Seen any tagged monarchs lately?

If you live in California, tagged monarchs from the migratory research project of entomologist David James of Washington State University may be heading your way.

One tagged monarch, a male, fluttered into our Vacaville pollinator garden on Sept. 5, 2016. Citizen scientist Steven Johnson of Ashland, Ore., tagged and released it on Aug. 28. It nectared on Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia rotundifola) and a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) before heading to an overwintering site in coastal California.

The tag read “Monarch@wsu.edu A6093.” 

James later told us: "So, assuming it didn't travel much on the day you saw it, it flew 285 miles in 7 days or about 40.7 miles per day.  Pretty amazing."

If you see a tagged monarch ("quite a few are being tagged in southern Oregon," James says), try to take an image. Then detail the information (where spotted and when) and send it to the WSU entomologist at monarch@wsu.edu. Read more on his Facebook page, Monarch Butterfies in the Pacific Northwest.

Meanwhile, we've been seeing monarchs daily in our garden since late August. We spotted  one monarch laying eggs on our tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, on Aug. 10. (That was her choice of milkweed: she ignored the narrow-leafed milkweed, A. fascicularis; the showy milkweed, A. speciosa; and the butterfly weed, A. tuberosa.)

On Sept. 5, two monarchs, a male and a female, eclosed, while a male monarch patrolled overhead. The newcomers dried their wings and fluttered off. Both managed to escape several predators: Western scrub jays, praying mantises, and assorted crab spiders.   

Welcome to the world!

When UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal created a video tribute honoring the UC Davis faculty who recently transitioned to emeriti, he singled out one very special emeriti as an example of tremendous community, academic and scientific engagement:

Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), distinguished emeritus professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Leal, professor of biochemistry in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and former professor and chair of the Department of Entomology, said Thorp "epitomizes how emeriti contribute to UC Davis."

Thorp, a 30-year member of the entomology faculty, and a tireless advocate of pollinator species protection and conservation, retired in 1994, but he continued working until several weeks before his death on June 7, 2019, at age 85. In 2014, he co-authored two books:  Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (Princeton University,) and California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (Heyday). He published more than 50 percent of his papers following his retirement."

Thorp was known for his expertise, dedication and passion in protecting native pollinators, especially bumble bees, and for his teaching, research and public service. He was an authority on pollination ecology, ecology and systematics of honey bees, bumble bees, vernal pool bees, conservation of bees, native bees and crop pollination, and bees of urban gardens and agricultural landscapes.

“Robbin's scientific achievements during his retirement rival the typical career productivity of many other academic scientists,” said Steve Nadler, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, at the time of the legendary entomologist's death. “His contributions in support of understanding bee biodiversity and systematics are a true scientific legacy.”

The video tribute is online at
https://youtu.be/s6fxdg2XZPA?si=u0SG1UvUG34zQxmV.

It includes images and accomplishments of many of the emeriti, meant as a small representation of the achievements of all. (See news story)

In his message, Chancellor May told the new emeriti: "You played a central role in keeping UC Davis at the forefront of excellence. Your continued engagement through teaching, research, volunteering and philanthropy is vital to our continued growth and success. So I encourage you to stay engaged with campus. The UC Davis Emeriti Association is here with resources and support for this newest chapter of your career. Please take advantage of it. Thank you for our dedication to UC Davis and congratulations on reaching this milestone."

Among its many activities, UC Davis Emeriti Association (UCDEA) interviews and records emeriti who have made "significant contributions to the development of the university." (See Video Records Project.)

One of them is Robbin Thorp. (Watch the video here.)

A monarch on the move...

When you see a monarch foraging on a flower, have you ever seen them--or photographed them--taking flight?

It's not your iconic image of  monarch, but a few twists and turns, jumble of colors and jagged lines, and the monarch takes flight.

Scenario: a male monarch nectaring on Sept. 4 on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden.

He decides it's time to depart--maybe because he's had his fill of nectar, or maybe because male longhorned bees are becoming increasingly territorial, or maybe just because.... 

Back in July 2023, we wrote a Bug Squad blog about a feral bee colony inside a cavity of a sycamore tree on the UC Davis campus.

The triple-digit temperatures resulted in bee bearding.

Bees engage in bearding (forming a "beard" outside their hive or colony) when the temperature soars and it's too hot to maintain the internal 94 degree temperature. As the late Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (1944-2022) of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology used to say: All honey bee colonies must maintain a temperature of 94 degrees, or the brood (eggs, larvae and pupae), will be adversely impacted.  When the inside temperature rises above 94 Fahrenheit, bees resort to (1) bringing more water into the colony to cool it down and (2) bee bearding, meaning that some of the adults will leave the colony and "beard" just outside the entrance to help reduce the heat load inside. The "bearders" are helping their brothers and sisters-to-be survive.

Today the sycamore tree colony is expanding. With binoculars or a telephoto lens, you can clearly see the comb build-up. 

It's a beautiful, incredible sight--Mother Nature at her finest--and something we never tire of seeing. Seeing a wild bee colony is bee-lieving.