The Monarch Monitoring Project is a long-term study on monarch migration through Cape May, NJ. It is a part of the New Jersey Audubon Research Department, and closely affiliated with the Cape May Bird Observatory.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Goodbye visitors!

The winds switched to an easterly direction today. The Monarchs that had stuck around to fatten up on nectar yesterday were able to glide out across the Delaware Bay, and they left shortly after the 9am census. We have done tons of tagging the past two days, so I can wave the butterflies off happily on the rest of their journey. It was this time last year when Samm Wehman's recaptured Monarch was first tagged, and I wonder if any of the ones I tag today will also be found on in Mexico or somewhere along the migratory route.

Even the skippers and buckeyes seem to be gone. But I did notice more orange sulfurs than we had previously. Looking forward to the next influx, there's sure to be another! Just waiting for those northwesterly winds to return.

Monarchs feed on any nectar-producing flower they can find
during the southbound migration.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Unexpected bonus day!

With tiny shreds of sunlight making it through the clouds and weak winds, I had low hopes for the day.  Much to my surprise, we had a great count for Monarchs. When I was looking at the butterfly bushes in the Pavillion Circle I could count up to 25 Monarchs nectaring at a time! Side-by-side there are some other beautiful butterflies at those bushes which you may want to try your hand at identifying (seen below). Many visitors crowded around to share the beautiful sight, and had their emerging Monarch biology questions answered. It's funny how such a wondrous event can really pique people's interest in a topic that otherwise would slip past the radar of most people's everyday thoughts. Suddenly biology, physiology, and genetics become accessible, even intriguing, for people.  I am so happy to share my interests with all of you!

American Lady, notice the two eyespots on the hind wing.
You can tell it apart from the Painted lady which would have 4 eyespots.

Orange sulfur, a large and vibrant yellow butterfly.

Angela Demarse discusses monarch biology with visitors
at Sunday's tagging demo.  Look for Angela and the rest of
the team as they tag monarchs around Cape May Point.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Lots of incoming visitors

The wonderful influx of Monarchs from yesterday's winds left some stragglers behind today. Monarchs were seen gliding all around the dunes this morning. The driving census was about half of what it was yesterday, which was still enough to keep the taggers busy all day long. Butterfly bushes everywhere on the Point had fluttering visitors throughout the day. Aside from Monarchs, Common Buckeyes are around in big numbers too, fascinating everyone who sees them with their purple-blue eyespots.

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia), photo credit: Tom Reed


Another interesting insect observation: these big stinkbugs must've blown in on the same winds because they arrived in big numbers yesterday too.



Those Monarchs that were still around the Point today seemed to be storing less fat than those we found yesterday. That means those ones we caught today will possibly be around nectaring for a couple of days before taking off on the rest of their migration. Although the upcoming winds are mostly Southerly, we can remain hopeful that these Monarchs still nectaring will provide us enough eye-candy until the next influx!



A large and enthusiastic crowd was drawn in for the tagging demonstration, where the whole MMP crew had a chance to jump in on discussion about our own Monarch research, their life cycles, biology,and conservation.

If you haven't made it yet, our demos are every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday @ 2pm in the State park pavillion, through October 12, and we hope to see you there!

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Best Day of the Year (So Far)

MMP volunteer Michael O'Brien photographed these two monarchs as
they glided over the dunes at Cape May Point this morning.

I hope that many of you reading this blog were in Cape May Point today.  The weather was glorious, and for most of the day we were seeing monarchs everywhere.  Five members of the team were actively tagging for part or all of the day,  and we did a whole lot of tagging and teaching.  The Cape was crowded -- a gorgeous September Saturday can be as busy as a summer day -- and as we were tagging we invariably drew questions from curious passersby, which quickly evolved into mini-lessons about monarch biology.  A huge crowd, over 100 people, attended our 2 pm tagging demo, and an additional monarch lesson was given to a prominent regional conservation group, Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries, by our Field Coordinator Louise Zemaitis.  I suspect that our team educated well over 250 people today.


One of many monarchs visiting Cape May Point today.


The census tally was the highest of the year so far, with a value of 122.1 monarchs/hour.  Unfortunately, the third and final census of the day (3:00 pm) tallied fewer monarchs than did the first two runs.  Our sense is that many monarchs arrived into Cape May Point in the morning, but then many departed for Delaware in the afternoon.  We're tempted to feel disappointed when monarchs are leaving Cape May, but of course they need to leave quickly when the winds are in their favor, they've got 2,000 miles to go before they get to their Mexican winter home.

