The migratory monarch butterfly rests at Pismo Beach, California on its way to Mexico. Credit: Shutterstock
Each year, thousands of enthusiasts and educators across North America collect Monarch eggs and caterpillars from the wild and raise them indoors, patiently waiting for butterflies to appear. Growing monarch butterflies indoors has become an increasingly popular activity and has many benefits.
Captive monarchs offer a unique opportunity for people to learn about the complex life cycle of butterfly At the same time, it helps to raise awareness about Monarch Maintenance. However, the breeding of monarchs (and other butterflies) should be done responsibly and moderately so as not to adversely affect the population.
Monarch butterflies Multi-generational transition In the spring and summer, it travels north to Canada, and in the fall, a new generation of monarchs undergoes their own transformation to prepare for a single long-distance trip to the south.These bigger and stronger Monarch butterfly Will Travel over 4,500 kilometers to gather and overwinter By millions of people in the high canopy of the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico.
Population decline
However, the wintering population of monarch butterflies in the east is Occupancy level of 44.95 hectares in 1997 to 14.95 hectares in 2019, 5 hectares this year..Some causes of this decline Loss of milkweed fed by caterpillars, long-term climate changes, deforestation in wintering areas..This is the cause Concerns about the possibility of extinction And the loss of transport phenomena.
Keeping monarchs indoors has been touted as a way to help increase population and mitigate the decline. In practice, indoor breeding probably rarely supplements the wild population, but it probably helps a lot in awareness and education.
The practice of indoor breeding is not controversial and has been considered potentially harmful due to the possible adverse effects it may have. Butterfly health And the risks it can pose to the ability of butterflies to move to Mexico.
but, Our recent research It provides some evidence that indoor-raised monarchs may still be able to move south to wintering grounds.
Confused butterflies
Our team at the University of Guelph Grow Monarch Caterpillar in Controlled Indoor Milkweed Environmental condition It was close to what the monarch would naturally experience in the wild. When the butterfly comes out of the cocoon, Flight simulator, A large open ship with a digital sensor that records the direction the monarch tried to fly.
The results of this experiment are consistent with previous studies On average, indoor-reared monarchs were not in the right direction for migration to Mexico...
The inability of monarch butterflies to turn around in flight simulators may be due to their lack of exposure to natural or direct sunlight during development. Many animals are equipped with an internal clock that tells them when to perform a particular activity.For monarch butterflies, this internal clock Is on their antenna And when Coupled with visual information about the position of the sun, Tell the monarch in which direction to fly each fall.
Recalibration in natural light
With this in mind, our research team goes one step further to determine if an indoor-reared monarch exposed to natural environmental conditions and sunlight after being released can adjust the internal compass to fly south. Did.
To do so, our team installed a small radio transmitter in the second group of indoor-reared monarchs and released the butterflies into the wild. Radio transmitters emit signals on the move, and if the monarch flies close enough, they can be received by one of the hundreds of automatic radio receiver towers scattered throughout North America. Called Motus Telemetry Array..
Twenty-nine butterflies were detected at the beginning of the move, and after some time outdoors, it was found that these butterflies were able to acquire orientation and fly south. This suggests that under certain controlled conditions, growing Monarch indoors may not affect Monarch’s orientation or ability to initiate movement.
Indoor breeding provides a valuable tool for learning and nurturing connections with nature. Our results help reduce concerns that indoor breeding will adversely affect the orientation of the monarch.
Further research is needed to determine how monarchs behave in different indoor conditions and different breeding areas in North America, but according to our research, monarch enthusiasts use these butterflies. You can continue to enjoy the wonderful experience of growing at home.
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Quote: Monarch butterflies in captivity were acquired from https: //phys.org/news/2021-07-monarch-butterflies-captivity-migration.html on July 27, 2021 (July 2021). You can continue to participate on the 27th).
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