Texas Monarch Watch  - sponsored by Texas Parks & Wildlife since 1993

The most spectacular migration through Texas occurs each fall

Fall Monarch Migration Map with Peak Dates

2007 Migration Maps - Fall Flyway Analysis - Coastal Migration Map

• Texas Monarch Watch Monitoring Packet - (PDF)
• Is there a fall pre-migration migration? - Chip Taylor
• Dark form Queen larva found in Central Texas - June 2003
• Find a Texas State Park or Historical Site to see the Monarchs 
• Texas Monarch Watch Contact Info:

Monarch and Relatives' Seasonal Distribution in Central Texas

X - Specimen Record - At least one specimen collected within the designated 10-day period.
V - Sight Record - At least one individual sighted within the designated 10-day period.
= - No Sight or Specimen Record within the designated 10-day period.

Data collected by Chris J. Durden between 1968 and 1990.

Events

• Numerous monarch-related events are held annually across Texas each October

• Papalotzin - This ultra-light plane and crew followed the monarch's migration from Canada to Mexico - 2005

Photographs of Insects & Entomologists

• Danaid Photographs
• Insects on Milkweed 
• Monarch Researchers
• BugGuide Photos of Insects with Pollinaria

Milkweed Information - (Family Asclepiadaceae)

Texas

• Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) Propagation Datasheet - Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Lists & Distribution

• Texas Vascular Plant Checklist:  Asclepiadaceae - Digital Flora of Texas
• Texas Endemics: Distribution of Family Asclepiadaceae - TAMU (Click on county to receive list.)

Photos

• Milkweeds of Texas - Mike Quinn 
• Images of the Asclepiadaceae - Digital Flora of Texas
• Texas Milkweed Photos - Harlen E. and Altus Aschen

USA

• Milkweed Photo Guide - Monarch Watch
• Milkweed - with mapped distribution of Texas species by vegetation zone - Biota of North America Program
• Plants Profile - Asclepias - USDA

Mexico

• Asclepiadaceae of the Río Mayo in southern Sonora State, Mexico - Mark Fishbein

Texas Milkweeds and the Caterpillars that Feed on Them

Species most important to the Monarch shown in red

A Phylogeny of Apocynaceae sensu lato (Judd et al., 2002, page 451).

Seed & Plant Sources

• Native American Seed - Junction, TX - 1 (800) 728-4043
• Wildseed Farms - Fredericksburg, TX - 1 (800) 848-0078
• Natives of Texas - White Milkweed  A. texana - Kerrville, TX - 1 (830) 896-2169

The following two sources may not have seeds native to Texas

• Butterfly Encounters - Danville, CA
• Milkweed Farm - Seed Catalog - Bluemont, VA 

How to propagate Milkweed seeds (and cuttings) - Monarch Watch

North America (North of Mexico)

Weather Maps

Palmer Drought Severity Index Map - Interpretation - NOAA

Other U.S. Weather Maps

Arkansas & Louisiana

• Arkansas Monarch Watch - Jim Edson - 1 (800) 844-1054
• Trans-Gulf Express - Gary Noel Ross - 1 (225) 927-8179

Mexico - Conservation - Discovery - News - Videos - Travel

Conservation

• Alternare - press - press - interview - Results and Training Center - Indigenous Community near Zitacuaro 
• A New Vision for the Monarch Butterfly - Presidente Vicente Fox - November 28, 2001
• Michoacan Reforestation Fund
• Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation
• U.S. F&WS, International Affairs - Wildlife Without Borders - Monarch Programs - Funding Summary 1995-2004
• An Informal Meeting to Discuss Issues and Options - Houston, TX - 16 June 1996
• Angangueo, Mexico 1973, 1986, 2000 - USGS

The Discovery

• Kenneth C. Brugger, Unlocked a Butterfly Mystery
• Urquhart, F. A. 1976. Found at last: the Monarch's winter home. National Geographic Magazine 150:160-173. (August)
• A Discovery Tale - Bill Calvert
• In Pursuit of a Little History - 1998 Monarch Watch Season Summary - see pages 24-25
• Brower, L.P. 1995. Understanding and misunderstanding the migration of the monarch butterfly, 1857-1995. J. Lep. Soc. 49:304-385
• Bianca Lavies. 1992. Monarch Butterflies: Mysterious Travelers. Dutton Children's Books, New York. 28 pp. (out of print)

News & Information

• Monarch Quantity That Arrived in Mexico During the 04-05 Season is Reduced - SEMARNAT/CONANP

• How Many Millions of Monarchs in Mexico? - Population estimates showing winter mortality - Journey North

• Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) Boundaries - 1986 & 2000 - Journey North

• Google Map of Monarch Biosphere Reserve Boundaries - Mike Quinn 

• Living in the Shadow of a Million Butterflies - Lourdes Garcia-Navarro - NPR - February 4, 2005 

• Monarch Overwintering Ecology - Oberhauser & Solensky. 2005.

