title: Harmony Korine

text: In 1997, Korine wrote and directed "Gummo", a film based on life in Xenia, Ohio, a town devastated by a tornado in the early 1970s. Forgoing conventional narrative, "Gummo" is a nonlinear, fragmented series of sketches written by Korine. Much of the cast was found during preproduction where it was filmed in Tennessee, and of all those who appeared in the film, only five were experienced actors. The film is notable for having unsettling, often bizarre scenes, as well as its dreamlike soundtrack, which strengthens the disconcerting atmosphere. It features "an eclectic soundtrack including death metal, Madonna and Roy Orbison.


title: Harmony Korine

text: It premiered at the 24th Telluride Film Festival on August 29, 1997. During the screening, numerous people got up and left during the initial cat drowning sequence. Three months later, Werner Herzog called Korine to give praise to the film overall, especially the bacon taped to the wall during the bathtub scene. He told "The New York Times", "When I saw a piece of fried bacon fixed to the bathroom wall in "Gummo", it knocked me off my chair. [Korine's] a very clear voice of a generation of filmmakers that is taking a new position. It's not going to dominate world cinema, but so what?"


title: Harmony Korine

text: Although a majority of mainstream critics derided it as an unintelligible mess, it won top prizes at that year's Venice Film Festival and earned Korine the respect of noted filmmakers such as Gus Van Sant, among others. It has been called "unlike anything you've seen in a while – maybe ever" – and that "if you're the kind of person who claims to be frustrated by the predictability of commercial filmmaking, [it presents] a rare opportunity to put your money where your mouth is."


title: Harmony Korine

text: In 1998, Korine released "The Diary of Anne Frank Pt II", a 40-minute three-screen collage featuring a boy burying his dog, kids in satanic dress vomiting on a Bible, and a man in black-face dancing and singing "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean". It utilizes some of the same actors and themes as "Gummo", and can be considered a companion piece as the film utilises footage that didn't make the final cut of "Gummo". The film "further disgusted critics" and solidified his status as a notoriously shocking and experimental director.


title: Harmony Korine

text: "Julien Donkey-Boy", released in 1999, included a signed Dogme 95 manifesto. While it broke a number of the movement's basic tenets, Lars Von Trier lauded Korine's ability to interpret the rules creatively.


title: Harmony Korine

text: The story is told from the perspective of a young man suffering from untreated schizophrenia, played by Ewen Bremner, as he tries to understand his deteriorating world. Julien's abusive and arguably hypersensitive father is played by Werner Herzog. At one point, Korine was to play the son, but he backed down and was replaced by Bremner.


title: Harmony Korine

text: Like "Gummo" and "Kids", it too has since become something of a cult classic, a go-to film for those seeking cinema that is, as Roger Ebert said in his three star review, "shocking for most moviegoers", unlike "the slick aboveground indie productions" that are now the norm.


title: Harmony Korine

text: In 2000, "The Devil, The Sinner, and His Journey" premiered, which featured Korine in black metal corpsepaint as O. J. Simpson and Johnny Depp as Kato Kaelin.


title: Harmony Korine

text: In 2002, Larry Clark made "Ken Park", based on a script Korine had written several years earlier. The film, another adult tale of youth gone awry, was not distributed in the United States. At the time of its release, Clark and Korine had long since parted ways, and Korine had no involvement in its production.


title: Harmony Korine

text: In 2003, he made the television documentary "Above the Below" about his friend and collaborator David Blaine and his 44-day stunt in a park over the bank of River Thames in London inside a suspended plexiglas box. A documentary commissioned by Sky Television and Channel 4, it also includes jokes, visual poetry, and music. In addition, Korine has worked with Blaine on a number of Blaine's specials.


title: Harmony Korine

text: His third feature film, "Mister Lonely", was co-written by his brother, Avi Korine, and starred Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Denis Lavant, Anita Pallenberg, David Blaine, Werner Herzog and Mal Whiteley. The movie was released in 2008 and debuted at Cannes. His largest film, with a budget of $8.2 million, it received mixed reviews and earned $386,915 in its first 9 months.


title: Harmony Korine

text: The film is the story of "a young American man lost in Paris. He scratches out a living as a Michael Jackson look-alike, dancing in the streets, in public parks, at tourist spots and trade shows. Different from everyone else, he feels as if he's floating between two worlds. During a show at a geriatric home Michael Jackson meets Marilyn Monroe. Haunted by her angelic beauty he follows her to a commune in the Highlands, joining her husband Charlie Chaplin and her daughter Shirley Temple. The commune is a place where everyone is famous and "no-one gets old". Here, The Pope, The Queen of the United Kingdom, Madonna, James Dean and other impersonators build a stage in the hope that the world will visit and watch them perform. Everything is beautiful. Until the world shifts, and reality intrudes on their utopian dream."


title: Harmony Korine

text: Korine also appeared in the 2007 documentary film "Beautiful Losers" in which his life and career were one focus of the film, along with other artists such as Mike Mills, Shepard Fairey, Margaret Kilgallen, Jo Jackson and Barry McGee. In the documentary, Korine discusses his motivation as an artist and filmmaker, as well as his inspiration for creating films he has never seen. Footage also appears from one of Korine's rare, early, and untitled short films, which preceded his work on "Kids".


title: Harmony Korine

text: On 6 September 2009 Korine's film "Trash Humpers" premiered as part of the Visions section of the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. Despite being a work of fiction, the film went on to win the top award at the prominent European documentary film festival CPH:DOX – Copenhagen International Documentary Festival – in November 2009.


title: Harmony Korine

text: In March 2011, Korine released a short film entitled "Umshini Wam", which is a popular Zulu struggle song meaning "bring me my machine gun". The film starred Ninja and Yo-Landi of Die Antwoord. In September 2011, Korine released a short film entitled "Snowballs", sponsored by the Proenza Schouler fashion label.


title: Harmony Korine

text: Korine's next project was the crime drama "Spring Breakers", which was produced in 2012 in Florida, and starred James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, and Korine's wife, Rachel Korine. In looking at early scenes being filmed and in speaking toward the plot, cast, and earlier works of the filmmaker, "Indiewire" wrote "this might be the weirdest movie the director has ever made simply by nature of being totally unlike his previous work." "That Mr. Korine appears to be having it both (or many) ways may seem like a cop-out, but only if you believe that the role of the artist is to be a didact or a scold", wrote "The New York Times". Principal filming wrapped up on March 30, 2012. The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 69th Venice International Film Festival. "Spring Breakers" received its world premiere at the 2012 Venice International Film Festival, and later was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival before being released to the general public in March 2013.


title: Harmony Korine

text: Korine's feature "The Beach Bum" was released in 2019, starring Matthew McConaughey as Moondog, Isla Fisher as his wife Minnie, Martin Lawrence as Captain Wack, and Snoop Dogg as Lingerie.


title: Harmony Korine

text: Korine has not primarily regarded himself as a director, instead describing a "unified aesthetic" that his filmography explores as much as his art and photography. Much of his filmography, including his screenplays, explores themes of dysfunctional families, mental disorders, abuse, hedonism, poverty and various subcultures, with unreliable narrators and a collage of perspectives. This is often presented experimentally, with many of Korine's films incorporating Polaroids, Super 8, 35mm film and VHS recordings, such as in "Gummo" and "Julien Donkey-Boy". Improvisation is also an important filmmaking technique for Korine, as a way to maintain his films as "living thing[s]." Korine has described the social, psychological and subcultural aspects of his films as constituting what he describes as the "American Landscape".


title: Harmony Korine

text: Korine credited tap-dance, vaudeville and minstrelsy as influences on his work in the 1990s and 2000s, with him especially naming the comedy of Fanny Brice, Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson as inspirations for his intentionally stilted style of presentation and humor. Like vaudeville, the style of Korine's work is presentational and works purely by thematic association. He has compared with this to viewing picture books of assorted photos, which would be seemingly devoid of context, but because they are compiled and presented in succession, a narrative is formed, and Korine has said that "Gummo" and his subsequent films were written in this fashion, striving to retain a "margin of the undefined." In 2009, he summarized an ideal setting in his aesthetic as "an abandoned parking lot and a soiled sofa on the edge [...] with a street lamp off to the side. America seems like a series of abandoned parking lots, streetlights and abandoned sofas." Ensuing from this, the setting appears frequently in his film "Trash Humpers" (2009).


title: Harmony Korine

text: In 1997, Korine's favorite writers were listed as the humorists James Thurber and S. J. Perelman, as well as the Southern Gothic novelist Flannery O'Connor. He also credited the philosopher Walter Benjamin as an influence. In recent years, Korine has praised rapper and collaborator Gucci Mane.


title: Harmony Korine

text: Korine has noted British filmmaker Alan Clarke as a strong inspiration on his filmmaking, especially with regards to his realism and use of extensive scenes. In 1999, he listed his top ten films as "Pixote" by Héctor Babenco, "Badlands" and "Days of Heaven" by Terrence Malick, "Fat City" by John Huston, "Stroszek" by Werner Herzog, "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" and "A Woman Under the Influence" by John Cassavetes, "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" by Robert Altman, "Out of the Blue" by Dennis Hopper and "Hail Mary" by Jean-Luc Godard.


