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July 31st, 2015, 11:45 AM
#1
Have we lost our Monarchs as well?
Is anyone else noticing the same sobering thing ? It's now almost in to August, and I have not found a single Monarch caterpillar on any of my growing milkweed. I own 150 acres, and I purposely leave milkweed for the butterflies when I bush hog. I intentionally searched all the milkweed yesterday - not one single caterpillar. No adults either. The couple I thought I saw were Viceroys. Makes me sick. We've already lost our bats, our native bees, most of our frogs, and most of our aerial insectivorous birds. National Geo says we had a NA continental population of 50 billion Monarchs in the mid to late 90's. I remember 2 to 5 caterpillars on every milkweed plant. WTF are we doing?
Dave
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July 31st, 2015 11:45 AM
# ADS
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July 31st, 2015, 11:52 AM
#2
http://monarchwatch.org/bring-back-t...n/the-details/
Looks like there is almost nothing left of the population in the Mexico wintering grounds.
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July 31st, 2015, 11:56 AM
#3
Has too much time on their hands
We haven't seen any in Muskoka either...
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July 31st, 2015, 12:56 PM
#4
I have not seen any this year , and only 3 or 4 the end of last summer as they were migrating south, area between Kitchener and Hamilton. we and our neighbor across the road [we live in the country], purposely grow flowers and plants to attract them but to no avail.
We have also noticed a lack of other butterflies that were very common around here.
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July 31st, 2015, 01:24 PM
#5
Hardly a scientific study , but in the conservation area yesterday, my husband and I were saying that we'd never seem more milkweed or monarchs. I didn't look for caterpillars, but I'm going to start to do that too.
.... no Yellow Swallowtails seen - my favourite
Last edited by Sharon; July 31st, 2015 at 01:49 PM.
" We are more than our gender, skin color, class, sexuality or age; we are unlimited potential, and can not be defined by one label." quote A. Bartlett
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July 31st, 2015, 01:26 PM
#6
I seen my first for the year last weekend out birding latest first sighting in 5 years and only have seen 2 yellow swallow tails and a handfull or red emerald's way down this year for all
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July 31st, 2015, 03:15 PM
#7
It's almost on par with the Passenger Pigeon if these bugs go too. Used to be as common as a blade of grass. I wonder if the neonics will be on the list of decline cause for these as well. The bloody dog-strangling vine (swallow-wort) will probably be the nail on the coffin for any remaining Monarchs that manage to make it up here. We had our normal amount of red admirals and swallowtails this year.
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July 31st, 2015, 03:32 PM
#8
Yep seeing all the species just vanish isn't good Man is the culprit in all of this and will be it's dismay
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July 31st, 2015, 03:35 PM
#9
Monarchs? I havn't seen a milkweed in 10 years.
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July 31st, 2015, 03:41 PM
#10
Has too much time on their hands
I have some property on the Sydenham River and had to cut all the milkweed down unfortunately on the front half. I left the back half uncut and will be going tomorrow to cut some firewood. I have seen allot of the common white butterflies but no monarch's.