A monarch rests on flowers in the courtyard in front of Cannon Memorial Chapel. (Photo courtesy University Communications, University of Richmond)
The regal monarch butterfly rests atop a throne of milkweed, the type of plant where it lays its eggs and on which its caterpillars feed. Identified by their distinct orange, black and white patterning, monarch butterflies appear across North America. But as of late, their numbers have been dwindling. In response, Jennifer Sevin, a University of Richmond visiting lecturer of biology, and students in her Introduction to Ecology class raised, tagged and released a group of monarch butterflies this past fall.
The release took place in October over the course of several days, but the raising and nurturing of the monarchs began a month earlier. They arrived in caterpillar form in September, ordered during the summer as eggs from Monarch Watch, a University of Kansas nonprofit dedicated to the conservation and research of monarch butterflies, and were raised in white mesh cages in Sevin’s classroom.
“When thinking about what to incorporate in my Introduction to Ecology class, which is taken primarily by non-science majors, I thought the monarch butterfly could serve as a flagship species to cover a large number of ecological topics, such as life cycles and life history, migration, coevolution, population densities, disease and more,” Sevin says, adding that she thought it was a good fit to have the class contribute to the monarch butterfly population as a way of active learning.
Sevin’s students watched over the monarchs through their stages of growth, to adulthood. In the safety of a controlled environment, away from disease and predators, the caterpillars developed.
In nature, fewer than 10 percent of eggs laid survive to reach adulthood, according to Monarch Joint Venture. But in captivity, the likelihood of survival increases to more than 70 percent in most cases, Sevin says.
Sabrina Escobar (left), Rebecca Pasch and other students tag monarch butterflies outside the University of Richmond’s Cannon Memorial Chapel before their October release. (Photo courtesy University Communications, University of Richmond)
When it came time, the class released 15 monarch butterflies, most of them on campus and four together with third-graders at Mary Munford Elementary School in Richmond.
“Their mascot is the monarch,” Sevin says. “And so, we were able to go into the third-grade classes and my students conducted hands-on activities for the students so that they could learn about the monarchs as well and the importance of pollinators.”
Each of the released butterflies was tagged with a lightweight, numbered tracking sticker from Monarch Watch. That way, if those that migrate south to Florida and Mexico for the winter are caught by volunteer “citizen scientists” during tagging season, they can be logged into the nonprofit’s database for further study before being released again.
Sabrina Escobar, a UR journalism and leadership studies major who was taking the ecology class, tagged one of the butterflies in front of the campus chapel, making sure to do so with care to not damage its wings or interfere with its ability to fly.
UR students tagged the monarchs with round, numbered stickers. (Photo courtesy University Communications, University of Richmond)
“It was a two-person effort,” Escobar says. “A girl in my class grabbed the wings of the butterfly very delicately. The tags are just little, round stickers with a number on it. ... You just stick it on and press it down — legs are still squirming — and then that was it; you just let it go, and it flew away.”
Why the focus on monarch butterflies? Sevin says it’s because they, like honeybees, are pollinators. They’re also under review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be listed under the Endangered Species Act.
“Pollinators in general are having problems across the world, and we need pollinators for a lot of the foods we eat and a lot of the beautiful flowers that we see and things that we enjoy,” Sevin says, adding that monarch populations have decreased by 75 to 90 percent in some areas in recent decades. “So, a lot of organizations have been trying to improve the success rate of the monarch butterflies. Part of that is improving habitats, which we’re also trying to do.”
Habitat loss is a key issue, one mostly caused by humans through climate change, spraying toxic pesticides and not planting enough milkweed, Sevin says. But it’s also one that humans can rectify through more sustainable practices, such as the use of organic pest control.
“We need pollinators for a lot of the foods we eat and a lot of the beautiful flowers that we see and things that we enjoy.” —Jennifer Sevin, University of Richmond visiting lecturer of biology
One task Sevin would like to do with her Introduction to Ecology class this spring is to find out when monarch butterflies first arrive as they migrate back north, which could be valuable in determining the potential effects of climate change on migratory patterns. The monarchs that come to Richmond later this year won’t be the same butterflies that were tagged and released, though. Those will have died after laying their eggs on the return journey north.
If milkweed planting succeeds, Sevin’s students will be able to gather eggs from on site to raise more butterflies that could be tagged and released next fall.
Sevin says she hopes that after completion of UR’s Eco-Corridor, a nature trail that is under construction along Little Westham Creek, students will be able to build a larger pollinator meadow where they can plant milkweed and other host plants, more easily get monarch eggs, monitor pollinator activity and collect data. The Eco-Corridor project includes a recreational trail and stream restoration.
“So while 15 butterflies does not sound like a lot — and it isn’t — these amazing creatures provided an unbelievable learning opportunity,” Sevin says. “And it was just the start.”