Southeast winds are forecast for tomorrow, and those are not winds that typically bring monarchs into Cape May.  We expect a slower day, but of course we're always just guessing about the future, we have no magic crystal ball.  But it's very likely that we'll see other big monarch days this fall, perhaps one or more with a greater number of monarchs than were seen today.  So do as we do, come to Cape May Point just as often as you can.  We're out there every day.  If it's a slow day for monarchs, there are always other wonders to enjoy.  We're still seeing many butterflies in addition to monarchs, as shown below.  And there are always those birds, dragonflies, wildflowers ... as we like to say, there's no such thing as a bad day in Cape May.

Red admirals are easy to find in Cape May right now, especially along
the yellow trail in Cape May Point State Park, where some rotting
pears are providing a tasty meal for these and other species.

Eastern tailed blues are around, too.  Train your eyes low to see this one,
it rarely flies higher than waist height.


Friday, September 26, 2014

Busy Day for MMP Team

It was a gorgeous day in Cape May, mostly sunny with gentle breezes from the north.  Our census total jumped up to 61/hour, but that just begins to tell the story.  Monarchs seemed to be arriving into Cape May all day, and during the afternoon we watched as monarchs dropped from the sky into the gardens all around Cape May Point.  Our team mobilized and by late afternoon four of us were tagging.  As we tagged we all found ourselves giving impromptu monarch biology lessons to the many visitors who stopped to ask questions.

We also had a lively tagging demo this afternoon, with a good number of attentive children in the audience.  The lively conversations and questions generated by the demo kept me there for two full hours.  We'll be talking about monarchs and showing how they are tagged again this Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm.

Our project made the television news again, this time on Philadelphia's CBS station, channel 3.  You can view the piece here: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/09/26/local-experts-say-monarch-butterflies-suffered-severe-decline-in-population-due-to-destroyed-natural-habitats/

Tomorrow's weather forecast is for another beautiful day, with lots of sun and gentle breezes from the northeast.  Monarchs will be on the move.  Some will surely leave Cape May Point and head to Delaware, and some may pass right over our little seaside town, riding those ideal winds of migration, but there's a good chance we'll see many more monarchs arriving into the gardens and natural habitats of Cape May.  Soon the seaside goldenrod will begin to bloom on the dunes, offering another great nectar plant to the migrating monarchs.  It will be a good weekend to visit Cape May, with the possibility of a great monarch show.  Birding should very good, and a big influx of dragonflies is also possible.  The critters fool us sometimes, so we don't promise anything, but we all have high hopes.  We'll let you know if reality matches our lofty expectations.  And if you find any spectacular monarch concentrations at a spot in Cape May Point that we might not have found, please track us down and let us know!  We'll be the ones with the butterfly nets.

Dick Walton explains monarch biology to eager listeners
at today's tagging demo.
Lindsey Brendel tagged monarchs for more than half an hour at today's demo,
as fascinated visitors wanted to watch the process over and over.

Here Lindsey releases a monarch that she has just tagged; can you see it flying away
up near the top of the frame?



Thursday, September 25, 2014

Monarchs on Rain Delay

Today the monarchs were mimicking what many of us in Cape May were doing, waiting out the wind and rain in safe, dry spots.  Since a monarch weighs only half a gram, they can't really fight through rain and wind.  Monarchs roost in weather like this, which means they find a dry place, like the underside of a branch covered by a canopy of leaves, and wait for better weather.  Today was also overcast, which can also deter butterfly sightings.  Monarchs use the warmth of the sun to heat their bodies and flight muscles.  With the lack of sun, and constant rainy weather, not a single monarch was spotted on the 9am or noon census.

On the bright side, two monarchs are ready to emerge from their chrysalides in the terrarium at the Cape May Bird Observatory Northwood Center.  They will almost certainly emerge within the day.  If you need to see a monarch, CMBO is your best bet.  We expect better conditions for monarchs on Friday and through the weekend, but there's no way to know how many monarchs will arrive into Cape May.  Large flight or small, we'll report back to you here.

