A disturbing trend has developed over the past decade that features inconclusive monarch science given a sensationalist spin by irresponsible media resources attempting to increase readership with chicken-little clickbait 😱 In the latest sky-is-falling chapter from flawed monarch research, it appears our hand-raised mo
As the seasons change from summer to fall to winter, animals living in more northern climates have three options: migrate, hibernate or bulk up! One of the most amazing migrations is that of the monarch butterfly. This post contains affiliate links, please see disclosures for more information. image: Kenneth Dwain Harrelson [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons Monarchs are the only butterflies to make a round-trip migration, similar to a bird. Other types of butterflies overwinter as either larva or pupa. Since adult butterflies depend on flowers for nectar they can't find food in areas where snow and ice are the norm. In order to travel long distances (sometimes up to 3,000 miles!) they take advantage of warm pockets of air called thermals, and air currents. Each day they travel 5-100 miles until they reach their winter resting ground. The monarchs that I see flitting about in the Northeastern part of the U.S. will head to Mexico, while those in the Northwestern part of the country spend their winter in California. image: USDA Forest Service If you're studying monarch butterflies or migration in your school or homeschool there are activities that can be done with all ages. Citizen science projects are wonderful for older students, while younger students enjoy learning about life cycles and the concept of migration. Here are some ideas for learning about monarch butterflies at each age level. Early Childhood Role play the life cycle of a butterfly. Have students curl up in a ball to be an egg, then hatch and stretch and inch along like a caterpillar. Then they'll find a cozy spot and stay still for a bit while they are a pupae. Finally they are ready to climb out of their chrysalis and flap their wings as a butterfly. One of my favorite books to accompany this activity is Lois Ehlert's Waiting for Wings. If it is spring, you can watch a butterfly life cycle right in the classroom. With a live butterfly kit, or possibly with butterflies from your local butterfly conservatory, raise butterflies from eggs, then have a release party when you have adults. Read a story and then show on a globe or map where the butterflies migrate to. Developmentally, maps are a little tricky for Early Childhood, but you will at least be conveying the message that they go from one place to another during migration. One of my favorite monarch migration picture books to read to little ones is Gotta Go, Gotta Go by Sam Swope. The rhyming text and adorable pictures are perfect for a read-aloud. Elementary Watch and learn about monarch life cycles with the Kratt Brothers with this lesson plan and video from Wild Kratts on PBS. These resources are available through PBS LearningMedia, which I highly recommend exploring. There are tons of great resources and short video clips to hook students before you delve into your hands-on lessons. Read Hurry and the Monarch a cute tale of a monarch's life cycle through migration, with lovely illustrations. Explore the migration maps at the Monarch Watch site. Go out and observe monarch butterflies and report your sitings too! Plan and research a butterfly garden. In the spring plant some butterfly friendly plants. Find ideas here. Build and observe a butterfly feeder. Directions here. Middle and High School Participate in some citizen science by reporting observations and analyzing migration data of many species including monarchs at the Journey North site. Get a monarch tagging kit here. Tag butterflies and monitor monarch migration through Monarch Watch. Track animal migrations on Movebank, then try some of the science projects you can do with this data at Science Buddies. image: William Warby [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons If you are interested in more migration activities, check out my post, "See it? Share it! Bird Migration". For other citizen science opportunities involving insects, read "Insect Investigations: Summertime Citizen Science". Think monarchs are beautiful? I do! Find a great photo and links to monarch photography at the Growing With Science Blog. Like these ideas? Don't miss another post, sign up to receive an e-mail each time one comes out! No spam, just fun science! Enter your email address: Delivered by FeedBurner
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Fun science, STEM and STEAM activities, lessons and ideas for kids, teachers and parents.
Multinational Coalition
CEDAR RAPIDS – Two local researchers are cranking out thousands of monarch butterflies this summer as they develop husbandry techniques …
The butterflies’ path, which stretches thousands of miles, is endangered by an array of challenges, including changes in climate and pesticides
Every year around this time we head outdoors for a special treat - the monarch butterfly! Click on over to learn about monarchs!
photo credit: science daily Integrate technology with Project Based Learning, by tracking wildlife migration with Journey North ! (trac...