• Monarch Watch Updates on illegal logging May 2004 - June 2004 - July 2004 

• Illegal Logging and its Impact in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve - WWF Mexico Program - May 2004
• Monarch Butterfly Population Appears to be Recovering - February 12, 2003
• Single Storm Kills Over 75% of Eastern North America’s Migratory Monarchs - January 2002 - Journey North
• Correo Real - Tracking the Monarch Migration Through Northern Mexico - Rocío Treviño
• Flight of the Monarchs - Alex Shoumatoff
• Information on getting there? Go to the Travel section, this page

Graphs

• Precipitation in the Monarch Overwintering Sites in Mexico - Journey North
• Average Low Temperatures of the Monarch Overwintering Sites in Mexico - Journey North

Photos & Videos

• Fine dust is kicked up by natives, tourists, and their horses - Journey North
• Angangueo Skyline - Journey North
• Video Visit to the Sanctuaries - Journey North
• Domestic Uses of Wood in the Monarch Sanctuary Region - Journey North
• Life in the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Region of Mexico - Journey North
• Sierra Chincua - Photos by Mike Quinn
• El Rosario - Photos by Mike Quinn

Travel - Current Weather forecast for Angangueo - Yahoo! Weather

Wide range of information on getting to the overwintering colonies - posted to Monarch Watch Forums

The following Texas residents have led trips to the Monarch overwintering sanctuaries in Michoacan 

Please contact them for information on future trips

Other Migratory Insects of Texas and North America

• Odonata / Orthoptera / Hemiptera / Homoptera / Coleoptera
• Lepidoptera: Black Witch Moth, Owl Moth, Urania Moth, American Snout

Books, Papers and Bibliographies

    Books - Popular

• Milkweed, Monarchs and More
  Ba Rea, Karen Oberhauser and Michael A. Quinn. 2003. Bas Relief Publishing Group
  
  
• Four Wings and a Prayer - Review - Christian Science Monitor
  Sue Halpern. 2001. Random House
  
  
• Milkweed
  Millicent E. Selsam. 1967. William Morrow and Co. (out of print)
  
  
• The Milkweed and Its World of Animals 
  Frank & Ada Graham, photos. by Les Line. 1976. 
  Doubleday & Co., Garden City, NY. 103 pp. (out of print)
  
  
• Monarch Butterfly International Traveler
  Fred A. Urquhart. 1998. Caxton (out of print)
  
  
• Monarchs
  Kathryn Lasky. 1993. Harcourt Brace & Co.
  
  
• Chasing Monarchs
  Robert Michael Pyle. 1999. Houghton Mifflin Company

    Books - Technical

• Milkweed Butterflies: Their Cladistics and Biology
  P.R. Ackery & R.I. Vane-Wright. 1984. Cornell, Ithaca (out of print)
  
  
• The Monarch Butterfly: Biology and Conservation
  Karen S. Oberhauser & Michelle J. Solensky (Editors). 2004. 
  Cornell University Press, Ithaca. 256 pp.

    Articles - Popular

• Alex Shoumatoff. 1999. Flight of the Monarchs. Vanity Fair. November, pp. 268-272.

    Articles - Scientific

• Reduced numbers of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico during the 2004-2005 season: evidence, possible causes and recommendations - 2005
• Characteristics of Fall Migratory Monarch Butterflies, Danaus plexippus, in Minnesota and Texas - Borland, et al. 2004. 
• Temporal and spatial overlap between monarch larvae and corn pollen - Oberhauser, et al. 2001. [PDF]
• Impact of Bt corn pollen on monarch butterfly populations: A risk assessment - Sears, et al. 2001.  [PDF]
• Occurrence of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) in cropland and adjacent areas - Hartzler & Buhler. 2000. 
• Transgenic pollen harms monarch larvae - Losey, et al. 1999
• Natal origins of migratory monarch butterflies at wintering colonies in Mexico: new isotopic evidence - Wassenaar & Hobson 1998.
• Conquering soldiers: the successful invasion of Florida by Danaus eresimus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) [Figs 4-7] [Figs 8-12] (PDF) - John Calhoun
• Understanding and misunderstanding the migration of the monarch butterfly (Nymphalidae) in North America: 1857-1995 - Brower, 1995. 
• Diversity and change in the effective pollinators of Asclepias tuberosa - Fishbein & Venable. 1996 
• Survey of Coleoptera Collected on the Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, at One Site in Ohio - Patrick Dailey (PDF)
• Survey of Hemiptera Collected on Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, at One Site in Ohio - Patrick Dailey (PDF)
• The North American species of Asclepias L. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden - Woodson, 1954. 

    Bibliographies of Scientific Papers

• Compilation of  Monarch papers by Bill Calvert  
• ASCLEPOL - a compilation of pollinator records for the family Asclepiadaceae
• Bibliography of Milkweed (Asclepias spp.) - Todd DeGooyer
• Scientific Bibliography - Almost 1000 of the most important Monarch papers - Monarch Watch
• Bibliography of North American Insect Migration  

18 Mar 2008 ©  Mike Quinn / mike.quinn@tpwd.state.tx.us / Texas Entomology