Monarch caterpillar in the terrarium at the CMBO Northwood Center.
We still have many caterpillars and chrysalides on display.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Wednesday Update

The ENE winds and approaching rains didn't bring many new monarchs to Cape May, but the ones that were here spent the morning fueling up on nectar at the Point.  Some monarchs were so busy nectaring on butterfly bushes that a net was not even needed to catch them for our Wednesday tagging demo.  Their focus on their food source was so intense, many were simply hand picked from the plant.

Monarch nectaring on butterfly weed

Tomorrows forecast calls for rain, and if so, the monarch count will undoubtedly be low.  We will have to wait and see what this weekend holds in store.  

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Good numbers today

Today the winds slowed and came from the North, and those Monarchs that were likely blown in yesterday took to the air. Our counts got better and better as the day went on, our morning count was average, but at noon we saw over 20 monarchs, and our 3 o'clock census saw 32 butterflies in less than 20 minutes! The greatest density were seen, as expected, along the dunes at Cape May Point. It's been a pretty cool day, the winds have been right, so maybe if we're lucky, just maybe someone will find a roost this week. If one is located, we will certainly keep you all posted.
Found 8 Monarch butterflies on this one butterfly bush on Harvard Road at Cape May Point.

A Carolina Mantid (Stagmomantis carolina) found on a different butterfly bush. Mantids predate on Monarchs and other insects.


In other news, we had another Monarch emerge from the chrysalis today! If you're at the Cape May Bird Observatory and want to see a caterpillar metamorphose into a chrysalis, or a chrysalis into a butterfly, here's what you need to watch for:

When a caterpillar is ready to metamorphose, it crawls upwards, sticks itself to a surface at its back end, and hangs into a J shape. Within the next 24 hours, it will become a chrysalis!


Monarch caterpillar in "J" shape. Photo credit: Lindsey Brendel

When the chrysalis is ready to metamorphose, it changes from green to black. Over the next 24 hours, you will start to see the unforgettable orange, black and white wing clearly inside the chrysalis.




Then, slowly and gracefully, the fully-formed adult butterfly pushes its way out of the confinement of the chrysalis and perches on the chrysalis to pump out its wings.


A butterfly's magnificent metamorphosis is something people rarely get to see in their lives, and that's why we keep the terrariums here at the CMBO.


We're working hard to increase your odds of witnessing the event by raising as many Monarchs as our terrariums can fit. We look forward to meeting you and answering any questions you may have at the Cape May Bird Observatory!

Monday, September 22, 2014

A Promising Day

Monarchs (credit: Tom Reed)

Today was a windy day at Cape May Point. Strong northwesterly winds in the morning brought huge numbers of Merlins and American Kestrels. The strong winds prevented Monarchs from flying around for the morning and noon driving censuses, and the ones I did see flying were struggling to stay in one place.


American Kestrel (credit: Tom Reed)

Merlin (credit: Tom Reed) 

The Monarchs and other light-weight flyers (such as warblers) were sitting tight until late afternoon, when the winds died down a little and suddenly there was a decent push of butterflies into the area. The overall "average-per-hour" count today nearly tripled the count from yesterday, and the good news is that there's more northwesterly winds tomorrow! Make sure to do a few laps around Cape May Point in the afternoon if you're hoping to see a few of our favorite orange & black flappers.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Anticipation

Our census numbers dropped again today, just as we had predicted with the forecast of unfavorable winds for monarch migration into Cape May.  Shortly after midnight, however, a cold front is predicted to pass through Cape May, bringing northwest winds throughout the day tomorrow.  We're hoping these winds will bring an upsurge of migrants into Cape May, but there's no guarantee.  We just have to get back out there, conduct our censuses, and search for monarchs in the gardens and the skies at Cape May Point.

About the only thing we can accurately predict is the timing of our monarch tagging demos.  We shared monarch information with about 60 people at today's demo, the third of the year.  Our tagging demos will be held every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through October 12.  Join us at the East Shelter of Cape May Point State Park at 2:00 pm on any of these days.  The East Shelter is the covered picnic pavilion adjacent to the Hawkwatch Platform in the Park, right across the big parking lot from the Cape May Point Lighthouse.  We usually spend about ½ hour talking about the Monarch Monitoring Project, monarch biology and migration, and monarch conservation concerns.  We then break into smaller group to watch the tagging of monarchs, which are then released to continue their migrations toward Mexico.  There's no charge for these programs, though you're welcome to make a donation (and we've got some nice thank you gifts for donors).  We hope to see many of you at our demos during the coming weeks.

