School Kids Give Monarchs Royal Send-Off
(Schnell School in Placerville, California)

by Peter Hecht,
Sacramento Bee Staff Writer, October 20, 1999

The kids had been studying butterflies, and they appreciated the high-mindedness of the scientific quest. So when they learned they would participate in a national study tracking the migratory patterns of monarch butterflies, well, that seemed pretty neat.

Yet, it wasn't until Tuesday when students at Placerville's Schnell School finally opened their small, triangular envelopes and the orange butterflies fluttered for precious moments on their palms that their imaginations truly took flight.

In that brief time before the Monarch butterflies flew off to freedom - marked with tiny stickers so their journey could be tracked by researchers - many of the kids named their butterflies. And they dreamed up travel itineraries to send off the Monarchs, which can live for six weeks to up to six months.

Andrew Linares, 10, figured his Monarch, Dragonite after a Pokeman character - was off to Las Vegas "where he'll meet some girls and go dancing."

Sean Roy, 11, said that his butterfly - Butterfree - would celebrate freedom by buying a Porsche, "probably a very small one." And Alex Wheeldon said his Monarch - named George after his grandfather - would fly to Mexico, "go to a big festival and do some boogie-boarding."

Click on photo to see enlargement

Jacob Groth, owner of Swallowtail Farms of Woodland, California, said the butterflies most likely will travel more than 300 miles. He expects they'll wind up in California coastal regions such as San Luis Obispo or Monterrey, but he doesn't know for sure.

Swallowtail Farms, which breeds Monarch butterflies for release at weddings and other public ceremonies, is working with researchers from the International Butterfly Breeder's Association on a project to log the winter migratory patterns of butterflies. They've been known to travel as far as from Colorado to Mexico, then spawn new generations that fly back north.

Wildlife researchers have long tracked movements of large animals, putting radio transmitters on polar bears or mountain lions, for example. But tracking the Monarchs, by attaching a tiny, toll-free phone number to each butterfly's wing, is an unusual quest.

Groth said information from people who call in after finding the butterflies will contribute mightily to understanding the butterflies and preserving them for future generations.

And when he needed help in setting the butterflies free, he got an enthusiastic offer from parents and kids who participate in a "Garden of Learning" program at the Schnell School. When he delivered the butterflies, every kid in the school - kindergarten through fifth grade - excitedly gathered to perform the passage.

"When I opened the envelope, the butterfly just sat there and then it fluttered away - probably to some place where it won't have to be captive," said 10-year old Michael Christensen. "I hope we'll learn things so that the butterflies will increase in numbers and live longer and better lives. Their lives are pretty short right now - but pretty exciting."

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Schnell School Students Release Monarch Butterflies for Research

Mountain Democrat, Placerville, California (10/20/99)

Students at Schnell School in Placerville experienced a dazzling science lesson Tuesday when they released Monarch butterflies into the sky. The butterflies were tagged for scientific research that is being done to learn more about how Monarchs migrate. The butterflies were brought to the school after they emerged from their chrysalises and were tagged. All of the school's classes met at Schnell's lunch area, near the school gardens. Each student released an orange-and-black Monarch.

The research is being conducted by Swallowtail Farms in Woodland, owned by Jacob Groth, 28, a 1989 graduate of El Dorado High School. The farm is a butterfly breeding company, and researchers hope to learn more about the mysteries of how Monarchs migrate. Monarch butterflies do something no other insect is known to do - they migrate great distances in order to survive. In autumn, Monarchs fly as far south as Mexico. The Monarchs keep moving in their southern migration until they finally arrive where warmer weather conditions suit them for surviving the winter. In spring, new generations flock north again to find plants needed for their survival.

There are still many unanswered questions about the Monarch migrations. How many generations of butterflies are involved in the southern and northern migrations? If several generations are involved, then why do these butterflies return to the same small winter sites year after year? How can they fly thousands of miles from where they emerged, to small groves of trees they have never seen, in a part of the country where they have never been?

The autumn Monarchs are particularly interesting. They look exactly the same as the spring and summer Monarchs, but their bodies react differently and they behave differently. They feed heartily, storing fat to get through the long winter. They cease mating and migrate south and west almost immediately after they are able to fly. They may live as long as six months instead of the normal six weeks.

One way researchers are learning more about Monarch butterflies is with tagging programs. Wildlife biologists have long tracked the movements of large animals like polar bears, wolves or mountain lions by attaching collars with radio transmitters. Butterflies are too small to carry radios. Researchers have to depend on ordinary people to help them trace the butterflies' movements. Butterfly tagging consists of putting two small orange tags on each lower wing of large numbers of insects. Each butterfly has its own serial number and a toll-free number for the finder to call and receive instructions. The hope is that people finding tagged butterflies will be good enough to help in the battle to preserve the Monarch. If you find a dead, tagged Monarch, you are asked to call the number on the tag.

With living butterflies, the first rule is to not harm the insect. Researchers don't want Monarchs killed because they are tagged. If you can capture and release one without harming it, get the serial number and record the date and location of the encounter, and call the toll-free phone number.

Research organizations that are doing the tagging will normally send you a letter in response, telling you when and where that particular butterfly was tagged. And you will get first-hand information about that one Monarch's migration history.

Schnell School students have raised butterflies in recent years as part of their Garden of Learning program. The idea to have students participate in the release of tagged butterflies came from Swallowtail Farms. For students at Schnell, it was the highlight of a series of lessons on the wonders of the Monarch butterfly.