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Documenting successful recruitment of monarch butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) at the extreme northern edge of their range

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2018

D.T. Tyler Flockhart Open the ORCID record for D.T. Tyler Flockhart [Opens in a new window] ,
John H. Acorn ,
Keith A. Hobson  and
D. Ryan Norris
D.T. Tyler Flockhart*
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology, Summerlee Science Complex, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory, 301 Braddock Road, Frostburg, Maryland, 21532, United States of America
John H. Acorn
Affiliation:
Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 751 General Services Building, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H1, Canada
Keith A. Hobson
Affiliation:
Environment Canada, 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 3H5 Department of Biology, Western University, 1151 Richmond Street, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
D. Ryan Norris
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology, Summerlee Science Complex, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
*
1Corresponding author (e-mail: tyler.flockhart@umces.edu).
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Abstract

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)) in eastern North America migrate each year from overwintering areas in Mexico to cover a large breeding distribution across the United States of America and southern Canada. In 2012, monarch butterflies migrated well beyond their usual range, resulting in an extended breeding distribution compared to typical years. We used stable isotope (δ2H, δ13C) measurements in wing chitin to determine the area of natal origin of these butterflies. Most monarch butterflies collected in May, June, and July from Manitoba and Alberta, Canada had natal origins in the North American Midwest. Monarch butterflies collected in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada in August and September had local natal origins indicating successful recruitment of offspring from colonising individuals. However, it is unknown whether these offspring migrated successfully to overwintering areas. Our work highlights the ability of monarch butterflies to colonise distant breeding areas and demonstrates how stable isotopes can be used to understand the dynamics of range-edge populations.

Type
Behaviour & Ecology
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 151 , Issue 1 , February 2019 , pp. 49 - 57
Copyright
© Entomological Society of Canada 2018 

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Footnotes

Subject editor: Cory Sheffield

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