tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post2153394871796795903..comments2024-01-28T03:56:39.351-08:00Comments on TOM CLARK: The return of the exhausted monarchyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-51843675023605208892015-01-07T17:23:44.774-08:002015-01-07T17:23:44.774-08:00That these remarkable insects, weighing between on...That these remarkable insects, weighing between one-fourth and three-fourths of an ounce, with a wingspan of less than four inches, and a lifespan of only six to eight months, should be able to manage journeys of up to 3000 miles, is astonishing enough, and that's not even to consider the facts that "only monarchs born in late summer or early fall make the migration, and they make only one round trip; by the time next year's winter migration begins, several summer generations will have lived and died and it will be last year's migrators' great grandchildren that make the trip; yet somehow these new generations know the way, and follow the same routes their ancestors took -- sometimes even returning to the same tree" (National Geographic).<br /><br />But who needs a creature like that on a planet whose dominant inhabitants believe there is a far greater need for GMO crops, herbicides, commercial logging, massive deforestation and destruction of any given remaining bits of natural environment, if there's a dollar in it for somebody.<br /><br />The little four-line elegy recalls a time a half century ago in a small coastal fishing village that is now an enclave of the very rich, though hopefully it remains a seasonal stopover on the long Western flyway for the monarchs. They deserve a break.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-19243773837967645802015-01-07T13:14:10.228-08:002015-01-07T13:14:10.228-08:00Tenuous shelter - not much else these days.
I'...Tenuous shelter - not much else these days.<br /><br />I've noticed the drop in numbers of British species in my lifetime. Horrible.<br /><br />Mose23https://www.blogger.com/profile/01100756913131511440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-80540072175679299302015-01-07T03:11:32.523-08:002015-01-07T03:11:32.523-08:00The Incredible story of the Monarch Butterfly: Fou...<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le1snq0ROXM" rel="nofollow">The Incredible story of the Monarch Butterfly: Four Wings and a Prayer (2014)</a>TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.com