The Monarchs are migrating!

The Monarchs are migrating!

Members of the Monarch Butterfly NZ Trust have been watching and waiting for the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) to begin its migration.

“And now we are very excited to receive five reports of clusters – Monarchs gathering in tall trees,” said Jacqui Knight, spokesperson for the Trust. “These have occurred just over the past few days, and in four different areas in NZ – Christchurch, Napier, Wanganui, New Plymouth and Whitford near Auckland.”

Trust members are tagging the Monarchs emerging from their pupae before they fly off. These Monarchs are in diapause –they will not mate over the winter, but at the end of five or six months, will mate and reproduce in the spring.”

She said that just as they do in North America, where the butterfly originated, they will gather together in colonies or clusters and then fly off to their chosen overwintering site.

“In 2005 we had many reports of clusters – large groups of Monarchs sunning themselves in tall trees, often on golf courses,” she said. “Last year we had very few sightings, and interestingly enough, for most New Zealanders, it seems to have been a poor season for Monarchs.”

Dr Peter Maddison, entomologist and President of Forest & Bird, investigated one of the key Monarch overwintering sites last winter, at Butterfly Bay, near Kaeo, and discovered that the butterflies do not favour the site any more.

“Historical data shows that thousands of Monarch butterflies used to overwinter there,” he said. “Last winter I saw six, There are various reasons why – and many of these can be addressed by New Zealanders who would like to help the butterfly.”

Over the past month, almost two thousand New Zealanders have logged on to the Trust’s website, www.mb.org.nz , and reported where butterflies are, or what pests are troubling them. Meanwhile, Trust members have tagged over 9,000 Monarchs so that their overwintering sites might be easier located.

“We are asking the public to watch out for these Monarchs in particular,” Jacqui added, “And – when they can – to record the tag number on our website. The more we learn about Monarch behaviour in NZ, the more we can do to protect our insect life, so critical to the environment.”

More information can be found on the website, www.monarch.org.nz or by email to trust@monarch.org.nz.

ENDS

© Scoop Media