Lindsey Brendel (left) and Angela Demarse describe the monarch life
cycle to visitors at Sunday's tagging demo.



The Lull Continues

Cape May Point saw a rather mild and cloudy day today with 10-15 mph E to SE winds. We don't expect many new monarch migrants with SE winds, and that expectation was realized today with underwhelming Monarch counts. The forecast is still looking good for Monday, Northwest winds are coming, so don't lose hope!

In the meantime, you can enjoy the mild weather on some of Cape May's Trails and beautiful gardens. There are still lots of insects crawling around on days like these, so I took advantage of the lull and had some great sightings! Look closely, flip leaves, and enjoy all of the colorful little wonders that await you!

  
Saddleback caterpillar, Acharia stimulea
This caterpillar has many painful stingers, make sure you avoid touching this caterpillar. False eyes on the back (bottom photo) offer further protection from predators.

White-marked Tussock Moth (Orgyia leucostigma)

Stinging Rose Caterpillar (Parasa indetermina)
Another beautiful but painful stinging caterpillar.

A Green Darner (Anax junius, bottom) snatches a struggling black saddlebag (Tramea lacerata, top) in the air and lands on the ground to subdue and feed on its unfortunate prey.


Swallowtail caterpillars munching on some parsley

An Orbweaver spider wrapping silk around its prey

Sphinx moth caterpillar


 
 Grey Hairstreak (Strymon melinus) nectaring on some goldenrod.



Friday, September 19, 2014

A Bit of a Lull

Monarchs were still easy to find around Cape May Point today, but the census numbers were only about half of the totals counted on each of the previous three days.  Fairly strong east winds picked up this afternoon, and that may have had some of the monarchs clinging to vegetation and not readily seen on the census, but it does seem like more monarchs departed than arrived today.  The weekend forecast doesn't suggest that we'll see many more monarchs over the next 2 day, but another cold front is expected on Monday.  Our best guess is that early next week will bring the next noticeable influx of monarchs into Cape May.

This shouldn't be alarming.  Every year our monarch numbers go up and down several times.  A lot of it is weather dependent.  North winds trigger the southward movement of monarchs.  They are unlikely to fly into south winds -- with 2000 miles to cover, why try flying into a headwind?  West winds push monarchs towards the Atlantic coast, so more are likely to get funneled into Cape May.  East winds push many monarchs to the west of Delaware Bay, and they'll head south without ever coming to Cape May.  Northwest winds, which combine the attributes of the north winds and the west ones, generally deliver the most monarchs into Cape May.  Autumn cold fronts are usually followed by northwest winds.

We know that there are many more monarchs to come.  Plenty haven't even begun to migrate -- they're still in one of the immature stages.  We're still seeing many eggs, caterpillars, and chrysalides around Cape May, and we're told this is true to our north as well.  We're also hearing reports of large numbers of monarch on the move in places like the Lake Ontario shore in upstate New York.  So we'll continue to watch for a big movement of monarchs into Cape May.  North winds or south, lots of monarchs or just a few, we'll be continuing our studies every day until the end of October.  We invite you to come and watch along with us.

Monarch egg.


Monarch caterpillar, just about ready to pupate.
Monarch chrysalis. Wings of the soon-to-emerge adult are becoming visible.

 



Friday Morning Update

Just after sunrise this morning I visited the area where monarchs were gathering late yesterday afternoon.  I couldn't find any monarchs here.  On several other occasions we have watched monarchs gathering in one spot late in the day and then shifting to another location for the overnight roost.  This may have happened last night, we just don't know.  About ½ hour after sunrise I started seeing a good number of monarchs in flight, mostly drifting over the dunes at Cape May Point.  I wish I could tell you what the monarchs will do today, whether we'll see many or just a few, but there's no way to predict.  Our team will be out there again, counting and tagging, and we'll let you know what we find.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Steady Migration Continues

It was a pleasant day in Cape May, with very gentle winds, which mostly blew from the north.  Monarchs were migrating today, and hawk counter Tom Reed saw many gliding high overhead, probably riding the ideal, gentle winds right over the Bay to Delaware.  Census numbers were around 50 monarchs/hour for the third straight day.  It seems that as many monarchs were arriving into Cape May as were leaving, with many more just passing overhead and not detected on the census.  Most of the monarchs we were seeing were in excellent condition, a noticeable contrast to many of the worn and tattered ones that had been hanging around Cape May Point for several days.


