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ARCHIVED NEWSLETTERS
October 2010
We would like to thank each of you for showing Pollination Station such support over the course of the Summer. From attending lectures, festivals, and outreach programs to raising Monarchs and sponsoring caterpillars, there was an obvious interest in what Pollination Station is trying to accomplish. Please feel you can contact us with any questions you might have. There are so many knowledgeable friends who have joined our facebook page that if we don't know the answer, we surely can find it. Better yet, YOU can join the facebook page and share your ideas, questions, photos and stories directly with others who share our interests. We have fun and try to keep it light but informative. Photos are regularly posted of the baby hummingbird we have been raising. Here is the link.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Pollination-Station/112005078846407?ref=sgmbeen
The Monarch migration is well under way. What started as a dismal showing of Monarch in the early days of our NJ Summer turned into a plethora of winged wonders migrating through Cape May this fall. Erik Mollenhauer of Monarch Teacher Network said "Regarding the recent monarch migration through New Jersey: it has been reported that on September 21, over a period of about two hours (7 to 9 am), New Jersey hawkwatchers counted 1.4 million monarchs migrating through Cape May." and adds that, "Dick Walton, Director of the Monarch Monitoring Project in Cape May, New Jersey stated that an "orange blizzard hit [Cape May] the middle of last week. Even by historic standards this was a huge flight..." New Jersey's peak migration was around the 21st of September. Those of you who have never been to Cape May during a migration should add it to your future to-do list.
The lack of Spring Monarchs was largely due to the very difficult time the butterflies had in their overwintering sites during February. Severe weather in the form of rain and cold wiped out a large part of an already low population. Numbers show that the population of Monarchs in the Mexican Sanctuaries was at an all time record low due to rain on the East Coast and the droughts in the Midwest during Summer 2009. It appears the overall weather conditions in the United States this summer were very favorable for bumping up the population, however. Winter counts in the overwintering sites will be conducted as usual and we will have a better idea then how well the Monarch population rebounded.
August 15th marked the start of our 2010 tagging season. Last year we tagged 800 Monarchs and because of time constraints and tagging costs we decided to reduce our number to a more manageable 500; we actually tagged 465. Our last tagged butterfly left Vincentown on the 15th of October. If you wish to learn more about the migration of the Monarch Butterflies, you can log onto Journey North at http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/ for the most current updates.
The holidays are just around the corner! We would be delighted if you would consider purchasing some of your holiday gifts from Pollination Station. Your purchases support Monarch and pollinator conservation as well as helping us with our community outreach programs. Honey from our own Pollination Station honeybees is available. At $4.00 for 5oz in what some of you may recognize as the little shaker mug jar, these make nice hostess gifts. For $6.00 the jar comes with two honeysticks, a beeswax ornament and a gift tag all tied up as a cute little package. 8oz bears are $6.00. Handmade soap using honey and beeswax from our organically managed hives is $4.50 for a nice fat bar. Fragrances vary but at the moment we have Applejack & Honey, Ginger Pear & Honey, Rosemary/Lavender and Grapefruit & Honey. Up next, I think, will be another batch of Oatmeal Beeswax & Honey. You can always contact us to find out what's brewing in the pot.
As time allows, I am able to sneak away to my little outside studio and melt glass. I have recently finished several leaf pendants. Each is strung on a black cord with two coordinating beads or strung onto a double seed bead necklace with a sterling clasp. The corded leaf is $7.00 and the beaded leaf is $12. I would be happy to discuss colors with you.
And finally, a request from Chris in Florida. "Hi, I grow milkweeds here in Florida. Do you have any A. humistrata seeds? I have been looking for purple veined milkweed for years. Please let me know." If anyone out there can help, we'll pass along the information.
Have a wonderful Autumn and be sure to join us on our facebook page!
Dan and Luanne
Pollination Station
Box 2033 * Vincentown, NJ 08088
milkweedpatch@pollinationstation.org
www.pollinationstation.org
"Have you planted YOUR milkweed, yet?" }i{
July 2010
A Special Treat from Pollination Station
As most of you know, we often have wildlife orphans in our home due to our volunteer work with a local wildlife hospital. Last Monday we got a call about a fledgling hummingbird that had somehow been separated from his mom. Called a "brancher", the baby is at the stage where he has left the nest but does not yet have full use of his wings.
The little pollinator is doing well. He is sipping on a nectar/bloodworm concoction. The mother would be feeding her baby tiny insects thereby providing protein, hence the bloodworms.
