ARLINGTON — As the land steward for the Goose Pond Sanctuary, Emma Raasch is quite familiar with the monarch butterflies that roost in the Norway spruce and draw nectar from the wildflowers that populate this 400-acre prairie in southern Columbia County.
Emma Raasch of the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance works carefully as she glues a tiny transmitter to a monarch butterfly. The Project Monarch app allows butterflies with the 60 milligram devices to be tracked throughout North America during their migration to Mexico in the fall and their return trips in the spring. Monarchs live about 8 months.
The 60 milligram radio transmitters for monarch butterflies were developed as part of Project Monarch, a joint effort by Cellular Tracking Technologies, which created the device, and Cape May Point Arts & Science Center in New Jersey, which created the app. These six transmitters cost $200 each.
Suzanne Otto releases a butterfly she sponsored that now has a tiny transmitter. Otto, who lives in Madison, said she has become obsessed with using the Project Monarch app to track the butterflies, this one named Suzanne. The butterfly was last detected in northeastern Iowa.
The Project Monarch app tracks hundreds of butterflies, each equipped with a $200 micro-transmitter. This view shows the 30 butterflies tagged and released between Sept. 3rd and 6th by the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance in Arlington, about 17 miles north of Madison. This view shows a butterfly, given the name “Liatris,” was released on Sept. 6th and by Thursday had flown 176 miles to Red Wing, Minnesota.
Goose Pond Sanctuary, owned by the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, offers prime habitat for monarch butterflies. Here, Mark Martin, manager of the sanctuary, begins a walk into a segment of prairie along Kampen Road.
Jim Otto holds a net with a monarch butterfly he had just captured. The butterfly was later equipped with a solar-powered micro-transmitter that allows scientists and the general public to track via an app the butterfly’s migration to Mexico.
Monarch butterflies need to weigh at least 500 milligrams in order to be fitted with a 60 milligram transmitter. The butterflies are placed in glassine envelopes to protect them during the process.
Emma Raasch of the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance works carefully as she glues a tiny transmitter to a monarch butterfly. The Project Monarch app allows butterflies with the 60 milligram devices to be tracked throughout North America during their migration to Mexico in the fall and their return trips in the spring. Monarchs live about 8 months.
Suzanne Otto releases a butterfly she sponsored that now has a tiny transmitter. Otto, who lives in Madison, said she has become obsessed with using the Project Monarch app to track the butterflies, this one named Suzanne. The butterfly was last detected in northeastern Iowa.
Jim Otto holds a net with a monarch butterfly he had just captured. The butterfly was later equipped with a solar-powered micro-transmitter that allows scientists and the general public to track via an app the butterfly’s migration to Mexico.
Goose Pond Sanctuary, owned by the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, offers prime habitat for monarch butterflies. Here, Mark Martin, manager of the sanctuary, begins a walk into a segment of prairie along Kampen Road.
The 60 milligram radio transmitters for monarch butterflies were developed as part of Project Monarch, a joint effort by Cellular Tracking Technologies, which created the device, and Cape May Point Arts & Science Center in New Jersey, which created the app. These six transmitters cost $200 each.
Monarch butterflies need to weigh at least 500 milligrams in order to be fitted with a 60 milligram transmitter. The butterflies are placed in glassine envelopes to protect them during the process.
The Project Monarch app tracks hundreds of butterflies, each equipped with a $200 micro-transmitter. This view shows the 30 butterflies tagged and released between Sept. 3rd and 6th by the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance in Arlington, about 17 miles north of Madison. This view shows a butterfly, given the name “Liatris,” was released on Sept. 6th and by Thursday had flown 176 miles to Red Wing, Minnesota.
