COUNTING MONARCHS IN CAPE MAY FOR TWO DECADES PLUS . . .
2012
Cape May Point, NJ
This page will be updated weekly between September 1 and October 31. Data represents running seasonal totals for our road census. The MMP team for 2011 includes Louise Zemaitis, MMP Field Coordinator, Mark Garland, MMP Communications Director, Julia Druce, MMP Intern, Dick Walton, MMP Director, Mike Crewe, Program Director, CMBO, and David Mizrahi, Vice President for Research, CMBO. Lincoln Brower is our co-researcher and scientific advisor.
The Cape May Point Road Census is conducted three times per day from September 1st through October 31st. Counts are made by a single observer driving a car approximately 20-25 mi. per hour along a 5 mile route. All monarchs observed are tallied but no stops are allowed to count specific concentrations. The route passes through a variety of habitats including southern hardwood forest, agricultural field, brackish wetland meadow, suburban neighborhoods, and coastal dunes along the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay. See "Census" tab on main page for map. See also, research publications listed at bottom of page.
2012 - Daily Road Census Counts
| Oct | Minutes | #Monarchs | Monarchs/Hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 38 | 2 | 3.16 |
Table #1 Each yearly column shows the average number of monarchs seen per hour for each of the nine* census weeks. The final cell in the yearly column is the average number of monarchs seen per hour for that year over the entire season.
| Week | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7.7 | 12.0 | 95.5 | 43.0 | 9.1 | 185.6 | 3.0 | 23.9 | 2.5 | 23.4 | 6.6 | 24.8 | 5.5 | 32.0 | 25.0 | 42.4 | 14.3 | 25.9 | 21.8 | 8.63 | 16.87 |
| 2 | 14.2 | 13.5 | 213.6 | 26.9 | 4.2 | 65.4 | 54.6 | 10.9 | 3.3 | 42.2 | 42.8 | 14.8 | 3.2 | 21.8 | 74.4 | 23.9 | 6.0 | 7.3 | 143.2 | 5.88 | 141.71 |
| 3 | 14.5 | 109.9 | 120.6 | 16.2 | 141.9 | 216.4 | 4.3 | 298.8 | 32.9 | 67.9 | 62.7 | 3.3 | 9.2 | 22.2 | 132.6 | 131.1 | 28.4 | 38.3 | 500.3 | 9.76 | 171.18 |
| 4 | 15.3 | 152.9 | 143.3 | 22.1 | 78.5 | 226.1 | 93.5 | 413.4 | 112.8 | 134.3 | 70.3 | 5.4 | 11.7 | 115.5 | 750.2 | 59.1 | 11.6 | 24.2 | 42.9 | 13.0 | 236.77 |
| 5 | 7.7 | 149.1 | 162.2 | 25.4 | 127.3 | 71.2 | 96.9 | 1536.8 | 53.7 | 189.6 | 8.5 | 78.3 | 16.3 | 79.4 | 629.7 | 64.6 | 77.2 | 87.4 | 49.4 | 210.0 | 442.19 |
| 6 | 14.3 | 57.2 | 15.4 | 27.0 | 48.6 | 77.3 | 46.2 | 531.4 | 18.0 | 53.2 | 34.2 | 135.7 | 16.9 | 13.0 | 52.3 | 38.0 | 48.3 | 67.5 | 233.4 | 261.0 | 75.22 |
| 7 | 18.9 | 20.5 | 17.0 | 36.6 | 49.6 | 65.0 | 71.3 | 20.9 | 15.1 | 58.5 | 20.5 | 90.3 | 6.7 | 235.2 | 53.8 | 262.2 | 63.2 | 4.4 | 21.3 | 90.0 | 34.06 |
| 8 | 0.9 | 14.9 | 54.1 | 15.0 | 33.3 | 8.3 | 33.3 | 5.6 | 8.8 | 75.6 | 26.2 | 28.4 | 2.2 | 15.4 | 17.8 | 79.0 | 12.4 | 20.2 | 9.3 | 69.82 | 94.87 |
| 9* | 0.0 | 14.6 | 18.1 | 36.3 | 11.1 | 4.3 | 0.0 | 7.5 | 3.6 | 13.7 | 5.0 | 11.3 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 7.6 | 45.7 | 4.4 | 6.0 | 4.9 | 13.64 | *9.39 |
| Final | 11.3 | 66.6 | 93.5 | 27.4 | 60.1 | 113.4 | 47.9 | 359.8 | 30.6 | 77.3 | 32.9 | 45.2 | 8.9 | 63.2 | 216.7 | 81.2 | 31.1 | 34.4 | 130.0 | 85.29 | 183.15 |
Data © Richard K. Walton and Lincoln P. Brower.
We invite you to join CMBO and support the
educational and research efforts of the Monarch Monitoring Project. 2012
should be an exciting season! Specific information about our talks and
walks as well as Monarch tagging demonstrations is available on the CMBO "Activities
Calendar" (see link above) and from:
Cape May Bird Observatory
Center for Research and Education
600 Route 47 North, Cape May Court House, NJ 08201
Phone: 609.861.0700
Open Daily 9:00-4:30
MMP and Related Publications
Brower, L. 1995. Understanding and misunderstanding the migration of the monarch butterfly (Nymphalidae) in North America: 1857–1995. Journal of the Lepidopterist’s Society 49:304–385.
Walton, R. and L. Brower. 1996. Monitoring the fall migration of the monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus L. (Nymphalidae: Danainae) in eastern North America: 1991–1994. Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 50:1–20.
Walton, R., L. P. Brower, and A. K. Davis. 2005. Long-term monitoring and fall migration patterns of the monarch butterfly (Nymphalidae: Danainae) in Cape May, NJ. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 98:682–689.
Gibbs,D., Walton, R., Brower, L., and Davis, A. Monarch Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Migration Monitoring at Chincoteague, Virginia and Cape May, New Jersey: A Comparison of Long-term Trends. 2006. Journal Of The Kansas Entomological Society 79(2), 2006, pp. 156–164.
Brindza, L., Brower, L.P., Davis, A.K. & Van Hook, T. 2008
Comparative success of monarch butterfly migration to
overwintering sites in Mexico from inland and coastal sites
in Virginia. Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society, 62, 189–200.
Davis, A. 2011. Are migratory monarchs really declining in
eastern North America? Examining evidence from two fall census
programs. The Royal Entomological Society, Insect
Conservation and Diversity.
Brower, L., Taylor, O.,Wiliams, E., Slayback, D., Zubietas, R.,
Ramirez. 2011. Decline of monarch butterflies overwintering in
Mexico: is the migratory phenomenon at risk? The Royal
Entomological Society, Insect Conservation and Diversity.