Updates on the baby are being posted on Facebook. Join us there to keep up with this amazing treat. It's not often we have the opportunity to get such an up-close look at these wee wonders.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Pollination-Station/112005078846407?ref=sgm
Dan and Luanne
Pollination Station
Box 2033 * Vincentown, NJ 08088
milkweedpatch@pollinationstation.org
www.pollinationstation.org
"Have you planted YOUR milkweed, yet?" }i{
April 20, 2010
The caterpillars are here!
Many of you have been waiting for the first wave of Monarch Caterpillars to be ready for sponsorship. They arrived today via the USPS! Our previous newsletter had the sponsorship form attached but if you need it, just let us know. You will receive photo updates as your assigned caterpillar develops and, when it becomes a beautiful butterfly, a photo certificate containing your name, the butterfly's gender, release date and location. We've been told kids (and adults!) look forward to the arrival of these updates and enjoy watching their caterpillar magically transform from larvae to butterfly.
Adult Monarchs are getting close!
On the 16th of April a Monarch Butterfly was spotted in Pittsburgh, PA which is nearly at the same latitude as the home of Pollination Station! A good south wind will help push butterflies preparing to cross the Delaware River into New Jersey. It won't be long before we start getting reports of the Monarchs in our own area.
04/11/2010 Ocean city , MD 38.40 , -75.07
04/12/2010 Annandale , VA 38.83 , -77.21
04/16/2010 Pittsburgh , PA 40.47 , -79.95
04/17/2010 Washington , DC 38.91 , -77.02
2009/2010 Tag Retrievals
There's still no news about last season's tag retrievals from Mexico. Rumor has it that because of the extreme weather patterns during February, tag collecting was interrupted and data will be delayed. Pollination Station is still hoping at least one of our 800 tags from the 2009 season will be recovered! If you wish to learn more about the return migration of the Monarch Butterflies, you can log onto Journey North at http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/ for the most current updates.
We still have honey from our own honeybees though the stock is getting low. It's quite possible there won't be a honey harvest for us this year as we lost all the hives over the winter and will be starting from scratch. If you want honey, speak up soon! It is $4.00 for 5 oz in what some of you may recognize as the little shaker mug jar. Sorry, we don't have any bears left. Handmade soap using honey and beeswax from our organically managed hives is $4.50 for a nice fat bar. Fragrances vary but at the moment we have Oatmeal/Beeswax & Honey and Grapefruit & Honey. You can always contact us to find out what's brewing in the pot! Proceeds from these products benefit the conservation, public education and tagging of the Monarch Butterfly.
We've been invited to participate in the Earth Day festival at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst on April 24th and know some of you are military folks. Come by for a visit at Laurel Pond, 10th Ave. between 0900 and 1500. Perhaps you can pick out YOUR favorite caterpillar for sponsorship!
In the upcoming days be on the lookout for migrating Monarchs. If anyone spots one in the next couple of weeks, let us know and we will add it to our updates. Prepare those milkweed beds.....the Monarchs are coming!
Dan and Luanne Weekes
Pollination Station
P.O. Box 2033
Vincentown, NJ 08088
609-859-0424
"Have you planted YOUR milkweed, yet?" }i{
April 13, 2010
SPRING 2010
We are happy to report that the first wave of Monarch Butterflies traveling north along the Atlantic flyway is in Virginia!
Common Milkweed shoots are coming out of the ground and in the part of New Jersey that is home to Pollination Station, they are up 1-3". That means when the Monarchs reach our area they will have plants on which to lay their eggs, so we could start seeing the next generation as soon as the end of May!
On a sadder note, the over wintering butterflies had a very difficult time in Mexico during February. Severe weather in the form of rain and cold wiped out a large part of an already low population. Numbers show that the population of Monarchs in the Mexican Sanctuaries was already at an all time record low due to last summer's rain on the East Coast and the droughts in the Mid West. Scientists are not certain the population can rebound in a single season.
What does this mean?
It's more important than ever to focus on Monarch Butterfly conservation! Get involved by making sure your friends and neighbors are aware of the plight of the Monarch Butterfly. Plant your milkweed! Remember, milkweed plants are the ONLY plants on which a female Monarch will lay her eggs. They are the ONLY plants the Monarch Caterpillars will eat.
