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Here on the St. Paul campus, we see the first days of the state fair in full swing and we're finding very few monarch eggs and larvae on our milkweed plants. Summer must be coming to a close and this means that many of you have wrapped up your work with research teams in the Driven to Discover project. We do know that a few teams are going to continue to meet and we hope all of you are thinking about participating in whatever way possible in the December Insect Fair. We can't wait to hear about your findings!

It's been fun to watch monarch data come into our website from D2D teams, and hear from you as you and your teams learned great things. We know that your data are valuable to people interested in monarch and bird population dynamics, and hope that the process of data collection and research were valuable to you as well!

The Driven to Discover project has evolved in great ways this year. We had a perfect combination of new and old teams, and we really appreciate the experience, dedication to supporting youth research, and excitement about monarchs and birds that you all bring to the project. While most teams had less input from our staff scientists, you did a great job running the research teams on your own. For the few groups that did have regular visits from a staff scientist, we thank you for your willingness to let us share the experience in a way that let us see the nitty-gritty details of what did and didn't work with the curriculum.

Hi everyone! In finishing up my monarch club a few weeks ago, I developed a few reflection resources you might find useful.

Doing science is like...

I cut these pages up so one illustration is on each playing card. The kids each get one card, and are instructed to explain how doing science is like the picture that's on their card. For example, one said "Doing science is like a puzzle piece because when you learn new things everything else makes sense when you see them all together."

Scavenger hunts

I had intended to use this outdoor exploration game at my first club meeting but we ran out of time. Using it as a fun reward after our paperwork at the last meeting turned out to be a really great synthesis of all we learned and a chance for the young scientists to apply their new knowledge. There is a monarch version and a bird version.

Also, don't forget to have the kids complete the "Sum It Up" pages at the very end of their Investigator's Field Journals! (I instructed the kids who finished the post-assessment early to work on the Sum It Up pages while waiting for others to complete their assessments.)

Going out to the milkweed plot with my students is like going on a treasure hunt. The search is never the same from week to week and there are other inhabitants on the milkweed plants along with the inhabitants on the marsh next to the study area. Once you find monarch eggs, when you return a week later there are small caterpillars and by the next week the caterpillars are gone from the milkweed, hidden nearby as they change from caterpillar to butterfly. Another week and you may see an adult female landing on the milkweed searching for the ideal plant where she will lay her eggs, starting a new generation.

After a strong, early start this spring, we are hearing reports of very low numbers for monarch populations throughout much of the upper midwestern US. While it's too early to be sure about the causes for this drop in numbers, one strong possibility is the extreme heat we've been having. Monarchs, and many other animals, have a hard time with extreme temperatures, and they don't have air-conditioned buildings to escape to, like we do! We know from work done in the U of M Monarch Lab by Reba Batalden that temperatures too much above 90 degrees F start causing problems, although if these temperatures don't last long, the monarchs are okay. Extreme temperatures cause mortality, slower development, and smaller caterpillars. The attached picture of a 4th instar taken by MLMP volunteer Ilse Gebhard in Michigan illustrates this - look at the ruler in the photo and compare this caterpillar to other 4th instars you've seen!

Thanks to the monarch groups for helping us understand what's going on with monarchs this summer!

June 2012 brought the Monarch Biology and Conservation Meeting to Minnesota, with several Driven to Discover groups playing big roles in the conference. The meeting took place over two and a half days at the University of Minnesota's Arboretum in Chanhassen. It brought together over 160 people from all across the US and from countries throughout the world, including Australia, Canada, Mexico, and Spain. The purpose of the gathering was to bring together monarch biologists, citizen scientists, land managers, and other interested parties in an effort to share conservation strategies, new findings in monarch biology, and information about trends in monarch populations.

Throughout the meeting, participants had the opportunity to attend a wide range of workshops and monarch-related field trips. One such trip was a visit to Spring Peeper Meadow, a Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP) site that is monitored by Cindy Petersen and her Driven to Discover group from St. Hubert School. Participants on this excursion were able to see how MLMP monitoring works and explore the beautiful meadow. Laura Molenaar and her students also assisted with monitoring and brought their research to the poster session, along with Cindy's group. Annette Strom's D2D group also braved the floods from Duluth to come down and present their research from this past summer. Additionally, many scientists who gave research talks stressed the importance of the data provided by citizen science ventures, like MLMP and MonarchHealth, in providing valuable information for research.

Overall, the conference was a huge success, in large part because of the participants, volunteers, and presenters (including several other D2D participants not listed here).

Pictures of the event will be available later in the summer on the meeting website: http://www.monarchlab.org/mn2012.