The Monarch Sanctuary FB page shows them flying again! Such a miracle to endure all that and still survive! I am hoping their trip will be very easy and they won't have many problems, but I assume parts of Mexico might have little to no nectar available for the Monarchs (and other butterflies down there).
https://www.facebook.com/Santu...

Report from Mexico on impact of storms on Monarchs

http://mexiconewsdaily.com/new...

and from Texas Butterfly Ranch site

http://texasbutterflyranch.com...

Bittersweet!

Just be aware that some of the reporting is to put it less than diplomatically horse puckies. It will be another week or so til we have a feel by the experts (Drs. Brower & Taylor) as to how bad it really was.

"Gómez González said government representatives show up to have their photos taken and to justify their salaries, “yet in reality we receive nothing in the way of support. Proof of that is that we ourselves have reforested the areas [affected by logging].”

For government functionaries, he charged, “it’s pure bureaucracy.
- See more at: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/new...

Mr. Gonzolez is a high ranking official at the Rosario sanctuary in Michoacán.

Okay, just got my alma mater publication with an article about the Monarch & Milkweed program that I mentioned.
http://www.utsa.edu/sombrilla/...

New butterfly identified in Alaska: http://phys.org/news/2016-03-a...

How cool!

"Urban birds may be smarter than their country cousins, new study suggests"

https://www.washingtonpost.com...

Update on March storm in Mexico. Devastating losses up to 50 %. The original estimate for the over-wintering area was 4.01 hectares (compared to 1.13 hectares in 14/15).

Dr. Lincoln Brower, a very well respected Monarch researcher, has posted this to the Monarch Watch email list server.
~

Dear Monarch Watchers,

There has been a lot speculation and hopeful remarks about the extent of mortality caused by the 10-11 March 2016 storm in Mexico.

We (Lincoln Brower, Isabel Ramirez, PabloJaramillo, Ernest Williams and Daniel Slayback) have now obtained and analyzed temperature data from our measuring devices (A) out in the open and (B) beneath the Oyamel forest canopy on the Sierra Chincua. The temperature in the exposed area dropped to about -4.5 degrees centigrade. Under normal winter conditions, the forest would have acted as a blanket and kept the forest a few degrees above freezing. However, this storm was unique in our experience over the past 39 years: the wind blew very hard (over 60 miles per hour) and homogenized the temperature of the air both in the open and beneath the intact forest, obliterating the usual blanket effect. The storm also soaked the area with at least 2.85 inches of rain. We know from laboratory experiments that the lethal temperature for 50% of monarchs that have been wetted is between - 4 and -5 degrees centigrade. The data thus point to approximately 50% mortality. We are gathering more details and will report again as the facts are assembled.

Lincoln Brower

Lincoln - thank you so much for posting. I will interested to hear more from you.

I don't think Dr. Brower posts here. I'll keep ATP posted if I see any other useful information from "big guns" like him. There is very little information filtering out and much of it is horse puckies.

I think the Mexican government is worried about being blamed for the Monarch losses, so they're trying to make it seem like the Monarchs are okay! Not to imply that the weather is their fault...it isn't.

From one of our local Tampa stations. Cry me a river.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/n...

LindaTX8 said:I think the Mexican government is worried about being blamed for the Monarch losses, so they're trying to make it seem like the Monarchs are okay! Not to imply that the weather is their fault...it isn't.

The Mex Govt has turned a blind eye to the illegal logging for years and still do. They flew in for photo ops and did not even go out to the reserves and proclaimed the Monarchs were safe. Like any politician full of **** and liars.

I know a gentleman at one of the largest reserves where he is in the management and he told the above story. He also indicated that replacement trees were mostly paid for with their own local resources.

Grrrrrrr....

And yes - we know the flukey weather was not their fault. It was El Nino plain and simple.

Here's an article about the evening bat that I just posted pictures of on The thread "Bird photos - March 2016" in Gardening for Butterflies, Birds and Bees forum

Evening Bat ~
https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwil...

That is sad news about the Monarchs from Dr. Brower. Yes, please keep us posted, David, if you hear anything else from him!

News from Monarch Migration News today. http://www.learner.org/jnorth/...

I'm happy for the poor, tired, battered little folks who have made it to Texas, but my heart is still breaking for all those who didn't. . A Swamp Milkweed poked it's little head up a few days ago , so I'm ready for any who need a rest stop.

thanks for the link, Vicki--hope they rest up and lay lots of eggs while they're in Texas!!

Read about - and watch a video - of the trap-jaw spider in motion. Scientists still aren't sure how the spiders are able to move that fast, but they're studying it for future use in robotics! I love when we learn from nature. You know, instead of squishing it.

http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/se...

At least we're making progress! BUT...if it's wrong to sell neonics in 2021, it's also wrong to sell it now! Do they realize how much damage it could do in the meantime?
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/or...