Schools love tagging...Monarch butterflies

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A science project enjoyed by many schools will soon resume: the tagging of Monarch butterflies.

Tagging involves the placement of small white stickers on the hindwings of newly merged Monarchs, the last generation of the summer. When the butterflies are found again, the data is analysed to give an indication of their overwintering behaviour and such things as climate change.

“Schools find the project exciting,” said Jacqui Knight of the Monarch Butterfly NZ Trust. “The data capture method is breakthrough technology, and is a practical way to involve students in using the internet to advantage, as well as involving them in geography and statistics.”

“We need more people tagging to give us strong baseline data. We welcome inquiries from other schools as well as individuals. The project is free and brings real science into the classroom.”

The Trust has involved ‘citizen scientists’ for five years now – schoolchildren, householders, gardeners, walkers – to report sightings as the Monarchs follow their annual migration.

Scientists speak highly of the efforts of NZ’s citizen scientists who are contributing to the study.

“Our natural history is affected by climate change, pollution, alien species and land management,” Jacqui said. “We need to know more about our insects to predict the impacts of such change, and to develop an appropriate response.”

“Tagging serves a dual purpose,” she said. “Not simply by collecting critical data, but also by introducing people to the method and purpose of scientific investigation.”

Butterflies are uniquely placed to act as indicators of environmental change.

Understanding where Monarchs go in the breeding and non-breeding season is of critical scientific value in that continental populations of Monarchs are clearly migratory (e.g. USA, Australia), while insular populations are clearly sedentary. The puzzle to solve now is what happens on NZ islands which cover thousands of kilometres north-south.

The most exciting result recorded to date has been the flight of one Monarch from near Turangi to Whangarei, a distance of some 300 kilometres over a few weeks.

Monarch butterflies typically form large clusters, sometimes containing hundreds or thousands of butterflies, on trees in well-sheltered areas during the colder winter months. Until the Trust started tracking Monarchs there was little research being done as to why some butterflies appeared to be retreating from urban areas of NZ.

“This is important,” says Jacqui. “Butterflies are pollinators–we need to know why some are less common. Already there are major concerns for endemic species such as the Forest Ringlet, and the beautiful Red Admiral.”

“All the information how to be involved is on the Monarch Butterfly NZ Trust website: www.monarch.org.nz .

ENDS

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