THE MONARCH

Composed by

Cynthia Grey, DM and Brenda Nelson-Porter, DM

South, North America

The monarch butterflies are a many faceted creature. The butterflies are beautifully patterned in contrasting colors of black and orange with distinctive white marks along the black edges of its wings. ¹ The Alumni Association Network (AAN) is beautifully patterned with scholars from all walks of life spreading their wings to continue their journey.

Beyond the beauty, monarch butterflies are unique in that the survival of the species is due to the diet of milkweed, which contains toxins that are poisons to most vertebrates.¹ The Alumni are unique in achieving one of the highest degrees around the globe. The survival of the scholastic doctoral research practitioners is due to the diet of theoretical knowledge, which contains unique concepts that might be misunderstood by non-scholars.

The true mystery of the monarch lies in their annual migration. Because of their inability to survive cold winters, every fall, approximately 1 million North American monarch butterflies migrate south flying some 2000-3000 miles to reach winter roosting sites.² The monarch butterfly makes the round trip flight only once in their life cycle. The offspring returns south the following fall. Monarchs are said to guide themselves during the migration by using celestial cues (sun, moon, stars) and the earth’s magnetic field as a magnetic compass.³ The true mystery of the Alumni lies in their migration to work as one writings journal articles and books to pave the way for emerging scholars and celebrate achievements by coming together annually to celebrate accomplishments.

References

¹Monarch butterfly fact page. (n.d.). Retrieved July 1, 2008, from         http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4TH/KKHP/1insects/monarchfax.html

²University of Minnesota. (2003-2006). Monarch lab: Monarchs in the classroom.
         Retrieved July 1, 2008, from http://www.monarchlab.umn.edu/Research/Mig/mig.html

³Etheredge, J. A., Perez, S. M., Taylor, O. R., & Jander, R. (1999). Monarch butterflies
        (Danaus plexippus L.) use a magnetic compass for navigation. Proceedings of the
        National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 9613845–13846.
        Retrieved July 1, 2008, from http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?
        artid=24152

© 2008 Alumni Association Network