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DCP takes part in Monarch Monitoring
On July 28th, park naturalists Mandy Martin and Megan Schmidt took part
in the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP). The two naturalists
worked together to survey over 100 milkweed plants at Shawnee Prairie
Preserve. During this survey, they searched for eggs, different stages
(instars) of caterpillars, pupae and adults. After over an hour of
inspecting each milkweed plant, they were able to report that they
found sixteen eggs, eight 1st instar caterpillars, one 2nd instar
caterpillar, two 3rd instar caterpillars, and four adults. This data
was then submitted to Monarch Joint Venture online. Collecting and
reporting this data is very important in conservation efforts for the
monarch butterfly.
In the early spring, monarchs begin their migration north from Mexico.
This generation flies to the gulf states and begin to lay their eggs.
Shortly after, they die and the next generation emerges and flies
further north. The third generation spends its summer in Ohio. They
will mate and lay eggs creating the “methuselah generation” that will
then migrate south. Unlike its ancestors who lived a short four to five
weeks tops, these migratory Monarchs will live up to eight months, so
they can successfully migrate thousands of miles to the oyamel fir
forests in Mexico, overwinter there, and then migrate north in the
spring to start the process over again. This makes Ohio an interesting
area for citizen science projects like MLMP, but also tagging and
tracking migration patterns.
Monarch caterpillars are dependent on milkweed alone as a host plant.
By eating the toxic leaves of the plant, they are able to develop a
protective defense from predators. As the number of milkweed plants
decline, it directly impacts the monarch population. This is why Darke
County Parks naturalists continue to urge everyone to plant milkweed to
save the monarchs. They also invite you to take part in citizen science
projects such as the MLMP! This type of community-based science not
only contributes to existing scientific data it also educates and
engages the public (YOU!) on critical environmental issues.
For more information on how you can help save the Monarch butterfly,
feel free to reach out to park naturalists. You can also visit
https://monarchjointventure.org/ or https://journeynorth.org/ for more
information.
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