Times Press Recorder a Pulitzer Central Coast Newspaper
Friday, May 21, 2004
By Bob Behme, Staff Writer
Observing Monarch Day
The legislature has declared Feb. 5 California Western Monarch Day at the urging of Nipomo's Sheila Boone. Boone and Cal Poly entomology professor Kingston Leong, a recognized expert on the Western Monarch, agree the butterfly is important to the well-being of the local economy.
Feb. 5 named Western Monarch Day
Observance Draws attention to migrating butterfly
SACRAMENTO-At the urging of state Sen. Bruce McPherson, R Santa Cruz, the Legislature declared Feb. 5 California Western Monarch Day, honoring one of the most colorful resources on the Central Coast. The bill was adopted April 12 by the state Assembly and April 29 by the Senate. The special observance was the idea of Sheila Boone of Nipomo, who has been fighting to protect the Western Monarch and its endangered habitats for years. " I've suggested early February because it's the time when the most Western monarch butterflies can be found here," Boone said in a letter to McPherson, who characterized the creatures as " a delight to observe and study , " co-authored the resolution. Cal Poly entomology professor Kingston Leong, a recognized expert on the Western monarch butterfly and its habitats, supports the observance. " I think it's a great opportunity to recognize the butterfly and its long relationship to the Central Coast, " Leong said. Boone and Leong say the Western monarch is important to the local economy. It has been around for nearly a million years and contributes to the welfare of the coast in many ways, from attracting tourists to pollinating cash crops. The Western monarch and a closely related East coast species are the only insects that migrate, spending summers in one part of the country, then flying great distances to winter in the same habitat earlier generations used, much as a salmon returns to the stream in which it was born, Boone said. One of the largest colonies of monarchs has laid claim to an oceanfront eucalyptus grove in Pismo Beach , where the wintering butterflies attract large numbers of tourists. Leong said the Western monarch makes an important contribution as a pollinator. Plants from garden flowers to fruits and berries rely on insects to complete their reproduction processes, but the ranks of domestic honey bees are being reduced dramatically by pesticides and the spread of a virus. other winged creatures like butterflies are needed to take over, he said.
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Chris Fredrickson
05/21/04