MMP volunteer Paige Cunningham found a small roost of monarchs in Cape May Point just before 5 pm, and other team members gathered to observe.  At first there were just 10 or 15 monarchs spread out in groups of 1, 2, or 3 in a small grove of trees.  But every few minutes we'd see another monarch or two arrive, and soon more than 30 were present.  As we left, we saw a few others heading into the same grove.  I'm thinking that we were seeing the last of the day's high flying monarchs, who sensed that there wasn't enough time left in the day to cross over to Delaware, and so they were descending into Cape May Point.  Here they were seeking out other monarchs to join in an overnight roost.  We couldn't stay until dark to see what the final number would be, nor did we find any other roosting areas, but we'll be out early tomorrow morning to see what we can discover.


If I had to guess, I'd guess that we'll find a few more monarchs in this grove tomorrow morning, but I don't think it will be more than 50 or so.  I'll report back and let you know.  The forecast calls for another day of gentle winds tomorrow, starting in the north and swinging over to the east.  Those morning north winds could bring us more monarchs, the afternoon east winds probably won't.  But we never really know, which is why we're out there every day, counting monarchs, tagging monarchs, and trying to explain just what's happening with this year's migration.  We wonder about this every day, and we test our theories every time the wind changes direction.

Monarch resting atop a poison ivy leaf.

Looking ahead, we see that south winds and warm temperatures are predicted for the weekend.  If this forecast holds, we're not likely to see much new migration until Monday, when northwest winds at 10 - 15 mph are predicted.  We're quick to point out, however, that forecasts often change.  If you're planning to come to Cape May this weekend, don't cancel your plans.  You're sure to see at least a few monarchs around the gardens of Cape May Point, and you can join us for a tagging demo at 2 pm either Saturday or Sunday.  Meet us at the East Shelter in Cape May Point State Park for this ½ hour to 1 hour program.  There's no charge, though we can accept contributions to the project from any who wish to donate.

We'll close with mention of another article about our project, this time from the Press of Atlantic City, which is due to run in tomorrow's paper.  The article, a video clip, and a nice gallery of photos may be found on the newspaper's website, at http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/monarch-butterflies-passing-through-south-jersey-picking-up-tags-along/article_390da8ae-3f7e-11e4-aabc-7f1b4a547b00.html.  We've been in the news almost every day this week.  While that's nice for us, it's especially heartening for the monarchs, who need more humans to care about their fate and to take actions that will protect monarchs and the milkweed plants they depend on.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Holding Steady

It was a beautiful fall day in Cape May, and monarchs drifting overhead and visiting gardens provided part of the day's charm.  The census count was down slightly from yesterday, with each day yielding around 50 monarchs/hour.  Not a huge influx, but the best days of the season so far.  We're expecting favorable winds again tomorrow, so there's a chance that our numbers will rise again.

Our seasonal team, Lindsey Brendel (left) and Angela Demarse (right)
tag monarchs late on Tuesday afternoon.

While it was a good day for monarch butterflies in Cape May Point, it was a spectacular day for the Monarch Monitoring Project in our efforts to educate and inform the public about monarch butterflies and their troubled status.  This morning we enjoyed reading about the project in a feature article from the Philadelphia Inquirer, which you can see online by clicking here.  Then, this evening, Lauren Wanko's video story was aired on NJTV News, and you can see that story right here.  It's just over two minutes in length.  We thank those in the media who help us spread the word, and we thank all of you who follow and support the Monarch Monitoring Project.  Please help us spread the word by directing others to subscribe to this blog and/or to "like" our project FaceBook page, which is https://www.facebook.com/CMMonarchs.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Here they come!

After a rainy, dreary morning in Cape May, shortly before noon the winds shifted to the northwest, the rain stopped, the sky cleared, and the migrants began to arrive.  First there were the hawks, then the skies around Cape May became filled with dragonflies, and then, yes, the monarchs started coming in.  Sure, we've been seeing monarchs around Cape May all month, but today we could see them dropping from high in the sky down to Cape May Point.  The census numbers rose dramatically from the morning run to the 3 pm count.  We feel that this was the first major influx of 2014.