title: Harmony Korine

text: Despite the scorn of a majority of mainstream reviewers, Korine has won festival prizes at Venice and Rotterdam among others. Established directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci and Gus Van Sant are also outspoken proponents of Korine's work, with Van Sant saying "Gummo" "changed his life" and Bertolucci saying Korine "created a revolution in the language of cinema."


title: Harmony Korine

text: Korine was initially frequently labeled as an enfant terrible and was often accused of exploitation and self-indulgence; he responded in 1997, asking "How can an artist be expected not to be self-indulgent? That's the whole thing that's wrong with filmmaking today [...] To me, art is one man's voice, one idea, one point-of-view, coming from one person." Korine feels there is no need to justify or explain the images he puts to the screen, clarifying that they are simply the result of "a cinema of passion and obsession." He has added that "I mostly just make things to entertain myself and at the same time hope that there's some type of audience that likes what I'm doing." Korine has also stated that "film is like a dead art because of people not taking chances", and has shown his preference for "auteurist works". He stated in 1999 that "In another ten or fifteen years, the people that understand and appreciate "Gummo" or my work will be in positions of power", declaring that the culture presented in his art was going to become more prominent.


title: Harmony Korine

text: Korine has said that his films are created with the premise that if there is at least one image that sticks with you after viewing a film and makes you change your perspective on cinema, then it is a success. Roger Ebert subsequently said in his review of "Julien Donkey-Boy" that "Korine, who at 25 is one of the most untamed new directors, belongs on the list with Godard, Cassavetes, Herzog, Warhol, Tarkovsky, Brakhage and others who smash conventional movies and reassemble the pieces ... Harmony Korine is the real thing, an innovative and gifted filmmaker whose work forces us to see on his terms."


title: Harmony Korine

text: Korine has published a number of books. "A Crack Up at the Race Riots", an experimental book of fragments which he jokingly described in press appearances and interviews as his attempt to write "the Great American Choose Your Own Adventure novel", was published in 1998 by Drag City.


title: Harmony Korine

text: The screenplay for "Kids" (1995) was published by Grove Press the same year, followed by a collection of the screenplays for "Gummo" (1997), "Julien Donkey-Boy" (1999) and an unfinished screenplay named "Jokes" in "Collected Screenplays", published by Faber and Faber in 2002. The screenplay for "Mister Lonely" (2007) was released by Swiss publisher Nieves with photographs by Rachel Korine and Brent Stewart in 2008. The majority of these books differ substantially from the movies eventually produced. Drag City also published a collection of his fanzines called "The Collected Fanzines" with skateboarder and writer Mark Gonzales in 2008.


title: Harmony Korine

text: Korine released a number of photographic collections, usually in conjunction with gallery exhibits. In 1998 he published "The Bad Son" in conjunction with Taka Ishii gallery in Tokyo, documenting his various photo shoots with Macaulay Culkin. In 2002, "Pass the Bitch Chicken" was released, a collaboration with artist Christopher Wool, which consists of Korine's photographs heavily edited by Korine and Wool. In 2009 he published "Pigxote" in conjunction with the Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery and released by Nieves. The university describes the exhibition, which ran through February 26, 2009, as culling "together a number of photographs from Korine's private files in order to reveal a side of the artist's creative process that remains largely unexamined. Depicting an unnamed, mysterious young girl moving through a televised landscape of shifting contexts, Pigxote further illustrates Korine's interest in replacing plot lines and expected narrative tropes with intuitively arranged "experiential moments." They also provide a unique insight into the poetic mind of Nashville's most compelling prodigal son." In 2003 his works were presented at an exhibition at agnès b's Galerie du jour in Paris, with whom Korine has often been associated. In 2010, Korine collaborated with New York Visual Artist Bill Saylor on the book "Ho Bags." The book consists of drawing and paintings in which Korine and Saylor drew over each other's works. In 2011 Korine collaborated with the New York brand Supreme, releasing a set of two skateboard decks featuring original artworks by Korine. Since 2014, Korine has taken part in twelve exhibitions at the Gagosian gallery in various locations, including New York, London, Beverly Hills and Geneva. Seven of these have been solo exhibitions. In 2019 the Gagosian featured a collection of works by Korine titled "Young Twitchy". These works consisted of photographs taken by the artist, mostly around his home in Florida, which were then recreated in oil paint and augmented with different characters.


title: Harmony Korine

text: Korine directed a commercial for Dior Addict Fragrance in 2014. In February 2020, Korine directed and photographed a Gucci tailoring campaign starring Tyler, the Creator, A$AP Rocky and Iggy Pop. In 2021, Korine directed a commercial for 7-Eleven featuring the song "Fred Sanford" by hip hop duo Marlowe, which subsequently went viral.


title: Harmony Korine

text: Korine has directed a number of music videos for artists such as Sonic Youth, Will Oldham, Cat Power and the Black Keys. In addition, he sang on Oldham's "Ease Down The Road" (2001). In 1999 Korine and Brian Degraw of Gang Gang Dance released a one-off album, "SSAB Songs". He also co-authored the lyrics of Björk's "Harm of Will" from her album "Vespertine" (2001), and co-wrote Lana Del Rey's "Florida Kilos" which is featured on the deluxe edition of her album "Ultraviolence" (2014).


title: Harmony Korine

text: Korine directed the music video for Rihanna's "Needed Me" which was released on April 21, 2016. In the same year, Korine directed a Supreme commercial starring rapper Gucci Mane (who had previously appeared in "Spring Breakers"), and appeared in the music video for Gucci Mane and Travis Scott's "Last Time".


title: Harmony Korine

text: Korine met Chloë Sevigny in Washington Square Park in New York City during her senior year of high school in 1993. The two became close friends, which resulted in her being cast in the low-budget independent film "Kids" (1995). They had a romantic relationship that ended in the early 2000s though they are still friends. He is now married to actress Rachel Simon, with whom he has two children.


title: Harmony Korine

text: In 2009, Korine received criticism for signing a petition in support of film director Roman Polanski, calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.


title: Harmony Korine

text: The opening song on British Progressive rock musician Steven Wilson's solo debut album "Insurgentes" is called "Harmony Korine".


title: Harmony Korine

text: On an episode of "The Eric Andre Show", during a sketch in which he dresses and acts like a drunken sailor piloting a ship crossing through New York, he at one point claims "I wrote the screenplay for "Spring Breakers"!" This is intentionally untrue, as the film was written, as well as directed, by Korine.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. It is amongst the most familiar of North American butterflies and an iconic pollinator, although it is not an especially effective pollinator of milkweeds. Its wings feature an easily recognizable black, orange, and white pattern, with a wingspan of . A Müllerian mimic, the viceroy butterfly, is similar in color and pattern, but is markedly smaller and has an extra black stripe across each hindwing.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The eastern North American monarch population is notable for its annual southward late-summer/autumn instinctive migration from the northern and central United States and southern Canada to Florida and Mexico. During the fall migration, monarchs cover thousands of miles, with a corresponding multigenerational return north in spring. The western North American population of monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains often migrates to sites in southern California, but individuals have been found in overwintering Mexican sites, as well. In 2009, monarchs were reared on the International Space Station, successfully emerging from pupae located in the station's Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The name "monarch" is believed to have been given in honor of King William III of England, as the butterfly's main color is that of the king's secondary title, Prince of Orange. The monarch was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his "Systema Naturae" of 1758 and placed in the genus "Papilio". In 1780, Jan Krzysztof Kluk used the monarch as the type species for a new genus, "Danaus".


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Danaus (Ancient Greek ), a great-grandson of Zeus, was a mythical king in Egypt or Libya, who founded Argos; Plexippus () was one of the 50 sons of Aegyptus, the twin brother of Danaus. In Homeric Greek, his name means "one who urges on horses", i.e., "rider" or "charioteer". In the tenth edition of "Systema Naturae", at the bottom of page 467, Linnaeus wrote that the names of the "Danai festivi", the division of the genus to which "Papilio plexippus" belonged, were derived from the sons of Aegyptus. Linnaeus divided his large genus "Papilio", containing all known butterfly species, into what we would now call subgenera. The "Danai festivi" formed one of the "subgenera", containing colorful species, as opposed to the "Danai candidi", containing species with bright white wings. Linnaeus wrote: "" (English: "The names of the "Danai candidi" have been derived from the daughters of Danaus, those of the "Danai festivi" from the sons of Aegyptus.").