Last summer, some friends were visiting my butterfly garden. A third-grader was with them and he had many questions. The big question came when I said that butterflies go through
Obstacles are a part of life everyone encounters them. They may come in the form of financial reverses, family problems, spiritual challenges, or physical ailments. But one thing is certain…
Twenty years after the signing of NAFTA with its environmental accords to protect migratory species, the Monarch migration, the symbol of the three countries’ trilateral cooperation is at serious risk of disappearing. The number of Monarch butterflies wintering in Mexico has plunged this year to its lowest level since studies began in 1993, just 56 percent of last year’s total, which was itself a record low. A recently released report by the World Wildlife Fund, Mexico's Environment Department and the Natural Protected Areas Commission blames the dramatic decline on the butterflies' loss of habitat due to illegal logging in Mexico's mountaintop forests and the massive displacement of the milkweed plant it feeds on in the US. The black-and-orange butterflies now cover an area of only 1.65 acres in the pine and fir forests west of Mexico City, compared to 2.93 acres last year and more than 44.5 acres in 1996. The monarchs’ migratory freeway runs through the Great Plains. As they flew north from Mexico in early 2012, months of near-record heat sapped their endurance and skewed their migratory patterns in ways that limited their ability to reproduce.Unusual springtime cold in Texas in spring of 2013 delayed the butterflies’ northward migration, causing them to arrive late in areas where they would normally have bred weeks earlier. The loss of habitat is a far more daunting problem. Monarchs lay their eggs only on milkweed, and patches of the plant have rapidly disappeared from the Great Plains over the last decade. As corn prices have risen, in part due to the government mandate to add ethanol to gasoline, farmers have planted tens of millions of acres of idle land along the monarchs’ path that once provided both milkweed and nectar. And they have switched to crops that are genetically engineered to tolerate herbicides wiping out milkweed that once sprouted between rows of corn and soybean. So the monarchs must travel farther and use more energy to find places to lay their eggs. With their body fat depleted, the butterflies lay fewer eggs, or die before they have a chance to reproduce. While monarchs are one of the more visible victims of the habitat loss, a wide variety of pollinators and other insects, including many that are beneficial to farmers, are also disappearing along with the predators that feed on them. (There is also another smaller migration route that takes butterflies from the west to the coast of California, but that has registered even steeper declines.) So what can we do? Visit these websites to find out about more about organizations committed to helping the monarchs: The Monarch Joint Venture (MJV) is a partnership of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academic programs that are working together to support and coordinate efforts to protect the monarch migration across the lower 48 United States. http://www.monarchjointventure.org/ Monarch Watch is an educational outreach program based at the University of Kansas that engages citizen scientists in large-scale research projects. Monarch Watch gets children of all ages involved in science. Their website provides a wealth of information on the biology and conservation of Monarch butterflies http://monarchwatch.org/ To begin to restore habitats for monarchs, pollinators, and other wildlife, Monarch Watch has initiated a nationwide landscape restoration program called “Bring Back The Monarchs.” The goals of this program are to restore 20 milkweed species, used by monarch caterpillars as food, to their native ranges throughout the United States and to encourage the planting of nectar-producing native flowers that support adult monarchs and other pollinators. This program is an outgrowth of the Monarch Waystation Program started by Monarch Watch in 2005. There are now over 5,000 certified Monarch Waystations – mostly habitats created in home gardens, schoolyards, parks, and commercial landscaping. We need a comprehensive plan on how to manage the fragmented edges and marginal areas created by development and agriculture since it is these edges that support monarchs, many of our pollinators, and the many forms of wildlife that are sustained by the seeds, fruits, nuts, berries, and foliage that result from pollination. http://monarchwatch.org/bring-back-the-monarchs/ Moving for Monarchs: The Awakening from Moving for Monarchs It is time to awaken... The world's majestic monarch butterflies are disappearing. Join the movement to reverse this trend. Move with us.. http://vimeo.com/82450284
