We
heard that the Monarchs were in town, hanging out in their winter quarters in
the Cypress and Eucalyptus grove which is in walking distance from Pismo Coast Village RV Resort. We went to see them this afternoon, after saying our farewells to the folks who left for home at the end of the rally.
It
was a very different scene from the last time we were here in February 2012. Today, only a few Monarch butterflies were flying about while most of them were huddled together in large clusters, conserving
energy, in preparation for their final hurrah in a couple of months. Around Valentine’s Day, the grove becomes super active as male Monarchs woo female Monarchs.In other words, this grove becomes a love fest, in preparation for the next generation of butterflies that
will continue the next leg of the migration north.
The
life cycle of the Monarch butterfly is fascinating, for it takes several
generations to complete a single migration. The new butterflies that hatch somehow know that they must
continue the journey north, much like relay racers who hand over the baton to the
next runner. The final generation of
butterflies then completes the sometimes 2,000 mile journey all the way south, where they spend the winter, like these clusters here in Pismo Beach. Then the cycle begins all over again in the
early spring, triggering the next generation that continues the relay back
north again.
Here is a link to more information on these marvelous creatures:
We also looked at the butterflies through telescopes.
Clustered together in tight groups, the butterflies were difficult to distinguish from dry leaves on the trees.
There
was a lady standing next to me, trying to locate a butterfly in one cluster
that had been tagged. We could see the
tag on the wings through the telescope, but it was more challenging to identify
the same tagged butterfly within a large cluster. She had a camera with super zoom capability and was trying to locate the butterfly to take a photo of it. This was a perfect Where is Waldo moment. Between the two of us we strained to locate the tagged butterfly.When Michael joined us, his eagle eyes
spotted the tag and he took the photo for the lady with her camera. Here is the picture, which Jean kindly emailed me later, and gave me
permission to share:
 |
| look for the orange dot on the wings to spot the tagged Arizona butterfly |
I imagine that when we return to this grove to see the Monarchs on future trips, I will
recall Jean with her super camera that captured this special tagged butterfly, passed it along to me, then continued on her own journey.
As
for the tag, apparently this particular butterfly had
flown all the way from Arizona. The folks
here were able to read the name and telephone number on the tag and
called to let the folks in Arizona know that their butterfly was wintering in Pismo Beach.
Of
course, I think this is a very wise butterfly!
I would choose Pismo Beach in a heartbeat at any time of year.