

A new study that involved fitting bumblebees with tiny radio frequency tags shows long-term exposure to a neonicotinoid pesticide hampers bees' ability to forage for pollen. The study shows how long-term pesticide exposure affects individual bees' day-to-day behavior, including pollen collection and which flowers worker bees chose to visit. View the Original article

The spread of damaging invasive forest pests is only partially powered by the insects' own wings. People moving firewood for camping can hasten and widen the insects' spread and resulting forest destruction. A new study gives state planners a tool for anticipating the most likely route of human-assisted spread they can use to enhance survey and public education efforts. View the Original article

The level of sensitivity of bees to the adverse effects of pesticides varies as a function of environmental conditions, research shows. Scientists observed that a neonicotinoid insecticide disturbed their ability to find their bearings, particularly in a complex landscape and under unfavorable weather conditions. View the Original article

The yellow crazy ant Anoplolepis gracilipes is ranked amongst the top 100 worst global invasive species and is responsible for catastrophic ecological impacts on islands. A new study examines and assesses the effects and dangers of the introduction of the yellow crazy ant to the unique and often endemic ecosystems of the mature palm forest of the Vallée de Mai, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on the Seychelles. View the Original article

Mosquitoes infected with the bacteria Wolbachia are more likely to become infected with West Nile virus and more likely to transmit the virus to humans, according to a team of researchers. "This is the first study to demonstrate that Wolbachia can enhance a human pathogen in a mosquito," one researcher said. "The results suggest that caution should be used when releasing Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes into nature to control vector-borne diseases of humans." View the Original article

Researchers examine survival rates for healthy mosquitoes and those carrying West Nile virus, under varying environments. The results were complicated, but intriguing. "Our results indicate that interactions between mosquitoes and arboviruses are really complex … these things that haven't really been taken into account previously might make a difference," said the lead author. View the Original article

Using spider toxins to study the proteins that let nerve cells send out electrical signals, researchers say they have stumbled upon a biological tactic that may offer a new way to protect crops from insect plagues in a safe and environmentally responsible way. View the Original article

Bees born in the local area manage better than bees imported from elsewhere, a study has shown. "Many beekeepers believe that it is best to buy queens from outside instead of using the queens they have in their own beehives. However, there is increasing evidence that the global honey bee trade has detrimental effects, including the spread of new diseases and pests," says one expert. View the Original article

A new company, created by scientists, uses a very unique approach to control a common pest that can carry dangerous diseases: using male mosquitoes to effectively sterilize females through a naturally occurring bacterium. "Most mosquito control companies use chemical pesticides which are sprayed out of trucks and planes, or maybe out of a backpack sprayer," one of the scientists said. "By using a natural bacterium called Wolbachia and the mosquitoes' innate ability to find mates, we are applying an approach which does not require chemicals." View the Original article

Anyone who has squashed a stink bug knows why they got their name. Although just a nuisance to homeowners, the insects feed on and damage fruits and vegetables, causing significant economic losses for farmers. Now scientists have discovered certain stink bug pheromone components and made them artificially in the lab for the first time, and these substances can be used to monitor and manage their populations. View the Original article

A 25-year-long study provides the first quantitative measurement of in situ calcium-magnesium silicate mineral dissolution by ants, termites, tree roots, and bare ground. This study reveals that ants are one of the most powerful biological agents of mineral decay yet observed. It may be that an understanding of the geobiology of ant-mineral interactions might offer a line of research on how to "geoengineer" accelerated carbon dioxide consumption by Ca-Mg silicates. View the Original article

A professor of biology has lent his expertise in understanding insect movement to help shape a UN-sanctioned eradication effort of the tsetse fly -- a creature that passes the fatal African sleeping sickness to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. The tsetse fly is the main vector for Human African Trypanosomiasis (aka sleeping sickness), and spreads the disease by biting humans or animals. The disease affects the central nervous system and is fatal if untreated. For some forms of the disease, victims can reach the terminal stage before symptoms even start to show. View the Original article

An entomologist has found that an insecticide company can use smaller amount of chemical to treat bedbug infestations, which have been increasing in the United States. View the Original article

Many beekeepers feed their honey bees sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup when times are lean inside the hive. This practice has come under scrutiny, however, in response to colony collapse disorder, the massive -- and as yet not fully explained -- annual die-off of honey bees in the U.S. and Europe. Some suspect that inadequate nutrition plays a role in honey bee declines. Scientists took a broad look at changes in gene activity in response to diet in the Western honey bee, and found significant differences occur depending on what the bees eat. View the Original article

The fly can pinpoint the location of a chirping cricket with remarkable accuracy because of its freakishly acute hearing, which relies upon a sophisticated sound processing mechanism that really sets it apart from all other known insects. Researchers have now developed a tiny prototype device that mimics the parasitic fly’s hearing mechanism, which may be useful for a new generation of hypersensitive hearing aids. View the Original article

The bats use the way the sun's light is scattered in the atmosphere at sunset to calibrate their internal magnetic compass, which helps them to fly in the right direction, a new study has shown. View the Original article

Scientists attached radio-frequency identification tags to hundreds of individual honey bees and tracked them for several weeks. The effort yielded two discoveries: Some foraging bees are much busier than others; and if those busy bees disappear, others will take their place. View the Original article

A leading researcher in chikungunya virus says many more people are at risk of getting infected now that mosquitoes in the U.S. are carrying the virus. At least 243 travel-related cases of chikungunya have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 31 states, with the number expected to grow. The first case acquired in the United States was reported in Florida, seven months after the mosquito-borne virus was recognized in the Western Hemisphere. View the Original article

The Leishmania parasite, which causes the human disease leishmaniasis, acts as a probiotic in the insect that transmits it to humans, protecting them from bacterial disease, research shows. Around 12 million people are currently infected with Leishmaniasis worldwide, mostly in South America, Africa and Asia. It is estimated to kill 20-50,000 people per year. Sandflies transmit the parasite by feeding on an infected mammal and, if they survive long enough, feeding on another mammal, and passing the parasite on to them. View the Original article

Non-biting blow fly Chrysomya megacephala is commonly found in dead bodies and is used in forensic investigations to determine the time of death, referred to as the post mortem interval. A report of synanthropic derived form of C. megacephala from Tamil Nadu is provided for the first time based on morphological features and molecular characterization through generation of DNA barcoding. View the Original article