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Robert Michael Pyle suggested "Danaus" is a masculinized version of Danaë (Greek ), Danaus's great-great-granddaughter, to whom Zeus came as a shower of gold, which seemed to him a more appropriate source for the name of this butterfly.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Monarchs belong in the subfamily Danainae of the family Nymphalidae. Danainae was formerly considered a separately family Danaidae. The three species of monarch butterflies are:


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The population level of the white morph in Oahu is nearing 10%. On other Hawaiian islands, the white morph occurs at a relatively low frequency. White monarchs ("D. p. p." "form nivosus") have been found throughout the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, and the United States. However, some taxonomists disagree on these classifications.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The monarch was the first butterfly to have its genome sequenced. The 273-million-base pair draft sequence includes a set of 16,866 protein-coding genes. The genome provides researchers insights into migratory behavior, the circadian clock, juvenile hormone pathways, and microRNAs that are differentially expressed between summer and migratory monarchs. More recently, the genetic basis of monarch migration and warning coloration has been described.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: No genetic differentiation exists between the migratory populations of eastern and western North America. Recent research has identified the specific areas in the genome of the monarch that regulate migration. No genetic difference is seen between a migrating and nonmigrating monarch, but the gene is expressed in migrating monarchs, but not expressed in nonmigrating monarchs.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: A 2015 publication identified genes from wasp bracoviruses in the genome of the North American monarch leading to articles about monarch butterflies being genetically modified organisms.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Like all Lepidoptera, monarchs undergo complete metamorphosis; their life cycle has four phases: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Monarchs transition from eggs to adults during warm summer temperatures in as little as 25 days, extending to as many as seven weeks during cool spring conditions. During their development, both larvae and their milkweed hosts are vulnerable to weather extremes, predators, parasites, and diseases; commonly fewer than 10% of monarch eggs and caterpillars survive.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The egg is derived from materials ingested as a larva and from the spermatophores received from males during mating. Female monarchs lay eggs singly, most often on the underside of a young leaf of a milkweed plant during the spring and summer. Females secrete a small amount of glue to attach their eggs directly to the plant. They typically lay 300 to 500 eggs over a two- to five-week period.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Eggs are cream colored or light green, ovate to conical in shape, and about in size. The eggs weigh less than each and have raised ridges that form longitudinally from the point to apex to the base. Although each egg is the mass of the female, she may lay up to her own mass in eggs. Females lay smaller eggs as they age. Larger females lay larger eggs. The number of eggs laid by a female, which may mate several times, can reach 1,180.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Eggs take three to eight days to develop and hatch into larvae or caterpillars. The offspring's consumption of milkweed benefits health and helps defend them against predators. Monarchs lay eggs along the southern migration route.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The larva (caterpillar) has five stages (instars), molting at the end of each instar. Instars last about 3 to 5 days, depending on factors such as temperature and food availability.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The first-instar caterpillar that emerges from the egg is pale green or grayish-white, shiny, and almost translucent, with a large, black head. It lacks banding coloration or tentacles. The larvae or caterpillar eats its egg case and begins to feed on milkweed with a circular motion, often leaving a characteristic, arc-shaped hole in the leaf. Older first-instar larvae have dark stripes on a greenish background and develop small bumps that later become front tentacles. The first instar is usually between long.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The second-instar larva develops a characteristic pattern of white, yellow, and black transverse bands. The larva has a yellow triangle on the head and two sets of yellow bands around this central triangle. It is no longer translucent, and is covered in short setae. Pairs of black tentacles begin to grow, a larger pair on the thorax and a smaller pair on the abdomen. The second instar is usually between and long.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The third-instar larva has more distinct bands and the two pairs of tentacles become longer. Legs on the thorax differentiate into a smaller pair near the head and larger pairs further back. Third-instar larvae usually feed using a cutting motion on leaf edges. The third instar is usually between long.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The fourth-instar larva has a different banding pattern. It develops white spots on the prolegs near its back, and is usually between long.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The fifth-instar larva has a more complex banding pattern and white dots on the prolegs, with front legs that are small and very close to the head. Fifth-instar larvae often chew a shallow notch in the petiole of the leaf they are eating, which causes the leaf to fall into a vertical position. Its length ranges from .


title: Monarch butterfly

text: As the caterpillar completes its growth, it is long (large specimens can reach ) and wide, and weighs about , compared to the first instar, which is long and wide. Fifth-instar larvae greatly increase in size and weight. They then stop feeding and are often found far from milkweed plants as they seek a site for pupating.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: In a laboratory setting, the fourth- and fifth-instar stages of the caterpillar showed signs of aggressive behavior with lower food availability. Attacked caterpillars were found to be attacked when it was feeding on milkweed leaves, and the caterpillars attacked when foraging for milkweed. This demonstrates the aggressive behavior of monarch caterpillars due to the availability of milkweed.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: To prepare for the pupal or chrysalis stage, the caterpillar chooses a safe place for pupation, where it spins a silk pad on a downward-facing horizontal surface. At this point, it turns around and securely latches on with its last pair of hind legs and hangs upside down, in the form of the letter J. After "J-hanging" for about 12–16 hours, it soon straightens out its body and goes into peristalsis some seconds before its skin splits behind its head. It then sheds its skin over a period of a few minutes, revealing a green chrysalis. At first, the chrysalis is long, soft, and somewhat amorphous, but over a few hours, it compacts into its distinct shape – an opaque, pale-green chrysalis with small golden dots near the bottom, and a gold-and-black rim around the dorsal side near the top. At first, its exoskeleton is soft and fragile, but it hardens and becomes more durable within about a day. At this point, it is about long and wide, weighing about . At normal summer temperatures, it matures in 8–15 days (usually 11–12 days). During this pupal stage, the adult butterfly forms inside. A day or so before emerging, the exoskeleton first becomes translucent and the chrysalis more bluish. Finally, within 12 hours or so, it becomes transparent, revealing the black and orange colors of the butterfly inside before it ecloses (emerges).


