Today in Nature: Milkweed takes Flight

October 6th: Just as the strong winds of fall begin to blow, this milkweed plant is getting ready to hitch a ride. The pods have opened, revealing up to 100 brown seeds, each one connected to a silky parachute. The design is ingenious - some seeds will fly many acres away. The seeds are the plant's future, and key to the destiny of monarch butterflies, too. These are the only plants they will lay eggs on, so a good crop of milkweed is also good for insuring the survival of these beautiful butterflies.

Today in Nature: Tracking Monarch Butterfly Migrations

September 10th: So here is how scientists track the migrations of monarch butterflies. I came across this one in High Park today. The tag is from the University of Kansas, which invites people in North America to affix these tags to the butterflies so their routes can be tracked. I have emailed them with the information, and hopefully they will let us know where this butterfly has been. It is possible it was tagged here. However, it is the right time of year for it to head south for Mexico. If so, this may be one of its last days in our fair city before making its amazing journey southwards. I'll let you know if the University gets back to me about where it was tagged. Cool, eh?

Today in Nature: Mating Monarch Butterflies

Mating Monarch Butterflies

September 3rd: Birds do it, bees do it, and this is how monarch butterflies do it. The male has his wings outstretched. The thin black dot near the bottom of his wing contains a scent which has attracted this female. The fact that this pair is mating means they won't be flying south this fall. Their offspring will do that, being born without active sex organs, so they will have the strength to head to Mexico. If they get there, next spring, they will breed, with newly matured sexual organs. Their parents, seen here, have a lifespan of just 3-5 weeks as butterflies. Their great-great-grandparents arrived in Toronto this past spring. Die young, stay pretty?