Monarch in excellent condition, one of many found at Cape May Point today.

In addition to seeing a rise in the census numbers, our team noticed that most monarchs that we found were in excellent condition and had not been tagged.  A few days ago I set out to do some tagging, and when 5 of the first 6 monarchs I netted had already been tagged by our team, I realized that we were seeing monarchs that had been hanging around.  Even the ones that hadn't been tagged were often quite worn, like the one below.  Today we saw lots of new, fresh monarchs that were clearly just arriving into Cape May Point.


Our team took advantage of the influx and we did a lot of tagging.  I think we more than doubled the season's total of monarchs tagged just this afternoon.  In the shot below, Angela Demarse records data on one of today's monarchs.  The tagging process includes more than just affixing a tag to a monarch's wing, we also record date, time, location, gender, wing length, and fat reserves.  The whole process usually just takes about a minute.


Part of our day was once again spent meeting with the Press.  A major objective of our program is to inform and educate as many people as possible about the biology of monarchs and of the conservation issues related to our favorite insect.  Today we had a great opportunity to meet with Lauren Wanko, reporter for NJTV.  Lauren visited us in 2012 and did a nice piece on our project, which you can see here.  We love Lauren, she is a very thorough reporter who works hard to get the story right.  She's also very friendly, and our team thoroughly enjoyed working with her.  She worked on the story with us for over two hours.  The monarch segment is scheduled to air on NJTV as part of their 7 pm news on Wednesday, Sept. 17.  Below, our seasonal staff poses with Lauren and with monarch butterflies.

Left to right: Lindsey Brendel, Lauren Wanko of NJTV, and Angela Demarse.
It's a great time to be in Cape May.  North winds are predicted for tomorrow, so we're guessing more monarchs will be arriving.  This is also the season for lots of songbirds, raptors, and even a wayward tern to be seen in Cape May.  The Whiskered Tern that was found on Friday was seen many times again today.  It's a great season for seeing a great variety of butterflies and dragonflies; the White-M Hairstreak, shown below, distracted us from our monarch work for a few moments.  It was a full, exciting day for the Monarch Monitoring Project.  Head on down to Cape May Point if you have a chance, this place rarely disappoints.  If you see a member of our team out there sweeping through the gardens with a butterfly net in hand, be sure to stop and say hello.  If you've never seen a butterfly get tagged, you might even get an impromptu demonstration.  And if you want to come to one of our formal tagging demonstrations, those will occur this weekend on both Saturday, Sept. 20, and Sunday, Sept. 21, at 2 pm each day.  Find us at the East Pavilion in Cape May Point State Park, the covered picnic pavilion right next to the Hawk Watch Platform.



Monday, September 15, 2014

Monarchs Meet the Press

You can't ask for a nicer September day in Cape May.  It was sunny and cool, with gentle northwest winds most of the day bringing great numbers of songbirds and raptors down to the Point.  We saw a slight increase in monarchs, too, but not a major influx yet.  Our team was out in force, and while tagging only took a bit of our time, we had many opportunities for impromptu educational sessions with curious visitors to Cape May Point.
MMP volunteer Paige Cunningham, left, joins our seasonal team of
Lindsey Brendel, center, and Angela Demarse, right, at the Triangle Park.

Favorable winds for migration are predicted for the next three days, as well, so we're hopeful that lots of monarchs are on their way.  Of course we could be disappointed again.  The monarch population has plummeted, and this has caught the attention of the press and of New Jersey lawmakers, as noted earlier in this blog.  Our project was quoted again today in The Press of Atlantic City, you can see that article here.  We were visited by a photographer and another reporter from The Press of Atlantic City today, and we talked by phone with a reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Tomorrow a report from NJTV (which produces news and feature programming for public television stations in New Jersey) is coming to interview the team.  Monarchs are in trouble, so it's crucial that we spread the word about their plight and about possible solutions.  Responding to the reporters can take a lot of time, but we believe it's time well spent, and we welcome their questions and their visits.  Keep an eye on the blog, we'll continue to link to all the stories we see where members of our team are interviewed.

MMP Field Coordinator Louise Zemaitis and volunteer Michael O'Brien
are interviewed by Wallace McKelvey of The Press of Atlantic City.