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The adult emerges from its chrysalis after about two weeks of pupation. The emergent adult hangs upside down for several hours while it pumps fluids and air into its wings, which expand, dry, and stiffen. The butterfly then extends and retracts its wings. Once conditions allow, it flies and feeds on a variety of nectar plants. During the breeding season, adults reach sexual maturity in 4–5 days. However, the migrating generation does not reach maturity until overwintering is complete.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The adult's wingspan ranges from . The upper sides of the wings are tawny orange, the veins and margins are black, and two series of small white spots occur in the margins. Monarch forewings also have a few orange spots near their tips. Wing undersides are similar, but the tips of forewings and hindwings are yellow brown instead of tawny orange and the white spots are larger. The shape and color of the wings change at the beginning of the migration and appear redder and more elongated than later migrants. Wings size and shape differ between migratory and nonmigratory monarchs. Monarchs from eastern North America have larger and more angular forewings than those in the western population.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: In eastern North American populations, overall wing size in the physical dimensions of wings varies. Males tend to have larger wings than females, and are typically heavier than females. Both males and females have similar thoracic dimensions. Female monarchs tended to have thicker wings, which is thought to convey greater tensile strength and reduce the likelihood of being damaged during migration. Additionally, females had lower wing loading than males, which would mean females require less energy to fly.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Adults are sexually dimorphic. Males are slightly larger than females and have a black spot on a vein on each hindwing. The spots contain scales that produce pheromones that many Lepidoptera use during courtship. Females are often darker than males and have wider veins on their wings. The ends of the abdomens of males and females differ in shape.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The adult's thorax has six legs, but as in all of the Nymphalidae, the forelegs are small and held against the body. The butterfly uses only its middle and hindlegs when walking and clinging.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Adults typically live for 2–5 weeks during their breeding season. Larvae growing in high densities are smaller, have lower survival, and weigh less as adults compared with those growing in lower densities.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Physiological experiments suggest that monarch butterflies view the world through a tetrachromatic system. Like humans, their retina contain three types of opsin proteins, expressed in distinct photoreceptor cells, each of which absorbs light at a different wavelength. Unlike humans, one of those types of photoreceptor cells corresponds to a wavelength in the ultraviolet range; the other two correspond to blue and green.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: In addition to these three photoreceptors cells in the main retina, monarch butterfly eyes contain orange filtering pigments that filter the light reaching some green-absorbing opsins, thereby making a fourth photoreceptor cell sensitive to longer-wavelength light. The combination of filtered and unfiltered green opsins permits the butterflies to distinguish yellow from orange colors. The ultraviolet opsin protein has also been detected in the dorsal rim region of monarch eyes. One study suggests that this allows the butterflies the ability to detect ultraviolet polarized skylight to orient themselves with the sun for their long migratory flight.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: These butterflies are capable of distinguishing colors based on their wavelength only, and not based on intensity; this phenomenon is termed "true color vision". This is important for many butterfly behaviors, including seeking nectar for nourishment, choosing a mate, and finding milkweed on which to lay eggs. One study found that floral color is more easily recognized at a distance by butterflies searching for nectar than floral shape. This may be because flowers have highly contrasting colors to the green background of a vegetative landscape. On the other hand, leaf shape is important for oviposition so that the butterflies can ensure their eggs are being laid on milkweed.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Beyond the perception of color, the ability to remember certain colors is essential in the life of monarch butterflies. These insects can easily learn to associate color, and to a lesser extent, shape, with sugary food rewards. When searching for nectar, color is the first cue that draws the insect's attention toward a potential food source, and shape is a secondary characteristic that promotes the process. When searching for a place to lay its eggs, the roles of color and shape are switched. Also, a difference may exist between male and female butterflies from other species in terms of the ability to learn certain colors; however, no differences is noted between the sexes for monarch butterflies.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Monarch courtship occurs in two phases. During the aerial phase, a male pursues and often forces a female to the ground. During the ground phase, the butterflies copulate and remain attached for about 30 to 60 minutes. Only 30% of mating attempts end in copulation, suggesting that females may be able to avoid mating, though some have more success than others. During copulation, a male transfers his spermatophore to a female. Along with sperm, the spermatophore provides a female with nutrition, which aids her in laying eggs. An increase in spermatophore size increases the fecundity of female monarchs. Males that produce larger spermatophores also fertilize more females' eggs.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Females and males typically mate more than once. Females that mate several times lay more eggs. Mating for the overwintering populations occurs in the spring, prior to dispersion. Mating is less dependent on pheromones than in other species in its genus. Male search and capture strategies may influence copulatory success, and human-induced changes to the habitat can influence monarch mating activity at overwintering sites.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The range of the western and eastern populations of "D. p. plexippus" expands and contracts depending upon the season. The range differs between breeding areas, migration routes, and winter roosts. However, no genetic differences between the western and eastern monarch populations exist; reproductive isolation has not led to subspeciation of these populations, as it has elsewhere within the species' range.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: In the Americas, the monarch ranges from southern Canada through northern South America. It is also found in Bermuda, Cook Islands, Hawaii, Cuba, and other Caribbean islands the Solomons, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Australia, the Azores, the Canary Islands, Madeira, continental Portugal, Gibraltar, the Philippines, and Morocco. It appears in the UK in some years as an accidental migrant.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Overwintering populations of "D. p. plexippus" are found in Mexico, California, along the Gulf Coast of the United States, year-round in Florida, and in Arizona where the habitat has the specific conditions necessary for their survival. On the East Coast of the United States, they have overwintered as far north as Lago Mar, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Their wintering habitat typically provides access to streams, plenty of sunlight (enabling body temperatures that allow flight), and appropriate roosting vegetation, and is relatively free of predators.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Overwintering, roosting butterflies have been seen on basswoods, elms, sumacs, locusts, oaks, osage-oranges, mulberries, pecans, willows, cottonwoods, and mesquites. While breeding, monarch habitats can be found in agricultural fields, pasture land, prairie remnants, urban and suburban residential areas, gardens, trees, and roadsides – anywhere where there is access to larval host plants.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: "Asclepias curassavica", or tropical milkweed, is often planted as an ornamental in butterfly gardens. Year-round plantings in the USA are controversial and criticised, as they may be the cause of new overwintering sites along the U.S. Gulf Coast, leading to year-round breeding of monarchs. This is thought to adversely affect migration patterns, and to cause a dramatic buildup of the dangerous parasite, "Ophryocystis elektroscirrha". New research also has shown that monarch larvae reared on tropical milkweed show reduced migratory development (reproductive diapause), and when migratory adults are exposed to tropical milkweed, it stimulates reproductive tissue growth.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Monarchs obtain moisture and minerals from damp soil and wet gravel, a behavior known as mud-puddling. The monarch has also been noticed puddling at an oil stain on pavement.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: In North America, monarchs migrate both north and south on an annual basis, in a long-distance journey that is fraught with risks. This is a multi-generational migration, with individual monarchs only making part of the full journey. The population east of the Rocky Mountains attempts to migrate to the sanctuaries of the Mariposa Monarca Biosphere Reserve in the Mexican state of Michoacán and parts of Florida. The western population tries to reach overwintering destinations in various coastal sites in central and southern California. The overwintered population of those east of the Rockies may reach as far north as Texas and Oklahoma during the spring migration. The second, third, and fourth generations return to their northern locations in the United States and Canada in the spring.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Captive-raised monarchs appear capable of migrating to overwintering sites in Mexico, though they have a much lower migratory success rate than do wild monarchs (see section on captive-rearing below). Monarch overwintering sites have been discovered recently in Arizona. Monarchs from the eastern US generally migrate longer distances than monarchs from the western US.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Since the 1800s, monarchs have spread throughout the world, and there are now many non-migratory populations globally.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: In both caterpillar and butterfly form, monarchs are aposematic, warding off predators with a bright display of contrasting colors to warn potential predators of their undesirable taste and poisonous characteristics. One monarch researcher emphasizes that predation on eggs, larvae or adults is natural, since monarchs are part of the food chain, thus people should not take steps to kill predators of monarchs.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Larvae feed exclusively on milkweed and consume protective cardiac glycosides. Toxin levels in "Asclepias" species vary. Not all monarchs are unpalatable, but exhibit Batesian or automimics. Cardiac glycosides levels are higher in the abdomen and wings. Some predators can differentiate between these parts and consume the most palatable ones.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Butterfly weed ("A. tuberosa") lacks significant amounts of cardiac glycosides (cardenolides), but instead contains other types of toxic glycosides, including pregnanes. This difference may reduce the toxicity of monarchs whose larvae feed on that milkweed species, as a naturalist and others have reported that monarch caterpillars do not favor the plant. Some other milkweeds have similar characteristics.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: While monarchs have a wide range of natural predators, none of these is suspected of causing harm to the overall population, or are the cause of the long-term declines in winter colony sizes.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Several species of birds have acquired methods that allow them to ingest monarchs without experiencing the ill effects associated with the cardiac glycosides (cardenolides). The black-backed oriole is able to eat the monarch through an exaptation of its feeding behavior that gives it the ability to identify cardenolides by taste and reject them. The black-headed grosbeak, though, has developed an insensitivity to secondary plant poisons that allows it to ingest monarchs without vomiting. As a result, these orioles and grosbeaks periodically have high levels of cardenolides in their bodies, and they are forced to go on periods of reduced monarch consumption. This cycle effectively reduces potential predation of monarchs by 50% and indicates that monarch aposematism has a legitimate purpose. The black-headed grosbeak has also evolved resistance mutations in the molecular target of the heart poisons, the sodium pump. The specific mutations that evolved in one of the grosbeak's four copies of the sodium pump gene are the same as those found in other milkweed butterflies like the common crow that also evolved to resist cardiac glycosides. Other bird predators include brown thrashers, grackles, robins, cardinals, sparrows, scrub jays, and pinyon jays.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The monarch's white morph appeared in Oahu after the 1965–1966 introduction of two bulbul bird species, "Pycnonotus cafer" and "Pycnonotus jocosus". These are now the most common avian insectivores in Hawaii, and probably the only ones that eat insects as large as monarchs. Although Hawaiian monarchs have low cardiac glycoside levels, the birds may also be tolerant of that toxin. The two species hunt the larvae and some pupae from the branches and undersides of leaves in milkweed bushes. The bulbuls also eat resting and ovipositing adults, but rarely flying ones. Because of its color, the white morph has a higher survival rate than the orange one. This is either because of apostatic selection (i.e., the birds have learned the orange monarchs can be eaten), because of camouflage (the white morph matches the white pubescence of milkweed or the patches of light shining through foliage), or because the white morph does not fit the bird's search image of a typical monarch, so is thus avoided.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Some mice, particularly the black-eared mouse ("Peromyscus melanotis"), are, like all rodents, able to tolerate large doses of cardenolides and are able to eat monarchs. Overwintering adults become less toxic over time making them more vulnerable to predators. In Mexico, about 14% of the overwintering monarchs are eaten by birds and mice and black-eared mice can eat up to 40 monarchs per night.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: In North America, eggs and first-instar larvae of the monarch are eaten by larvae and adults of the introduced Asian lady beetle ("Harmonia axyridis"). The Chinese mantis ("Tenodera sinensis") will consume the larvae once the gut is removed thus avoiding cardenolides. Predatory wasps commonly consume larvae, though large larvae may avoid wasp predation by dropping from the plant or by jerking their bodies.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Monarchs are toxic and foul-tasting because of the presence of cardenolides in their bodies, which the caterpillars ingest as they feed on milkweed. Monarchs and other cardenolide-resistant insects rely on a resistant form of the Na+/ K+-ATPase enzyme to tolerate significantly higher concentrations of cardenolides than nonresistant species. By ingesting a large amount of plants in the genus "Asclepias", primarily milkweed, monarch caterpillars are able to sequester cardiac glycosides, or more specifically cardenolides, which are steroids that act in heart-arresting ways similar to digitalis. It has been found that monarchs are able to sequester cardenolides most effectively from plants of intermediate cardenolide content rather than those of high or low content. Three mutations that evolved in the monarch's Na+/ K+-ATPase were found to be sufficient together to confer resistance to dietary cardiac glycosides. This was tested by swapping these mutations into the same gene in the fruit fly "Drosophila melanogaster" using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing. These fruit flies-turned monarch flies were completely resistant to dietary ouabain, a cardiac glycoside found in Apocynaceae, and even sequestered some through metamorphosis, like the monarch.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Different species of milkweed have different effects on growth, virulence, and transmission of parasites. One species, "Asclepias curassavica", appears to reduce the symptoms of "Ophryocystis elektroscirrha" (OE) infection. The two possible explanations for this include that it promotes overall monarch health to boost the monarch's immune system or that chemicals from the plant have a direct negative effect on the OE parasites. "A. curassavica" does not cure or prevent the infection with OE; it merely allows infected monarchs to live longer, and this would allow infected monarchs to spread the OE spores for longer periods. For the average home butterfly garden, this scenario only adds more OE to the local population.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: After the caterpillar becomes a butterfly, the toxins shift to different parts of the body. Since many birds attack the wings of the butterfly, having three times the cardiac glycosides in the wings leaves predators with a very foul taste and may prevent them from ever ingesting the body of the butterfly. To combat predators that remove the wings only to ingest the abdomen, monarchs keep the most potent cardiac glycosides in their abdomens.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Monarchs share the defense of noxious taste with the similar-appearing viceroy butterfly in what is perhaps one of the most well-known examples of mimicry. Though long purported to be an example of Batesian mimicry, the viceroy is actually reportedly more unpalatable than the monarch, making this a case of Müllerian mimicry.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The monarch is the state insect of Alabama, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, Vermont, and West Virginia. Legislation was introduced to make it the national insect of the United States, but this failed in 1989 and again in 1991.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Homeowners are increasingly establishing butterfly gardens; monarchs can be attracted by cultivating a butterfly garden with specific milkweed species and nectar plants. Efforts are underway to establish these monarch waystations.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: An IMAX film, "Flight of the Butterflies", describes the story of the Urquharts, Brugger, and Trail to document the then-unknown monarch migration to Mexican overwintering areas.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Sanctuaries and reserves have been created at overwintering locations in Mexico and California to limit habitat destruction. These sites can generate significant tourism revenue. However, with less tourism, monarch butterflies will have a higher survival rate because they show more protein content and a higher value of immune response and oxidative defense.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Organizations and individuals participate in tagging programs. Tagging information is used to study migration patterns.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The 2012 novel by Barbara Kingsolver, "Flight Behavior", deals with the fictional appearance of a large population in the Appalachians.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Humans interact with monarchs when rearing them in captivity, which has become increasingly popular. However, risks occur in this controversial activity. On one hand, captive rearing has many positive aspects. Monarchs are bred in schools and used for butterfly releases at hospices, memorial events, and weddings. Memorial services for the September 11 attacks include the release of captive-bred monarchs. Monarchs are used in schools and nature centers for educational purposes. Many homeowners raise monarchs in captivity as a hobby and for educational purposes.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: On the other hand, this practice becomes problematic when monarchs are "mass-reared". Stories in the "Huffington Post" in 2015 and "Discover" magazine in 2016 have summarized the controversy around this issue.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The frequent media reports of monarch declines have encouraged many homeowners to attempt to rear as many monarchs as possible in their homes and then release them to the wild in an effort to "boost the monarch population". Some individuals, such as one in Linn County, Iowa, have reared thousands of monarchs at the same time.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Some monarch scientists do not condone the practice of rearing "large" numbers of monarchs in captivity for release into the wild because of the risks of genetic issues and disease spread. One of the biggest concerns of mass rearing is the potential for spreading the monarch parasite, "Ophryocystis elektroscirrha", into the wild. This parasite can rapidly build up in captive monarchs, especially if they are housed together. The spores of the parasite also can quickly contaminate all housing equipment, so that all subsequent monarchs reared in the same containers then become infected. One researcher stated that rearing more than 100 monarchs constitutes "mass rearing" and should not be done.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: In addition to the disease risks, researchers believe these captive-reared monarchs are not as fit as wild ones, owing to the unnatural conditions in which they are raised. Homeowners often raise monarchs in plastic or glass containers in their kitchens, basements, porches, etc., and under artificial lighting and controlled temperatures. Such conditions would not mimic what the monarchs are used to in the wild, and may result in adults that are unsuited for the realities of their wild existence. In support of this, a recent study by a citizen scientist found that captive-reared monarchs have a lower migration success rate than wild monarchs do.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: A 2019 study shed light on the fitness of captive-reared monarchs, by testing reared and wild monarchs on a tethered flight apparatus that assessed navigational ability. In that study, monarchs that were reared to adulthood in artificial conditions showed a reduction in navigational ability. This happened even with monarchs that were brought into captivity from the wild for a few days. A few captive-reared monarchs did show proper navigation. This study revealed the fragility of monarch development; if the conditions are not suitable, their ability to properly migrate could be impaired. The same study also examined the genetics of a collection of reared monarchs purchased from a butterfly breeder, and found they were dramatically different from wild monarchs, so much so that the lead author described them as "franken-monarchs".


