Monarch and Relatives' Seasonal Distribution in Central Texas

X - Specimen Record - At least one specimen collected within the designated 10-day period.
V - Sight Record - At least one individual sighted within the designated 10-day period.
= - No Sight or Specimen Record within the designated 10-day period.

Data collected by Chris J. Durden between 1968 and 1990.

• Texas Fall Migration Map with Pathways and Peak Dates

Events

• Numerous monarch-related events are held annually across Texas each October

Photographs of Insects & Entomologists

• Danaid Photographs
• Insects on Milkweed 
• Monarch Researchers
• Insects with Milkweed Pollinaria

Milkweed Information - (Family Asclepiadaceae)

• Milkweeds of Texas - Mike Quinn 
• Texas Milkweed Photos - Harlen and Altus Aschen
• Milkweed Photo Guide - Monarch Watch
• Plants Profile - Asclepias - USDA

Propagation

• How to propagate Milkweed seeds (and cuttings) - Monarch Watch
• How to Get Texas Native Milkweed Seeds to Germinate - Advice from Native American Seed - Monika Maeckle
• Persnickety Texas Milkweeds "May not Lend Themselves to Mass Seed Production" - Monika Maeckle, 2013
• Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) Propagation Datasheet (PDF) - Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Texas Milkweeds and the Caterpillars that Feed on Them

Species most important to the Monarch shown in red

A Phylogeny of Apocynaceae sensu lato (Judd et al., 2002, page 451).

Seed & Plant Sources

• Directory of Texas suppliers of native plants and seeds - Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
• Finding Native Plants - Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT)
  
• Native American Seed - Junction, TX - 1 (800) 728-4043
• Wildseed Farms - Fredericksburg, TX - 1 (800) 848-0078
• Natives of Texas - White Milkweed  A. texana - Kerrville, TX - 1 (830) 896-2169

The following two sources may not have seeds native to Texas

• Butterfly Encounters - Danville, CA
• Milkweed Farm - Seed Catalog - Bluemont, VA 

How to propagate Milkweed seeds (and cuttings) - Monarch Watch

North America (North of Mexico)

Weather Maps

Palmer Drought Severity Index Map - Interpretation - NOAA

Other U.S. Weather Maps

Arkansas & Louisiana

• Arkansas Monarch Watch - Jim Edson - 1 (800) 844-1054
• Trans-Gulf Express - Gary Noel Ross - 1 (225) 927-8179

Mexico - Conservation - Discovery - News - Videos - Travel

Conservation

• How 10 Million Became 50 Million Monarchs - Journey North
• Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) Boundaries - 1986 & 2000 - Journey North
• Alternare - press - press - interview - Results and Training Center - Indigenous Community near Zitacuaro 
• A New Vision for the Monarch Butterfly - Presidente Vicente Fox - November 28, 2001
• Michoacan Reforestation Fund
• Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation
• U.S. F&WS, International Affairs - Wildlife Without Borders - Monarch Programs - Funding Summary 1995-2004
• An Informal Meeting to Discuss Issues and Options - Houston, TX - 16 June 1996
• Angangueo, Mexico 1973, 1986, 2000 - USGS

The Discovery

• Kenneth C. Brugger, Unlocked a Butterfly Mystery - NYTimes Obituary, 1998
  
• Urquhart, F. A. 1976. Found at last: the Monarch's winter home. National Geographic Magazine 150:160-173. (August)
• A Discovery Tale - Bill Calvert
• In Pursuit of a Little History - 1998 Monarch Watch Season Summary - see pages 24-25
• Brower, L.P. 1995. Understanding and misunderstanding the migration of the monarch butterfly, 1857-1995. J. Lep. Soc. 49:304-385
• Bianca Lavies. 1992. Monarch Butterflies: Mysterious Travelers. Dutton Children's Books, New York. 28 pp. (out of print)

News & Information

• How Many Millions of Monarchs in Mexico? - Population estimates showing winter mortality - Journey North

• Google Map of Monarch Biosphere Reserve Boundaries - Mike Quinn 

• Percentage of monarchs in each overwintering colony 2008-09 - Journey North 

• Living in the Shadow of a Million Butterflies - Lourdes Garcia-Navarro - NPR - February 4, 2005 

• Overview of Monarch Overwintering Biology - Michelle J. Solensky. 2005.