In order to help us continue our head starting and conservation program for the Monarch Butterflies, you can sponsor an individual butterfly for $12 or for $20 you can sponsor a caterpillar. We find these sponsorships to be very popular with those who want to be involved and they also make wonderful gifts for teachers, kids, grandparents and gardening friends. As always, proceeds go towards Monarch Butterfly education, tagging and conservation efforts. We have attached the forms needed for sponsorship but if for some reason you can't open them you need only to contact us and we will make sure you get copies.
As promised we are working on a web site but it has taken longer than we ever anticipated. We will, of course, let you know when it is ready for viewing!
Have a wonderful Spring and be sure to watch for the arrival of the Monarch Butterflies!
Dan and Luanne Weekes
Pollination Station
P.O. Box 2033
Vincentown, NJ 08088
609-859-0424
"Have you planted YOUR milkweed, yet?" }i{
May 2010
Where are the Monarchs? There have only been a very few reports of Monarch Butterflies in NJ but already there have been sightings as far north as Canada. Southerly winds helped repopulate the northern states much earlier than in previous years. It can only be a matter of time before we start seeing them in our local milkweed patch. Last year, we were collecting eggs in the middle of May and though we keep checking, there has not been any activity that can be seen. Of course the usual milkweed inhabitants have already established residence in the patch and we've managed to get some new photos for our display.
Monarch Watch has recently given an update pertaining to last season's tag retrievals which has been included here. Pollination Station will just have to be a little more patient to hear whether there are any retrievals of the 800 tags we used last year.
2009 Season Tag Recoveries
21 May 2010 | Author: Monarch Watch
"We have been receiving lots of questions about when the 2009 season tag recoveries will be posted. We do not have a large number of them at this point due to the fact that we did not make our annual trek to the monarch over wintering area in Mexico. As you may know, the heart of the monarch over wintering area was devastated by heavy rainfall, hail, landslides, and flooding earlier this year – you can read about this disaster of extraordinary proportions right here at
monarchwatch.org/blog/category/mexico/
We have posted a preliminary list of 2009 season tag recoveries (from Canada, the U.S., and Mexico) and will be adding to it as additional reports come in. Rest assured, we will eventually have all of the recovery data out of Mexico (it is likely to be a large number of tags due to the storms) and will add them to our tag recovery database as soon as possible."
Word of mouth seems to be our best advertising! Our schedule is nearly full and we hope you will take time to visit us at one of the following venues. If you are looking for soap and honey, we usually have it available at festival events. You can always contact us any time to see what is available. The stock of honey is getting low but we have several new soap scents.
Where Can You find Us?
June 12, 2010 * Saturday * 11 AM - 4 PM
Bordentown City Green Fair
Carslake Community Center * Crosswicks Street Bordentown City, NJ
June 17, 2010 * Thursday * 7 PM
Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve
http://marine.rutgers.edu * Tuckerton, NJ
June 26, 2010 * Saturday * 10 AM - 4 PM
27th Annual Whitesbog Blueberry Festival
Historic Whitebog Village * Brown's Mills, NJ
July 17, 2010 * Saturday * 11 AM
Meadowedge Park * 609-698-0080 ext.122
550 East Bay Ave * Barnegat, NJ
August 18, 2010 * Wednesday * 1 PM
Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve
http://marine.rutgers.edu * Tuckerton, NJ
August 26, 2010 * Thursday * 7 PM
Wild Birds Unlimited
http://sewell.wbu.com * Sewell, NJ
September 15, 2010 * Wednesday * 7 PM
Mount Holly Garden Club
Lumberton Leas * Lumberton, NJ
October 10, 2010 * Sunday * 11 AM - 4 PM
Pinelands Discovery Festival
Historic Whitesbog Village * Brown's Mills, NJ
The first sponsored caterpillars and butterflies of the year have flown! They finished their metamorphosis and were released last week. A genuine thank you to all those who participated. It sure does help with our expenses. Please remember, though we are a non-profit there are costs involved in getting the word out about the plight of the Monarchs and native pollinators. We just had to purchase an annoyingly expensive canopy for use at outside venues but felt it an important investment in protecting the critters (and ourselves) from the summer heat. Sponsorships are a great way to help us expand!
Our honeybees are here. Most of you know that we lost all of our honeybees last winter and have been waiting for the arrival of new ones. All the way up from Georgia, our girls arrived via the US postal system. They always create quite a "buzz" at the counter when it's time to pick them up! Hopefully we'll be able to restock our honey supply but it may not be for a while.
The website should be ready for viewing in early June. We'll put out a quick blurb with the web address when we finally post it. Please let us know what you think!