title: Monarch butterfly

text: An unpublished study in 2019 compared behavior of captive-reared versus wild monarch larvae. The study showed that reared larvae exhibited more defensive behavior than wild larvae. The reason for this is unknown, but it could relate to the fact that reared larvae are frequently handled and/or disturbed.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: In February 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported a study that showed that nearly a billion monarchs had vanished from the butterfly's overwintering sites since 1990. The agency attributed the monarch's decline in part to a loss of milkweed caused by herbicides that farmers and homeowners had used.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Based on a 2014 20-year comparison, the overwintering numbers west of the Rocky Mountains have dropped more than 50% since 1997 and the overwintering numbers east of the Rockies have declined by more than 90% since 1995. According to the Xerces Society, the monarch population in California decreased 86% in 2018, going from millions of butterflies to tens of thousands of butterflies.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The society's annual 2020–2021 winter count showed a significant decline in the California population. One Pacific Grove site did not have a single monarch butterfly. A primary explanation for this was the destruction of the butterfly's milkweed habitats. This particular population is believed to comprise less than 2000 individuals, .


title: Monarch butterfly

text: A 2016 publication attributed the previous decade's 90% decline in overwintering numbers of the eastern monarch population to the loss of breeding habitat and milkweed. The publication's authors stated that an 11%–57% probability existed that this population will go almost extinct over the next 20 years.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Chip Taylor, the director of Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas, has stated that the Midwest milkweed habitat "is virtually gone" with 120–150million acres lost. To help fight this problem, Monarch Watch encourages the planting of "Monarch Waystations".