The Case of the Missing Monarchs, which we reported on last summer, continues. For the second year in a row, observers are noting very few of these beloved bright orange fixtures of summer. Their a…
MONARCH BUTTERFLY, Nature Study Unit, Ant Activities, Science, Environment, Handwriting, Homeschool Printable, Montessori, Homeschool This MONARCH BUTTERFLY Nature Study is ideal for in class or homeschool activities. ++++INCLUDED++++ Total of 42 Beautifully Illustrated Pages - Cover Page - Monarch Butterfly Lifecycle Information Sheet - Monarch Migration Information Sheet - Monarch Butterfly Lifecycle Poster On Milkweed - Butterfly Metamorphosis Poster - Monarch Butterfly Anatomy Poster + Diagram Labeling Activity - Monarch Butterfly Lifecycle Poster + Labeling Activity and Worksheets - Monarch Butterfly Letter Tracing and Word Tracing - 6x Monarch Butterfly Lifecycle Montessori 3-Part Cards - 10x Montessori Count & Clip Cards - Monarch Butterfly Knowledge Quiz - 2x Monarch Butterfly Simple Puzzle - 2x Monarch Butterfly Maze activity - 3x Monarch Butterfly Word Search Activity, in 3 Levels - 3x Monarch Butterfly Crossword Activity in 3 Levels - "I Spy" Activity - 2x Cutting Practice Activity - Tic-Tac-Toe Activity with Monarch Butterfly Tokens - Monarch Butterfly Lifecycle Memory Game Activity ++++NOTE+++ This is a digital download only. There will be no product shipped. All Digital downloads are nonrefundable All files are for personal use only and cannot be used commercially or be resold/redistributed. Thank you! -Let's Go Avocado
From June through early September, we enjoy seeing the familiar monarch butterfly across Chicago. Many monarchs start their journey south right here in the city. But they need their host plant, milkweed, in order to survive and continue on their epic migration. We’re asking residents across the Chicagoland area to join us in recording information about milkweed plants in their yards and communities. Whether you have a potted plant on your balcony or a yard full of milkweed, the information you gather will help future monarch butterflies survive.
Here is the picture of the Monarch Butterfly egg that I posted a couple of days ago. The egg looked like this for 3 days, but then chang...
Once you get a glimpse of this extraordinary project--Monarchs and Migration--I think you'll want to join in too. More citizen scientists are needed!
It’s almost Caterpillars Week One in Exploring Nature With Children. Here are some links to help you along: Raising butterflies indoorsMonarch caterpillar growing videoBill Nye the Scien…
New Zealand’s most identifiable butterfly is the monarch (Danaus plexippus). Although found in many places around the world, the monarch is considered a New Zealand native because it became established here on its own. Scientists believe that monarchs were blown from New Caledonia and/or Vanuatu to Australia via cyclones and then blown over to New Zealand a few years later.
Monarch butterflies are one of the most beautiful and easily identifiable insects on the planet.
The butterflies’ path, which stretches thousands of miles, is endangered by an array of challenges, including changes in climate and pesticides
Butterfly projects are fun and educational. You can get started one of two ways: raising your own from a kit or ordering newborn monarch butterflies through the mail. Either way, you need to feed them in order for them to thrive.
Learn where to look for monarchs eggs, how to gather butterfly eggs, and how to protect them so they successfully hatch into baby caterpillars. Info and ideas for raising monarchs through stage one of the monarch butterfly life cycle.
University of Guelph researchers have pinpointed the North American birthplaces of migratory monarch butterflies that overwinter in Mexico, vital information that will help conserve the dwindling species.
Thе Migration of Monarch ButtеrfliеsThе Migration of Monarch Buttеrfliеs is thе world most rarеst phеnomеnon. Thе Mеxican mountain whеrе orangе,
A disturbing trend has developed over the past decade that features inconclusive monarch science given a sensationalist spin by irresponsible media resources attempting to increase readership with chicken-little clickbait 😱 In the latest sky-is-falling chapter from flawed monarch research, it appears our hand-raised mo