• Monarch Watch Updates on illegal logging May 2004 - June 2004 - July 2004 

• Illegal Logging and its Impact in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve - WWF Mexico Program - May 2004
• Single Storm Kills Over 75% of Eastern North America’s Migratory Monarchs - January 2002 - Journey North
• Correo Real - Tracking the Monarch Migration Through Northern Mexico - Rocío Treviño
• Flight of the Monarchs - Alex Shoumatoff, 1999
  
• Information on getting there? Go to the Travel section, this page

Graphs

• Precipitation in the Monarch Overwintering Sites in Mexico - Journey North
• Average Low Temperatures of the Monarch Overwintering Sites in Mexico - Journey North
• Monarch Lipid Mass by Month - Journey North

Photos & Videos

• Fine dust is kicked up by natives, tourists, and their horses - Journey North
• Angangueo Skyline - Journey North
• Video Visit to the Sanctuaries - Journey North
• Domestic Uses of Wood in the Monarch Sanctuary Region - Journey North
• Life in the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Region of Mexico - Journey North
• Sierra Chincua - Photos by Mike Quinn, 2004
• El Rosario - Photos by Mike Quinn, 2004

Travel - Current Weather forecast for Angangueo - Yahoo! Weather

Wide range of information on getting to the overwintering colonies - posted to Monarch Watch Forums

Other Migratory Insects of Texas and North America

• Odonata / Orthoptera / Hemiptera / Homoptera / Coleoptera
• Lepidoptera: Black Witch Moth, Owl Moth, Urania Moth, American Snout

Books, Papers and Bibliographies

    Books - Popular

• Milkweed, Monarchs and More
  Ba Rea, Karen Oberhauser and Michael A. Quinn. 2003. Bas Relief Publishing Group
  
  
• Four Wings and a Prayer: Caught in the Mystery of the Monarch Butterfly
  Sue Halpern. 2001. Random House
  
  
• Milkweed
  Millicent E. Selsam. 1967. William Morrow and Co. (out of print)
  
  
• The Milkweed and Its World of Animals 
  Frank & Ada Graham, photos. by Les Line. 1976. 
  Doubleday & Co., Garden City, NY. 103 pp. (out of print)
  
  
• Monarch Butterfly International Traveler
  Fred A. Urquhart. 1998. Caxton (out of print)
  
  
• Monarchs
  Kathryn Lasky. 1993. Harcourt Brace & Co.
  
  
• Chasing Monarchs
  Robert Michael Pyle. 1999. Houghton Mifflin Company

    Books - Technical

• The Monarch Butterfly: Biology and Conservation
  Karen S. Oberhauser & Michelle J. Solensky (Editors). 2004. 
  Cornell University Press, Ithaca. 256 pp.
  
  
• Biology and Conservation of the Monarch Butterfly
  Stephen B. Malcolm, Myron P. Zalucki, 1993.
  Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. 419 pages
  
  
• Milkweed Butterflies: Their Cladistics and Biology
  P.R. Ackery & R.I. Vane-Wright. 1984. Cornell, Ithaca (out of print)

    Articles - Popular

• Alex Shoumatoff. 1999. Flight of the Monarchs. Vanity Fair. November, pp. 268-272.

    Articles - Scientific

• Milkweed loss in agricultural fields because of herbicide use: effect on the monarch butterfly population - John M. Pleasants and Karen S. Oberhauser, 2012
• Reduction in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) occurrence in Iowa cropland from 1999 to 2009 - Robert G. Hartzler. 2010
• The fall migration flyways of monarch butterflies in eastern North America revealed by citizen scientists - Elizabeth Howard, Andrew K. Davis, 2008
  
• Reduced numbers of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico during the 2004-2005 season: evidence, possible causes and recommendations - WWF-Mexico Report, 2005
• Characteristics of Fall Migratory Monarch Butterflies, Danaus plexippus, in Minnesota and Texas - Borland, et al. 2004. 
• Temporal and spatial overlap between monarch larvae and corn pollen - Oberhauser, et al. 2001. [PDF]
• Impact of Bt corn pollen on monarch butterfly populations: A risk assessment - Sears, et al. 2001.  [PDF]
• Occurrence of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) in cropland and adjacent areas in Iowa - Hartzler & Buhler. 2000. 
• Transgenic pollen harms monarch larvae - Losey, et al. 1999
• Natal origins of migratory monarch butterflies at wintering colonies in Mexico: new isotopic evidence - Wassenaar & Hobson 1998.
• Conquering soldiers: the successful invasion of Florida by Danaus eresimus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) [Figs 4-7] [Figs 8-12] (PDF) - John Calhoun
• Understanding and misunderstanding the migration of the monarch butterfly (Nymphalidae) in North America: 1857-1995 - Brower, 1995. 
• Diversity and temporal change in the effective pollinators of Asclepias tuberosa - Fishbein & Venable. 1996 
• Survey of Coleoptera Collected on the Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, at One Site in Ohio - Patrick Dailey (PDF)
• Survey of Hemiptera Collected on Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, at One Site in Ohio - Patrick Dailey (PDF)
• The North American species of Asclepias L. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden - Woodson, 1954. 

    Bibliographies of Scientific Papers

• Compilation of  Monarch papers by Bill Calvert - Bill Calvert 
• ASCLEPOL - a compilation of pollinator records for the family Asclepiadaceae - Ollerton & Liede, 1997
• Bibliography of Milkweed (Asclepias spp.) - Todd DeGooyer, 1996
  
• Scientific Bibliography - Almost 1000 of the most important Monarch papers - Monarch Watch
• Bibliography of North American Insect Migration  

02 May 2013 ©  Mike Quinn / entomike@gmail.com / Texas Entomology