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Declines in milkweed abundance and monarch populations between 1999 and 2010 are correlated with the adoption of herbicide-tolerant genetically modified (GM) corn and soybeans, which now constitute 89% and 94% of these crops, respectively, in the U.S. GM corn and soybeans are resistant to the effect of the herbicide glyphosate. Some conservationists attribute the disappearance of milkweed to agricultural practices in the Midwest, where GM seeds are bred to resist herbicides that farmers use to kill unwanted plants that grow near their rows of food crops.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: In 2015, the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a suit against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Council argued that the agency ignored warnings about the dangers of glyphosate usage for monarchs. However, a 2018 study has suggested that the decline in milkweed predates the arrival of GM crops.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Eastern and midwestern monarchs are apparently experiencing problems reaching Mexico. A number of monarch researchers have cited recent evidence obtained from long-term citizen science data that show that the number of breeding (adult) monarchs has not declined in the last two decades.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The lack of long-term declines in the numbers of breeding and migratory monarchs, yet the clear declines in overwintering numbers, suggests a growing disconnect exists between these life stages. One researcher has suggested that mortality from car strikes constitutes an increasing threat to migrating monarchs. A study of road mortality in northern Mexico, published in 2019, showed very high mortality from just two "hotspots" each year, amounting to 200,000 monarchs killed.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The area of Mexican forest to which eastern and midwestern monarchs migrate reached its lowest level in two decades in 2013. The decline was expected to increase during the 2013–2014 season. Mexican environmental authorities continue to monitor illegal logging of the oyamel trees. The oyamel is a major species of evergreen on which the overwintering butterflies spend a significant time during their winter diapause, or suspended development.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: A 2014 study acknowledged that while "the protection of overwintering habitat has no doubt gone a long way towards conserving monarchs that breed throughout eastern North America", their research indicates that habitat loss on breeding grounds in the United States is the main cause of both recent and projected population declines.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Parasites include the tachinid flies "Sturmia convergens" and "Lespesia archippivora". "Lesperia"-parasitized butterfly larvae suspend, but die prior to pupation. The fly's maggot lowers itself to the ground, forms a brown puparium and then emerges as an adult.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Pteromalid wasps, specifically "Pteromalus cassotis", parasitize monarch pupae. These wasps lay their eggs in the pupae while the chrysalis is still soft. Up to 400 adults emerge from the chrysalis after 14–20 days, killing the monarch.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The bacterium "Micrococcus flacidifex danai" also infects larvae. Just before pupation, the larvae migrate to a horizontal surface and die a few hours later, attached only by one pair of prolegs, with the thorax and abdomen hanging limp. The body turns black shortly thereafter. The bacterium "Pseudomonas aeruginosa" has no invasive powers, but causes secondary infections in weakened insects. It is a common cause of death in laboratory-reared insects.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: "Ophryocystis elektroscirrha" is another parasite of the monarch. It infects the subcutaneous tissues and propagates by spores formed during the pupal stage. The spores are found over all of the body of infected butterflies, with the greatest number on the abdomen. These spores are passed, from female to caterpillar, when spores rub off during egg laying and are then ingested by caterpillars. Severely infected individuals are weak, unable to expand their wings, or unable to eclose, and have shortened lifespans, but parasite levels vary in populations. This is not the case in laboratory rearing, where after a few generations, all individuals can be infected.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Infection with "O. elektroscirrha" creates an effect known as culling, whereby migrating monarchs that are infected are less likely to complete the migration. This results in overwintering populations with lower parasite loads. Owners of commercial butterfly-breeding operations claim that they take steps to control this parasite in their practices, although this claim is doubted by many scientists who study monarchs.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The black swallow-wort ("Cynanchum louiseae") and pale swallow-wort ("Cynanchum rossicum") plants are problematic for monarchs in North America. Monarchs lay their eggs on these relatives of native vining milkweed ("Cynanchum laeve") because they produce stimuli similar to milkweed. Once the eggs hatch, the caterpillars are poisoned by the toxicity of this invasive plant from Europe.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Climate variations during the fall and summer affect butterfly reproduction. Rainfall and freezing temperatures affect milkweed growth. Omar Vidal, director general of WWF-Mexico, said, "The monarch's lifecycle depends on the climatic conditions in the places where they breed. Eggs, larvae, and pupae develop more quickly in milder conditions. Temperatures above can be lethal for larvae, and eggs dry out in hot, arid conditions, causing a drastic decrease in hatch rate." If a monarch's body temperatures is below , a monarch cannot fly. To warm up, they sit in the sun or rapidly shiver their wings to warm themselves.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Climate change may dramatically affect the monarch migration. A study from 2015 examined the impact of warming temperatures on the breeding range of the monarch, and showed that in the next 50 years the monarch host plant will expand its range further north into Canada, and that the monarchs will follow this. While this will expand the breeding locations of the monarch, it will also have the effect of increasing the distance that monarchs must travel to reach their overwintering destination in Mexico, which could result in greater mortality during the migration.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Milkweeds grown at increased temperatures have been shown to contain higher cardenolide concentrations, making the leaves too toxic for the monarch caterpillars. However, these increased concentrations are likely in response to increased insect herbivory, which is also caused by the increased temperatures. Whether increased temperatures make milkweed too toxic for monarch caterpillars when other factors are not present is unknown. Additionally, milkweed grown at carbon dioxide levels of 760 parts per million was found to produce a different mix of the toxic cardenolides, one of which was less effective against monarch parasites.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: On July 20, 2022, the International Union for Conservation of Nature added the migratory monarch butterfly (the subspecies common in North America) to its red list of endangered species.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The monarch butterfly is not currently listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora or protected specifically under U.S. domestic laws.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: On August 14, 2014, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for Food Safety filed a legal petition requesting Endangered Species Act protection for the monarch and its habitat, based largely on the long-term trends observed at overwintering sites. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) initiated a status review of the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act with a due date for information submission of March 3, 2015, later extended to 2020. On December 15, 2020, the FWS ruled that adding the butterfly to the list of threatened and endangered species was "warranted-but-precluded" because it needed to devote its resources to 161 higher-priority species.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The number of monarchs overwintering in Mexico has shown a long-term downward trend. Since 1995, coverage numbers have been as high as during the winter of 1996–1997, but on average about . Coverage declined to its lowest point to date () during the winter of 2013–2014, but rebounded to in 2015–2016. The average population of monarchs in 2016 was estimated at 200million. Historically, on average there are 300million monarchs. The 2016 increase was attributed to favorable breeding conditions in the summer of 2015. However, coverage declined by 27% to during the winter of 2016–2017. Some believe this was because of a storm that had occurred during March 2016 in the monarchs' previous overwintering season, though this seems unlikely since most current research shows that the overwintering colony sizes do not predict the size of the next summer breeding population.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: In Ontario, Canada, the monarch butterfly is listed as a species of special concern. In fall 2016, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada proposed that the monarch be listed as endangered in Canada, as opposed to its current listing as a "species of concern" in that country. This move, once enacted, would protect critical monarch habitat in Canada, such as major fall accumulation areas in southern Ontario, but it would also have implications for citizen scientists who work with monarchs, and for classroom activities. If the monarch were federally protected in Canada, these activities could be limited, or require federal permits.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: In Nova Scotia, the monarch is listed as endangered at the provincial level, . This decision (as well as the Ontario decision) apparently is based on a presumption that the overwintering colony declines in Mexico create declines in the breeding range in Canada. Two recent studies have been conducted examining long-term trends in monarch abundance in Canada, using either butterfly atlas records or citizen science butterfly surveys, and neither shows evidence of a population decline in Canada.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Although numbers of breeding monarchs in eastern North America have apparently not decreased, reports of declining numbers of overwintering butterflies have inspired efforts to conserve the species.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: On June 20, 2014, President Barack Obama issued a presidential memorandum entitled "Creating a Federal Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators". The memorandum established a Pollinator Health Task Force, to be co-chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and stated:


title: Monarch butterfly

text: In May 2015, the Pollinator Health Task Force issued a "National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators". The strategy laid out federal actions to achieve three goals, two of which were:


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Many of the priority projects that the national strategy identified focused on the I-35 corridor, which extends for from Texas to Minnesota. The area through which that highway travels provides spring and summer breeding habitats in the United States' key monarch migration corridor.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) publishes sets of landscape performance requirements in its P100 documents, which mandate standards for the GSA's Public Buildings Service. Beginning in March 2015, those performance requirements and their updates have included four primary aspects for planting designs that are intended to provide adequate on-site foraging opportunities for targeted pollinators. The targeted pollinators include bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Pub. L. 114-94). The FAST Act placed a new emphasis on efforts to support pollinators. To accomplish this, the FAST Act amended Title 23 (Highways) of the United States Code. The amendment directed the United States Secretary of Transportation, when carrying out programs under that title in conjunction with willing states, to:


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The FAST Act also stated that activities to establish and improve pollinator habitat, forage, and migratory way stations may be eligible for Federal funding if related to transportation projects funded under Title 23.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The United States Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency helps increase U.S. populations of monarch butterfly and other pollinators through its Conservation Reserve Program's State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) Initiative. The SAFE Initiative provides an annual rental payment to farmers who agree to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and who plant species that will improve environmental health and quality. Among other things, the initiative encourages landowners to establish wetlands, grasses, and trees to create habitats for species that the FWS has designated to be threatened or endangered.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Agriculture companies and other organizations are being asked to set aside areas that remain unsprayed to allow monarchs to breed. In addition, national and local initiatives are underway to help establish and maintain pollinator habitats along corridors containing power lines and roadways. The Federal Highway Administration, state governments, and local jurisdictions are encouraging highway departments and others to limit their use of herbicides, to reduce mowing, to help milkweed to grow and to encourage monarchs to reproduce within their right-of-ways.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: In 2020, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCRHP) of the Transportation Research Board issued a 208-page report that described a project that had examined the potential for roadway corridors to provide habitat for monarch butterflies. A part of the project developed tools for roadside managers to optimize potential habitat for monarch butterflies in their road rights-of-way.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Such efforts are controversial because the risk of butterfly mortality near roads is high. Several studies have shown that motor vehicles kill millions of monarchs and other butterflies every year. Also, some evidence indicates that monarch larvae living near roads experience physiological stress conditions, as evidenced by elevations in their heart rate.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: The NCRHP report acknowledged that, among other hazards, roads present a danger of traffic collisions for monarchs, stating that these effects appear to be more concentrated in particular funnel areas during migration. Nevertheless, the report concluded:


title: Monarch butterfly

text: While scientific studies on the subject have been reported, the practice of butterfly gardening and creating "monarch waystations" is commonly thought to increase the populations of butterflies. Efforts to restore falling monarch populations by establishing butterfly gardens and monarch waystations require particular attention to the butterfly's food preferences and population cycles, as well to the conditions needed to propagate and maintain milkweed.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: For example, in the Washington, DC, area and elsewhere in the northeastern United States, monarchs prefer to reproduce on common milkweed ("A. syriaca"), especially when its foliage is soft and fresh. Because monarch reproduction in that area peaks in late summer when milkweed foliage is old and tough, "A. syriaca" needs to be mowed or cut back in June through August to assure that it will be regrowing rapidly when monarch reproduction reaches its peak. Similar conditions exist for showy milkweed ("A. speciosa") in Michigan and for green antelopehorn milkweed ("A. viridis"), where it grows in the Southern Great Plains and the Western United States. In addition, the seeds of "A. syriaca" and some other milkweeds need periods of cold treatment (cold stratification) before they will germinate.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: To protect seeds from washing away during heavy rains and from seed–eating birds, one can cover the seeds with a light fabric or with an layer of straw mulch. However, mulch acts as an insulator. Thicker layers of mulch can prevent seeds from germinating if they prevent soil temperatures from rising enough when winter ends. Further, few seedlings can push through a thick layer of mulch.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Although monarch caterpillars will feed on butterfly weed ("A. tuberosa") in butterfly gardens, the plant has rough leaves and is typically not a heavily used host plant for the species. The plant's low levels of cardenolides may also make the plant unattractive to egg-laying monarchs. While "A. tuberosa" colorful flowers provide nectar for many adult butterflies, the plant may be less suitable for use in butterfly gardens and monarch waystations than are other milkweed species.


title: Monarch butterfly

text: Breeding monarchs prefer to lay eggs on swamp milkweed ("A. incarnata"). However, "A. incarnata" is an early successional plant that usually grows at the margins of wetlands and in seasonally flooded areas. The plant is slow to spread via seeds, does not spread by runners and tends to disappear as vegetative densities increase and habitats dry out. Although "A. incarnata" plants can survive for up to 20 years, most live only two-five years in gardens. The species is not shade-tolerant and is not a good vegetative competitor.