As always, thank you for your continued interest in Pollination Station! It's good to know you're out there!
Dan and Luanne
Pollination Station
Box 2033 * Vincentown, NJ 08088
milkweedpatch@aol.com
www.pollinationstation.org
"Have you planted YOUR milkweed, yet?" }i{
June 2010
The Website was a challenge but low tech as we are, we made it happen. It's been spell checked and punctuation checked by our good friends Barbara and Susan (our Queens of Commas) and we were given the green light to hit the button.
You'll find the Pollination Station website at www.pollinationstation.org and we hope you'll take time to visit. Those of you familiar with our festival displays will see a similarity in its pages. You'll also find additional information on pollinators as well as program information and our schedule of events. For anyone who has received milkweed seeds or plants from us, there is a special milkweed planting instruction page. Look at the "Plant Milkweed" section for the big instruction button.
Our cute little mascot needs a name! On the Current Events page you will learn more about him and how to submit your suggestion and also how to get an exclusive "Plant Milkweed" sticker featuring the little guy.
For you letterboxers out there...our new trail has been placed in Burlington County, NJ and we will have a second one set up soon. You can find clues on our letterboxing pages. Don't know what letterboxing is? Check out www.letterboxing.org.
Join us on Facebook! You'll be able to get more detailed updates on our daily management of the honeybee hives, Monarch Butterfly headstart program and other pertinant pollinator information. Please tell your teacher and gardening friends about us, too. You can be proud that you are part of our beginning as a local non-profit organization. http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Pollination-Station
Thank you for your patience while we set up the website. We think you'll have fun exploring it and would be happy to get some feedback. Please let us know if you see any typos or if you find any "missing links."
We have several programs coming up. Please join us if you can!
Dan and Luanne
Pollination Station
Box 2033 * Vincentown, NJ 08088
milkweedpatch@aol.com
www.pollinationstation.org
"Have you planted YOUR milkweed, yet?" }i{
July 2010
Pollination Station Summer Update
Summer is well under way and after a very hectic program schedule during the spring, we are able to take a travel break. At this time last year we were well into our caterpillar raising season but due to the lack of Monarchs this year, don't have many to care for at this time.
At this point we have collected 13 eggs and 12 caterpillars.
Pollination Station received word from Dr. Chip Taylor of University of Kansas' "Monarch Watch' that indeed the East Coast has a distinct lack of Monarchs.
He says, "...have had many similar reports in the last
few weeks. It looks like monarch numbers will be low in the east for
the rest of the season. We expect the numbers to be moderate in the
Ohio area and moderate to good in the MN area.
There was good monarch production in TX but not enough monarchs
returned (see Blog) to spill over into the SE to produce the monarchs
that move up the east coast to NJ."
Those of you who have followed us from the beginning know we support the Monarch Watch program and tag our head started butterflies using their tag numbers and then send them the data-such as gender, location and release date-that we collect. These are the same butterflies we put up for sponsorship in order to fund our own programs. We have a handful of caterpillars who would love to be sponsored. Not nearly as many as last year so if you have your heart set on one, don't wait. I have no idea if and when we will have more. I found these little guys a couple of days ago across town and they are pretty tiny. The butterflies that come from these can be sponsored in a couple of weeks. You can sign up early as there won't be many. I also found 4 eggs. It will be interesting to see if we get any fourth generation Monarchs traveling south on their way to Mexico.
Have you had a chance to look at the new website? We tweaked it a little since first publishing it and the side to side surfing issue seems, we think, to be resolved. There is information being added constantly and we also added some events we will be attending on our events schedule. As well we try to keep abreast of any news in the Monarch/Pollinator/Honeybee world and post it in "Current News."
Don't forget to "Like" us on Facebook! There we post fun little snippets of the everyday goings-on at Pollination Station. http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Pollination-Station/112005078846407?ref=sgm
Honey and Soap using ingredients from our organically managed hives is available though not much honey is left. After the next event it may be gone though our bees are fast at it trying to replenish the supply. Without Monarchs to use in our sponsorship program, our honey and soap may be the only way Pollination Station will earn an income this fall. Feel free to contact us if you'd like any.
Please! Let us know of any Monarch Butterflies you see on the East Coast! The milkweed patch seems pretty lonely without them.
Dan and Luanne
Pollination Station
Box 2033 * Vincentown, NJ 08088
milkweedpatch@pollinationstation.org
www.pollinationstation.org
"Have you planted YOUR milkweed, yet?" }i{
