MONARCHS ON THE MOUNTAIN

Susan Sridharan

It was late summer 2021, and monarch butterfly populations in the western U.S. had crashed by an alarming 99% since the 1980s. Loss of milkweed habitat and increased use of pesticides were two of the major reasons.

To try to save the species, conservation organizations developed campaigns to encourage the public to plant pesticide-free butterfly gardens with native milkweed (monarch caterpillars eat milkweed exclusively).

Desert Mountain responded by planting 10 desert milkweed plants (Asclepias subulata) at almost every village entrance.

It was a worthy effort, but would it help? One year after the planting, Desert Mountain initiated a milkweed monitoring program to find out.

Following the lead of the Tonto National Forest and its wildlife biologist, we adopted the data collection protocols of the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP) developed by the University of Minnesota and administered by the University of WisconsinMadison Arboretum.

As monarch butterflies reached our area in September 2022 during their annual migration south, volunteers began weekly observations of the milkweed plants at village entrances. Their sightings of monarch eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises, and adult butterflies were then uploaded to the international MLMP database.

The results were exciting. On September 20, four monarch caterpillars were discovered on milkweed plants at the entrance to Desert Horizons.

Southwest Monarch Study informed us that these were the first caterpillars of the 2022 fall migration season reported in the greater Phoenix area.

Through October 2022, Desert Mountain volunteers found: 6 adult monarch butterflies, 2 eggs, 27 caterpillars, and 2 chrysalises. The following villages hosted one or more monarch life stages: Apache Peak, Desert Fairways, Desert Horizons, Mountain Skyline, Painted Sky, Saguaro

Forest Caretaker’s Cottage, Sonoran Enclave, and Sunrise.

The Caretaker’s Cottage was by far the most productive site, and the volunteer even got to watch a butterfly just after it emerged from its chrysalis.

By the end of October, migration through our area was over and the butterflies were on their way to one of two monarch overwintering locations. It is not known why, but some monarchs that migrate through Arizona in the fall fly to California, while some fly to Mexico to overwinter.

The current 2023 winter butterfly count from California suggests their overwintering population may be up about 30% despite the recent heavy

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