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is the pseudoscientific concept of the combustion of a living (or recently deceased) human body without an apparent external source of ignition. In addition to reported cases, descriptions of the alleged phenomenon appear in literature, and both types have been observed to share common characteristics in terms of circumstances and the remains of the victim.


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: Scientific investigations have attempted to analyze reported instances of SHC and have resulted in hypotheses regarding potential causes and mechanisms, including victim behavior and habits, alcohol consumption and proximity to potential sources of ignition, as well as the behavior of fires that consume melted fats. Natural explanations, as well as unverified natural phenomena, have been proposed to explain reports of SHC. Current scientific consensus is that purported cases of SHC involve overlooked external sources of ignition.


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: "Spontaneous human combustion" refers to the death from a fire originating without an apparent external source of ignition; a belief that the fire starts within the body of the victim. This idea and the term "spontaneous human combustion" were both first proposed in 1746 by Paul Rolli, a Fellow of the Royal Society, in an article published in the "Philosophical Transactions" concerning the mysterious death of Countess Cornelia Zangheri Bandi. Writing in "The British Medical Journal" in 1938, coroner Gavin Thurston describes the phenomenon as having "apparently attracted the attention not only of the medical profession but of the laity one hundred years ago" (referring to a fictional account published in 1834 in the Frederick Marryat cycle). In his 1995 book "Ablaze!", Larry E. Arnold, a director of ParaScience International, wrote that there had been about 200 cited reports of spontaneous human combustion worldwide over a period of around 300 years.


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: The topic received coverage in the "British Medical Journal" in 1938. An article by L. A. Parry cited an 1823-published book "Medical Jurisprudence", which stated that commonalities among recorded cases of spontaneous human combustion included the following characteristics:


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: Alcoholism is a common theme in early SHC literary references, in part because some Victorian era physicians and writers believed spontaneous human combustion was the result of alcoholism.


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: An extensive two-year research project, involving thirty historical cases of alleged SHC, was conducted in 1984 by science investigator Joe Nickell and forensic analyst John F. Fischer. Their lengthy, two-part report was published in the journal of the International Association of Arson Investigators, as well as part of a book. Nickell has written frequently on the subject, appeared on television documentaries, conducted additional research, and lectured at the New York State Academy of Fire Science at Montour Falls, New York, as a guest instructor.


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: Nickell and Fischer's investigation, which looked at cases in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, showed that the burned bodies were close to plausible sources for the ignition: candles, lamps, fireplaces, and so on. Such sources were often omitted from published accounts of these incidents, presumably to deepen the aura of mystery surrounding an apparently "spontaneous" death. The investigations also found that there was a correlation between alleged SHC deaths and the victim's intoxication (or other forms of incapacitation) which could conceivably have caused them to be careless and unable to respond properly to an accident. Where the destruction of the body was not particularly extensive, a primary source of combustible fuel could plausibly have been the victim's clothing or a covering such as a blanket or comforter.


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: However, where the destruction was extensive, additional fuel sources were involved, such as chair stuffing, floor coverings, the flooring itself, and the like. The investigators described how such materials helped to retain melted fat, which caused more of the body to be burned and destroyed, yielding still more liquified fat, in a cyclic process known as the "wick effect" or the "candle effect".


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: According to Nickell and Fischer's investigation, nearby objects often remained undamaged because fire tends to burn upward, but burns laterally with some difficulty. The fires in question are relatively small, achieving considerable destruction by the wick effect, and relatively nearby objects may not be close enough to catch fire themselves (much as one can closely approach a modest campfire without burning). As with other mysteries, Nickell and Fischer cautioned against "single, simplistic explanation for all unusual burning deaths" but rather urged investigating "on an individual basis".


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: Neurologist Steven Novella has said that skepticism about spontaneous human combustion is now bleeding over into becoming popular skepticism about spontaneous combustion.


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: A 2002 study by Angi M. Christensen of the University of Tennessee cremated both healthy and osteoporotic samples of human bone and compared the resulting color changes and fragmentation. The study found that osteoporotic bone samples "consistently displayed more discoloration and a greater degree of fragmentation than healthy ones." The same study found that when human tissue is burned, the resulting flame produces a small amount of heat, indicating that fire is unlikely to spread from burning tissue.


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: The scientific consensus is that incidents which might appear as "spontaneous" combustion did in fact have an external source of ignition, and that spontaneous human combustion without an external ignition source is extremely implausible. Pseudoscientific hypotheses have been presented which attempt to explain how SHC might occur without an external flame source. Benjamin Radford, science writer and deputy editor of the science magazine "Skeptical Inquirer", casts doubt on the plausibility of spontaneous human combustion: "If SHC is a real phenomenon (and not the result of an elderly or infirm person being too close to a flame source), why doesn't it happen more often? There are 5 billion people in the world [ today in 1987 ], and yet we don't see reports of people bursting into flame while walking down the street, attending football games, or sipping a coffee at a local Starbucks."


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: On 2 July 1951, Mary Reeser, a 67-year-old woman, was found burned to death in her house after her landlady realised that the house's doorknob was unusually warm. The landlady notified the police, and upon entering the home they found Reeser's remains completely burned into ash, with only one leg remaining. The chair she was sitting in was also destroyed. Reeser took sleeping pills and was also a smoker. Despite its proliferation in popular culture, the contemporary FBI investigation ruled out the possibility of SHC. A common theory was that she was smoking a cigarette after taking sleeping pills and then fell asleep while still holding the burning cigarette, which could have ignited her gown, ultimately leading to her death. Her daughter-in-law stated, "The cigarette dropped to her lap. Her fat was the fuel that kept her burning. The floor was cement, and the chair was by itself. There was nothing around her to burn".


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: Margaret Hogan, an 89-year-old widow who lived alone in a house on Prussia Street, Dublin, Ireland, was found burned almost to the point of complete destruction on 28 March 1970. Plastic flowers on a table in the centre of the room had been reduced to liquid and a television with a melted screen sat 12 feet from the armchair in which the ashen remains were found; otherwise, the surroundings were almost untouched. Her two feet, and both legs from below the knees, were undamaged. A small coal fire had been burning in the grate when a neighbour left the house the previous day; however, no connection between this fire and that in which Mrs. Hogan died could be found. An inquest, held on 3 April 1970, recorded death by burning, with the cause of the fire listed as "unknown".


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: Henry Thomas, a 73-year-old man, was found burned to death in the living room of his council house on the Rassau estate in Ebbw Vale, South Wales, in 1980. His entire body was incinerated, leaving only his skull and a portion of each leg below the knee. The feet and legs were still clothed in socks and trousers. Half of the chair in which he had been sitting was also destroyed. Police forensic officers decided that the incineration of Thomas was due to the wick effect.


title: Spontaneous human combustion

text: In December 2010, the death of Michael Faherty, a 76-year-old man in County Galway, Ireland, was recorded as "spontaneous combustion" by the coroner. The doctor, Ciaran McLoughlin, made this statement at the inquiry into the death: "This fire was thoroughly investigated and I'm left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion, for which there is no adequate explanation."


