2022 Challenge Winners
Week 1
We are stoked to announce our first winner of the 2022 Western Monarch Mystery Challenge – gbid! 馃帄馃帀
Gbid submitted this monarch sighting to iNaturalist on Valentine鈥檚 Day all the way out in Fresno, CA. This sighting is located much further inland than previous sightings at this time of year. And, if you look closely at the photos, you can see the loss of wing scales, indicating that this monarch may have traveled a long way. You can view sighting details at iNaturalist.
Thanks to gbid for this submission! They will be receiving a $50 REI gift card.
We are so encouraged by the number of butterflies you all are sending us. We hope you can get outside this weekend and find some monarchs!
Week 2
Congratulations to our Week 2 winners, the Luckenbill family!! Julia and her daughter, Sarah, found some monarchs while visiting grandparents in the Bay Area. Here’s what they had to say:
Monarch butterflies (4, my nine year old is pretty sure) 2/19/2022 at the Berkeley Marina near Adventure Playground. They were moving between the playground and the cypress trees behind it.
Their family will receive a $50 REI gift card.
Week 3
Congratulations to sweiser on iNaturalist, our third prize winner of the 2022 challenge season! They reported a sighting in Woodlake, CA, near the base of Dry Creek Preserve. While walking, they noticed a monarch perching on sticks and leaf litter. This observation is located far from overwintering sites, both those along the coast and further inland in the Sierra Nevadas. We hope to use this sighting to better understand the flight path of migratory monarchs in the spring.
Week 4
Congratulations to our Week 4 winner, Betty from Oakland! A few days ago, Betty was admiring the garden in Cleveland Elementary School, and the bright yellow flowers of the wild mustard attracted a monarch butterfly! She captured this picture of the monarch nectaring. Planting native nectar plants can provide habitat for monarchs and other pollinators, especially in urban areas.
Week 5
Our winner this week is Amy from San Luis Obispo! Amy planted native narrowleaf milkweed and they attracted a female monarch in late February. But how did the monarch find those short plants? Monarchs can visually recognize milkweeds, but they can also sense their unique chemicals signals using their front legs and antennae! Females will even “test” the chemical profile of milkweeds before laying their eggs on them.
Week 6
Congratulations to David in Palo Alto for his winning monarch sighting! David was taking a walk in his neighborhood mid-morning. Among the ice plants, a monarch was basking in the sun. The photos that you take while out and about in your neighborhood or local park can inform biologists about western monarch distribution and migration. All you have to do is send us the monarch photos that you鈥檙e already taking!
Week 7
Our week 7 winner is Sean Werle on iNaturalist! Sean is a retired aquatic biologist turned wildlife photographer who saw monarchs in Mariposa, southwest of Yosemite National Park. But, you don鈥檛 need to be a photographer to join our project. Your photos help us, clear or blurry!!
Week 8
Congratulations to Hailey for her monarch butterfly observation in Davis! 馃帄This monarch, likely a female, was nectaring on this pea plant on Saturday last weekend. If you look along the wing margins, you鈥檒l see that she鈥檚 missing a few pieces of her wing. That means she may have traveled a long distance to arrive there.
Thanks to Hailey, a self described student biologist and nature lover, for her contribution to community science! She will be receiving a $50 REI gift card.
We have two more weeks left until Earth Day! There鈥檚 still a chance to win a gift card for yourself. Send us your monarch butterfly photos (+date and location) via email at monarchmystery@wsu.edu or upload them to iNaturalist or Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper.
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隆Felicidades a Hailey por su observaci贸n de una mariposa monarca en Davis! Esta monarca, probablemente una hembra, estaba bebiendo n茅ctar de una planta guisante el s谩bado de la semana pasada. Si miras a la margen de su ala, vas a ver que hay piezas faltantes. Esto significa que ella podr铆a volar largas distancias para llegar a Davis.
Muchas gracias a Hailey, que se describi贸 a s铆 misma como una estudiante bi贸loga y amante de la naturaleza, por su contribuci贸n de ciencia comunitaria. Ella va a recibir una tarjeta de regalo por $50 a REI.
Tenemos dos semanas m谩s hasta el d铆a de la Tierra. Hay oportunidades para ganar una tarjeta de regalo. Sube sus fotos (con la fecha y la locaci贸n) a iNaturalist o manda por email a monarchmystery@wsu.edu
Week 9
Our second-to-last winner of 2022 is Gerrick! He found a male monarch nectaring on purple flowers in Grass Valley, CA. This is the most northern sighting we鈥檝e seen this year, and it鈥檚 nearly 100 miles away from the nearest overwintering site! Nine weeks down, one to go馃
Week 10
Our final Mystery Challenge winner of 2022 is Chris, who found monarch adults, caterpillars, and eggs on one California milkweed plant! This milkweed likely sprouted after a wildfire, which clears vegetation for nectar plant species to grow. All photos belong to Chris Winchell.
