One of the times I was at the garden this last weekend, I spotted this monarch butterfly and started taking photos of it. That's when I noticed it had some sort of tag on it. The message gave an email address so I emailed a photo of the butterfly and stated that I had seen it. I was thinking that it was some sort of monarch tracking. I got a return email on Tuesday and found out that there was a study done at the Desert Botanical Garden with some monarch butterflies and this was one of them. They didn't say anything more about the study so I have no idea what they were looking for. I would guess it was something about their migration. So, the only thing I can conclude is that if the study was recent, this little guy hasn't strayed very far. If the study was a while ago, maybe this guy has come back.
Amazing how something so delicate could be tagged... beautiful shot!
ReplyDeleteI have never seen such a thing before, although I have heard of it.
ReplyDeleteMersad
Mersad Donko Photography
Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteNever seen a tagged butterfly.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photo, Sharon !
This photo is so perfect! I hope the people in the study learned something from your information.
ReplyDeleteGoodness that's quite a big tag, butterfly wings are so fragile, wouldn't it affect their flight.. so many questions Sharon :)
ReplyDeleteYour photograph is gorgeous. And you have a mystery on your hands. A butterfly mystery. That could be the title of your next book!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how they tag them without injuring those delicate wings. Good luck and good life to this little beauty.
ReplyDeleteAmazing! I didn't even know butterflies could be tagged... :-)
ReplyDeleteI also wonder how on earth they can tag them.
ReplyDeleteI've heard fo butterfly tagging but have never seen one before. Nice one, Sharon!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it feels it... It's a lovely photo though!
ReplyDeleteGood thing the tag doesn't weigh him down.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely need more butterflies and bees!(PS. I will be posting and commenting sporadically for awhile; I need to take care of some medical issues first, which leaves me little time to blog.) Have a good week-end!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting. It's good to know that a little sticky spot doesn't interfere with its wing action.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember everything but I went to one of these butterflies release in 2008, I would think they do this once a year. They stick "organics stickers" to sleepy butterflies,these ones are kept in refrigerators so that they could be handled easily during the manipulation. They fly south to Mexico and fly up to 3 000 miles if I remember... There are more amazing facts about them I am sure on the web.
ReplyDeleteBut butterflies are having a terrible time with deforestation because they can't find their usual spot where they usually reproduce and die wandering around...