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    Pismo Monarch Butterflies: Magic, Myths, & Mysteries
    Pismo Monarch Butterflies: Magic, Myths, & Mysteries
    Pismo Monarch Butterflies: Magic, Myths, & Mysteries
    Ebook161 pages1 hour

    Pismo Monarch Butterflies: Magic, Myths, & Mysteries

    By Central Coast State Parks Association

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    About this ebook

    PISMO MONARCH BUTTERFLIES MAGIC, MYTHS, AND MYSTERIES takes you on a journey to a very special overwintering grove on the central coast of California and the monarchs that overwinter there.  Discover the history of the grove, delve into monarch biology, find out what makes a good overwintering habitat, tap into current science, and investigate how important milkweed is to monarchs. Learn how to help monarchs and other insects and find ways to become involved with this iconic insect. Discover myths and mysteries about monarchs that will lead the reader to become involved with the community science movement.  

     

    Praise for the book

    "Overall, this is an outstanding resource that is highly readable and will be enjoyed by many. I think it'll really increase understanding of the Western monarch's biology and population predicament." Anurag Agrawal, Cornell professor, author of Monarchs and Milkweed

     

    "Readers can really get the feel of how important the Pismo grove is, not only in California but its importance for setting the stage for the entire western monarch population." Robert Coffan, Chair Western Monarch Advocates  

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCentral Coast State Parks Association
    Release dateNov 29, 2021
    ISBN9798201622350
    Pismo Monarch Butterflies: Magic, Myths, & Mysteries

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      Book preview

      Pismo Monarch Butterflies - Central Coast State Parks Association

      INTRODUCTION

      The Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove is a truly an amazing place. It is a marvel of nature that new generations of these butterflies can find this same 4.1-acre grove year after year. This grove consistently hosts either the state’s largest or one of the state’s largest populations of monarchs.

      Monarch butterflies have been counted here since 1997 as well as at another 350 overwintering groves throughout California. Over these 24 years, the Pismo grove has averaged twice as many overwintering monarch butterflies as any of the next top five groves.

      The largest number of overwintering monarch butterflies ever counted at the Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove during that period was 115,000 in 1998. The numbers of monarchs have steadily decreased since 1998, reaching an all-time low in 2020. An encouraging rebound in 2021 offers hope that the overwintering population will continue to grow.

      Monarchs clustered on eucalyptus branches at Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove.

      FIGURE 0.1. Monarchs clustered on eucalyptus branches at Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove.

      What is it about this particular site? What cues do monarch butterflies use to arrive here? What cues do they use to end their migration here? What threats and challenges do they experience when they depart in the spring?

      What threats and challenges do they meet when breeding through the summer and early fall? What threats and challenges await them as they migrate back, and where they spend the winter? We do not yet know the answers to all of these questions. But we suspect that many of the answers can be found by studying the monarch butterflies that call this grove home from October through March.

      Many questions about monarch butterfly biology have been asked first, and answered first, at this overwintering grove. For example, researchers Kingston Leong, Michael Yoshimura, and Dennis Frey have asked, what is it about this particular grove? What microclimate conditions exist here that don’t exist outside of the grove? They concluded that wind, temperature, light, and humidity are key factors.

      More recently, researchers Jessica Griffiths, Kiana Saniee, and Ashley Fisher have asked this same question. But they also compared the Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove to other groves up and down the California coast. They concluded that the conditions at each grove are slightly different.

      In retrospect, it makes sense that exactly the same microclimate conditions cannot exist in Central California groves, in Southern California, and in Northern California groves. This means that monarch butterfly groves across California are similar to each other, but they are not identical. Each one of them appears to be somewhat unique in its microclimate.

      The fact that so many monarch butterflies aggregate at the Pismo State Beach Monarch Grove suggests that there is something particularly special about the grove.

      Monarch butterflies present many mysteries to solve. The Pismo State Beach Monarch Grove has had an outsized contribution to the science of solving these puzzles.

      Science is a somewhat peculiar thing. We look to it for answers and often trust its practitioners and their conclusions. One of the reasons that trust is warranted is that scientists ascribe to the scientific method.

      All of us are comfortable making some observations and then drawing a conclusion based on those observations. For example, we might see monarch butterflies in the grove that are in shade. Their wings are closed. Some are in the sun with their wings open. If we see this over and over, we might conclude that the monarch butterflies are warming themselves.

      Using specific observations to come to a more general conclusion is something that we are fairly comfortable doing. It is called inductive reasoning.  

      The scientific method requires that any conclusion that has been reached through inductive reasoning cannot be our final conclusion. Instead, it has to become our hypothesis. From this hypothesis, we would make predictions. For example, if monarch butterflies open their wings to heat themselves (our hypothesis), then we would not observe this behavior on warm or hot days because they are already heated.

      The scientist would use the general conclusion, which is a hypothesis, to come to specific observations. Using general conclusions to predict a more specific observation is something that we are not that comfortable doing because we don’t do it often. It is called deductive reasoning. If the predicted observations are seen, then the hypothesis is supported. Meaning, if they don’t sun themselves on hot days, then we might be right!

      But, if those observations are not seen, then the hypothesis cannot be supported. Instead, it is rejected. Then a new hypothesis is proposed, and we return to inductive reasoning to do that. This is one of the things that makes science a peculiar thing.

      Scientists are always critical of their own conclusions. They tend to accept them only after a round of both inductive and deductive reasoning. Another way to put it is that we propose ideas with inductive reasoning and then test them with deductive reasoning. Indeed, that is the hallmark of good science and good conclusions.

      Many of the authors of this book find that they observe things in the grove that they want to explain or understand. Hopefully, many of you who get to visit the Pismo State Beach Monarch Grove will also begin to wonder why the butterflies do what they do. Or, maybe as you drive home, or as you read this book, you will find yourself wondering about things that you want to understand. I think that as you do this, just how amazing this place is will start to unfold before you.

      Every time I enter this grove, I feel like I might see something that further reveals the biology of monarch butterflies. Something that will make me say Ah-ha, I thought so! or Oh wow, I had no idea! or Hmm… really? I wonder why?

      I am a little embarrassed to say that usually when I walk into the grove, I pretend that no one is here - that I am just here with the butterflies, that the rest of the world is on pause. I’ll not miss anything because nothing is happening in the rest of the world. Instead by looking and listening carefully, the butterflies will enrich my life with amazement and wonder.

      The Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove is clearly an important place for monarchs. It is likewise an important place for people. This is a place where people come to see and learn about monarchs. It is a place where a vibrant education program can help us get many of our questions answered. It’s also a place where we can wonder in amazement, alone or in a crowd.

      Conservation biologists have known for a long time that people conserve things they value and value things they know and understand. Spending time

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