Monitoring of monarch butterflies, restoration and conservation of habitat and water projects, fire prevention
Institut de l’écologie de l’État de Guanajuato
Agency Type
Municipal, State
Target or Affiliated Species or Habitat
Monarques
Original Language
Spanish
The Ecology Institute of the State of Guanajuato (Instituto de Ecología del Estado de Guanajuato) monarch-monitoring website provides information about volunteers involved in monitoring activities in the state (Reporta Monarca 2014). In 2015, 674 volunteers from 128 villages in Guanajuato were trained in monarch monitoring. Most of the volunteers are from the municipalities Jarécuaro, Tarimoro and Apaseo El Grande. The Institute received 303 reports of butterflies observed from there that year. Most reports came from the towns Acambaro and Jerécuaro, Apaseo el Grande, San José Iturbide, and Tarimoro.
Of the 303 reports, 269 were of flying butterflies. Reports indicate that monarchs in Guanajuato use flowers such as bougainvillea, camphor, daylilies, milkweed, carnations, peach, dahlias, sunflowers, guava, acacia, flowers of lime and lemon, roses, pepper tree, zapote, tronadoras, daisies, persimmons, noche buena, eucalyptus, among others. Results of the monarch counts conducted by volunteers for 10 minutes and performed by technicians for 20 minutes, estimate that Guanajuato was visited by 22,732 butterflies.
Reports of roosting monarchs indicate they rest on trees such as the pepper tree, eucalyptus, mesquite, acacia, pine, casuarinas, medlar, bougainvillea, licorice and oak, among others. Most of the butterflies were observed between 3 and 13 November 2015 (Guzmán 2016; Reporta Monarca 2014).
- Reporta Monarca. 2014. Monitoreo participativo para definir la ruta de migración de la mariposa monarca (Danaus plexippus) en el estado de Guanajuato. reportamonarca.com/#!monitoreo-participativo-en-guanajuato/c1h6a.
- David Guzmán. 2016. Instituto de Ecología del Estado de Guanajuato, Assistant Director. Personal communication.