Two years ago I had the great thrill of seeing Monarchs in their winter roosts in California, treasured memories. Do Australian Monarchs migrate and roost in the same way?
This is a lovely image, one I am delighted to call favourite
j
@jesika2 well I had to google a little to find out about this, so thanks for asking as it was really interesting. the short answer is no, not like they do in the US.
They do migrate a little here, but the reason for doing it where you are is that they need to escape the cold.
We don't get snow in many parts of Australia at all. Where I live, it is a subtropical area, so I have monarchs on the property all year round, just more of them in summer as they do seem to slow down and probably stop breeding in the winter.
What this does mean tho is that we don't see them display those mass roosting behaviours, and I have wondered about that, so I've learnt something to start my day :)
@koalagardens Thank you for that, it's really fascinating. We don't have Monarchs in Britain, maybe one in 10 years as a VERY rare migrant blown off course. Sadly numbers in the Americas have fallen drastically and there is a huge conservation/preservation to help boost numbers. Only time will tell how successful this will be.
Thank you again, it's very kind of you to check.
j
@jesika2 they are not native to Australia, but came in accidentally and interestingly rely on plants like milkweed which is not a native. yet most Australians love them and think they are native.
The great thing about them is that they are not aggressive or destructive to our native butterflies so they are not regarded as a problem, and have managed to become part of the landscape here. I enjoy learning so questions are always a good thing :)
This is a lovely image, one I am delighted to call favourite
j
They do migrate a little here, but the reason for doing it where you are is that they need to escape the cold.
We don't get snow in many parts of Australia at all. Where I live, it is a subtropical area, so I have monarchs on the property all year round, just more of them in summer as they do seem to slow down and probably stop breeding in the winter.
What this does mean tho is that we don't see them display those mass roosting behaviours, and I have wondered about that, so I've learnt something to start my day :)
Thank you again, it's very kind of you to check.
j
The great thing about them is that they are not aggressive or destructive to our native butterflies so they are not regarded as a problem, and have managed to become part of the landscape here. I enjoy learning so questions are always a good thing :)
( If you looked on the link you can find many more pic.`s of the churches around)