All are welcome to join us on these monarch tagging excursions. Based on previous years experience, these dates and locations should yield good results. No experience needed to tag. We'll teach you! Bring plenty of water, a snack, shoes that can get wet, and a net if you have one. All tagging events start at the location at 9AM and go until roughly noon. Contact Chris at 520-689-2723 or email ckline@ag.arizona.edu for more info.
Southwest Monarch Study Tagging Dates and Locations
Saturday, August 16 - Wenima Wildlife Area, about two miles north of Springerville.
Saturday, August 30 - Canelo, Santa Cruz County
Saturday, September 6 - San Pedro River Inn, Hereford
Sunday, September 14 - Canelo
Saturday, October 11 - Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior.
Saturday, October 18 - Perkinsville, north of Cottonwood.
Saturday, November 1 - Gardner Canyon, a few miles north of Sonoita. (NOTE: This is NOT Garden Canyon in the Huachucas!)
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Adriane Grimaldi, one of our members, guest speaker and butterflywalk leader, always had the dream to go see the Monarchs in Michocan & Sierra Pelon, Mexico (their overwinterings grounds) and now she is ready to go and invites you to come with her.
The tour is set for Feb. 17-20, 2009. There is some hiking to get to sanctuary so moderate fitness level is required to access the sanctuaries. Adriane has researched companies that offer this kind of tour and found Rocamar Tours to be very accommodating and reasonably priced - $550 and that includes airport pickup/dropoff, 3 nights hotel, 3 breakfasts, 1 lunch, transportation to Monarch Sanctuaries, entrance fees, city tour and tour guide. AIRFARE IS NOT INCLUDED and is up to the person to arrange on their own. There are flights directly to Morelia which is recommended. Some flights were found for $650. For more information email Adriane at vagrimaldi@cox.net
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A special FIELD TRIP with Dr. Pearson. This field trip will accommodate those with an eye for shorebirds and tiger beetles. Willcox and the Sulphur Springs Valley are among the best places in Arizona for fall migrating shorebirds, and with 18 species of tiger beetles, it has one of the highest diversities of tiger beetle species in North America, including several endemic species and subspecies- a veritable paradise! PLEASE NOTE: THE GROUP SIZE IS LIMITED TO 15 PEOPLE. RESERVATION DEADLINE IS JULY 12th.
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As good butterfly stories go, Marceline VandeWater and Gretchen Bickert have their share of doozies. VandeWater, a Scottsdale botanist, recalls seeing a pair of metallic black-blue pipevine swallowtails so busy mating that they let themselves be devoured by a preying mantis. It was so terrible and sad, I deleted all the pictures I had taken of them, and I didn’t stay to watch the outcome, she says, grimacing.
Bickert, a registrar at the Phoenix Zoo, recounts a canoe trip in Peru: This thing came floating down out of the forest toward us, and I kept looking at it, and looking at it, like ‘What is that thing?’ No kidding, it was as big as a bird! she says of her encounter with a rainforest-dwelling blue morpho, an electric-blue, iridescent monstrosity of a butterfly that can reach a wingspan of 8 inches.
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Saturday & Sunday / March 8-9 / 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
The Desert Botanical Garden is the perfect setting to experience the beauty of the southwest wildflower season. During this weekend, visitors will have the opportunity to participate in activities designed to enhance their understanding of desert blossoms. In addition to taking a tour of our wildflower trail, guests can learn about Arizona plant societies, conservation organizations and botanical institutions, enjoy music by local musicians, participate in demonstrations, and shop in the Flower Power Market. New this year, guests will learn about eco-friendly or “green” products and services.
All activities are included with membership or paid admission and are subject to change.
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"How to Build Butterfly Garden".
Saturday, Feb. 23 from 9 a.m. to Noon
Scottsdale Gardener Adriane Grimaldi will present a 3-hour workshop on How to Build A Butterfly Garden as we head into spring. Learn some identification of specific butterflies, what plants to plant to attract butterflies to your garden and learn about the amazing life cycle they go through to become butterflies. Handouts will be available to help start your butterfly garden this spring.
Class is Saturday, Feb. 23 from 9 a.m. to Noon at Horizon Community Center, 15444 N. 100th St., Scottsdale. Cost is $24 for Scottsdale residents and $36 for non-residents through the Scottsdale Parks and Recreation Department.
To register, contact (480) 312-7957 or click on the link "read more".
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Nowhere in nature is there so much beautiful colour as on the wings of butterflies. Scientists, however, are still baffled about exactly how these colours are created. Marco Giraldo has been examining the structure of the surface of the wings of the cabbage white and other butterflies. Among the things he has discovered is why European cabbage whites are rebuffed more often than Japanese ones. Giraldo will be awarded a PhD by the University of Groningen on 25 January 2008.
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Don't know if you like to hike and walk, but on Jan 13th at South Mountain Park they are having another "Silent Sunday," where just off the Central entrance they close the road to vehicles so people can walk or jog or ride bikes, etc., without having to have the traffic around (only the park rangers' trucks for safety). People can walk all the way up to the summit if they wish, with no cars passing by. It begins early--about sunrise--and ends around dusk. People set their own hours. You can arrive anytime and leave when you please. The Park's Department offers Silent Sundays once a month now. "Butterfly watching" and photographing is an outdoor activity, mostly appreciated by outdoor enthusiasts, thought there might be CAzBA members interested in this, especially when the weather gets warmer and there could be some butterflies flittering around. Perhaps something to keep in mind for spring.
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Scientists have discovered genetic information that helps explain how monarch butterflies find their way from Canada to winter nesting grounds in the mountains of Mexico. The researchers genetically mapped the molecular underpinnings of the butterflies' circadian clocks and found cryptochrome proteins that are common in both insects and mammals. Reppert believes these proteins enable the monarchs to navigate by using the sun's position in the sky.
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Many of you have already sponsored us by buying our 2008 Butterfly Calendar (with excellent butterfly photos by several of our members), and we have still some more for sale at $15 per calendar (shipping not included). Besides calendars, we also have beautiful butterfly earrings, field guides and butterfly art prints for sale. !Note: pre-order the book Caterpillars in Field and Garden by Thomas Allen, Jim Brock and Jeffrey Glassberg now! Please visit us at the next meeting: the Annual Membership Meeting, Saturday January 12th at the Desert Botanical Garden from 1 till 3pm.
For ordering calendars or other goodies from the book table, email Joyce at jrpeters7@cox.net or call her at 480-390-9054
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