title: Asha Bhosle

text: and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the media as one of the most influential and successful singers in Hindi Cinema. In her career spanning over eight decades she has recorded songs for films and albums in various Indian languages and received several accolades including two National Film Awards, four BFJA Awards, eighteen Maharashtra State Film Awards, nine Filmfare Awards including a Lifetime Achievement Award and a record seven Filmfare Awards for Best Female Playback Singer, in addition to two Grammy nominations. In 2000, she was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in the field of cinema. In 2008, she was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian honour of the country. Additionally she holds the Guinness World Record for the most studio recordings - singles.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: Bhosle is the sister of playback singer Lata Mangeshkar and belongs to the prominent Mangeshkar family. Renowned for her soprano voice range and often credited for her versatility, Bhosle's work includes film music, pop, ghazals, bhajans, traditional Indian classical music, folk songs, qawwalis, and Rabindra Sangeet. Apart from Hindi, she has sung in over 20 Indian and foreign languages. In 2013, she made her debut as an actress in the film "Mai", and received critical acclaim for her performance. In 2006, Bhosle stated that she has recorded over twelve thousand songs in her career. a figure repeated by several other sources. Asha Bhosle's granddaughter Zanai made her 89th birthday special with her poem 8th September 2022.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: Asha Mangeshkar was born in the small hamlet of Goar in Sangli, then in the salute princely state of Sangli (now in Maharashtra), into the musical family of Deenanath Mangeshkar, who was Marathi and Konkani, and his Gujarati wife, Shevanti. Deenanath was an actor and classical singer on the Marathi Musical stage. When Asha was nine years old, her father died. The family moved from Pune to Kolhapur and then to Mumbai. She and her elder sister Lata Mangeshkar began singing and acting in films to support their family. She sang her first film song '"Chala Chala Nav Bala" for the Marathi film "Majha Bal" (1943). The music for the film was composed by Datta Davjekar. She made her Hindi film debut when she sang the song "Saawan Aaya" for Hansraj Behl's "Chunariya" (1948). Her first solo Hindi film song was for the movie "Raat Ki Raani" (1949).


title: Asha Bhosle

text: At the age of 16, she eloped with 31-year-old Ganpatrao Bhosle, marrying him against her family's wishes.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: In the early 1960s, prominent playback singers such as Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, and Lata Mangeshkar dominated the singing for the female lead and the big films. Asha used to get the assignments they refused, singing for the bad girls and vamps, or songs in low-budget movies. In the 1950s, she sang more songs than most playback singers in Hindi films. Most of these were in low budget B- or C-grade films. Her earliest songs were composed by A. R. Qureshi, Sajjad Hussain, and Ghulam Mohammed, and most of these songs failed to do well. Singing in "Sangdil" (1952), composed by Sajjad Hussain, she got reasonable recognition. Consequently, film director Bimal Roy gave her a chance to sing in "Parineeta" (1953). Raj Kapoor signed her to sing "Nanhe Munne Bachche" with Mohammed Rafi in "Boot Polish" (1954), which gained popularity.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: O. P. Nayyar gave Asha a break in "C.I.D." (1956). She first achieved success in B. R. Chopra's "Naya Daur" (1957), composed by him. Her duets with Rafi like "Maang Ke Saath Tumhara", "Saathi Haath Badhana" and "Uden Jab Jab Zulfein Teri", penned by Sahir Ludhianvi, earned her recognition. It was the first time she sang all the songs for a film's leading actress. Chopra approached her for several of his later productions, including "Gumrah" (1963), "Waqt" (1965), "Hamraaz" (1967), "Aadmi Aur Insaan" (1966) and "Dhund" (1973). Nayyar's future collaboration with Bhosle also resulted in success. Gradually, she established her status and received the patronage of such composers as Sachin Dev Burman and Ravi. Bhosle and Nayyar had a professional and personal parting of ways in the 1970s.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: In 1966, Bhosle's performances in the duets from one of music director R.D. Burman's first soundtracks, for the movie "Teesri Manzil", won popular acclaim. Reportedly, when she first heard the dance number "Aaja Aaja", she felt she would not be able to sing this westernised tune. While Burman offered to change the music, she refused, taking it as a challenge. She completed the song after ten days of rehearsals, and "Aaja Aaja", along with such other songs as "O Haseena Zulfonwali" and "O Mere Sona Re" (all three duets with Rafi), became successful. Shammi Kapoor, the film's leading actor, was once quoted as saying– "If I did not have Mohammad Rafi to sing for me, I would have got Asha Bhosle to do the job". Bhosle's collaboration with Burman resulted in numerous hits and a marriage. During the 1960-70s, she was the voice of Hind film actress and dancer, Helen, on whom "O Haseena Zulfon Wali" was picturised. It is said that Helen would attend her recording sessions so that she could understand the song better and plan dance steps accordingly. Some of their other popular numbers include "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" ("Caravan") and "Yeh Mera Dil" ("Don"), among others.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: By the 1980s, Bhosle, although highly regarded for her abilities and versatility, had sometimes been stereotyped as a "cabaret singer" and a "pop crooner". In 1981 she attempted a different genre by singing several ghazals for the Rekha-starrer "Umrao Jaan", including "Dil Cheez Kya Hai", "In Aankhon Ki Masti Ke", "Yeh Kya Jagah Hai Doston" and "Justuju Jiski Thi". The film's music director Khayyam, had lowered her pitch by half a note. Bhosle herself expressed surprise that she could sing so differently. The ghazals won her the first National Film Award of her career. A few years later, she won another National Award for the song "Mera Kuchh Saamaan" from "Ijaazat" (1987).


title: Asha Bhosle

text: In 1995, 62-year-old Bhosle sang for actress Urmila Matondkar in the movie "Rangeela". The soundtrack featured songs like "Tanha Tanha" and "Rangeela Re" sung by her, and composed by music director A. R. Rahman, who would go on to record several songs with her. During the 2000s, several of Bhosle's numbers became chartbusters, including "Radha Kaise Na Jale" from "Lagaan" (2001), "Kambakht Ishq" from "Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya" (2001), "Yeh Lamha" from "Filhaal" (2002) and "Lucky Lips" from "" (2005). In October 2004, "The Very Best of Asha Bhosle, The Queen of Bollywood", a compilation album of songs recorded by Bhosle for albums and Hindi language films that were released between 1966 and 2003, was released.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: In 2013, Bhosle debuted in the film "Mai" in the title role, at the age of 79. Bhosle played the role of a 65-year-old mother who suffers from Alzheimer's disease and is abandoned by her children. She received positive reviews for her acting as well from critics.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: Music director O. P. Nayyar's association with Asha is part of Hindi film lore. He was the composer who first gave Asha her own identity. Many people have speculated about a romantic relationship between the two.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: Nayyar first met Asha in 1952, at the music recording of "Chham Chhama Chham". He first called her for a film called "Mangu" (1954), and gave her a big break in "C.I.D." (1956). However, it was the success of "Naya Daur" (1957) that made the duo very popular. After 1959, she was emotionally and professionally involved with Nayyar.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: The team of O. P. Nayyar and Asha Bhosle is best remembered for their breezy and sometimes sirenish songs. Some good examples of their sensuous numbers are "Aaiye Meherbaan" picturised on Madhubala ("Howrah Bridge", 1958) and "Yeh Hai Reshmi Zulfon Ka Andhera", ("Mere Sanam", 1965). "Aao Huzoor Tumko" ("Kismat") and "Jaaiye Aap Kahan" ("Mere Sanam") were also popular. They also recorded songs for many hit movies like "Tumsa Nahin Dekha" (1957), "Ek Musafir Ek Hasina" (1962) and "Kashmir Ki Kali" (1964). O. P. Nayyar used the Asha Bhosle-Mohammad Rafi duo for his most popular duets such as "Ude Jab Jab Zulfein Teri" ("Naya Daur"), "Main Pyaar Ka Rahi Hoon" ("Ek Musafir Ek Haseena"), "Deewana Hua Baadal" and "Ishaaron Ishaaron Mein" ("Kashmir Ki Kali").


title: Asha Bhosle

text: Asha recorded her last song for O. P. Nayyar in the movie "Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye" (1974). The solo number "Chain Se Humko Kabhi" garnered many awards, but it was not included in the movie.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: They separated on 5 August 1972. It is not clear what made them part their ways. On being asked the reason for their parting, O. P. Nayyar once said, "I know astrology very well. I knew that one day I had to part with her. Something also happened that upset me, so I left her." Nevertheless, he also said "...now that I am seventy-six, I can say that the most important person in my life was Asha Bhosle. She was the best person I ever met."


title: Asha Bhosle

text: The parting of Asha Bhosle and O. P. Nayyar was bitter, and probably therefore she has hesitated to give Nayyar his due. While talking about O. P. Nayyar in an interview with The Times of India, she once remarked, "Whichever composer gave me work, it was because my voice was suited to his music at that point. No "one" musician did me any favor by asking me to sing for him." She gives the credit for her first big break to B. R. Chopra, the producer of "Naya Daur".


title: Asha Bhosle

text: Another music director who recognized Asha's talent early was Khayyam. Their partnership dates back to his first movie "Biwi" (1948). Khayyam gave her some good assignments in the 1950s, including "Dard" and "Phir Subah Hogi". However, their collaboration is chiefly remembered for the songs of "Umrao Jaan".


title: Asha Bhosle

text: Music composer Ravi considered Asha one of his favorite singers. She sang for his first movie "Vachan" (1955). The melodious lullaby from this movie, "Chanda Mama Door Ke" became an overnight hit among young mothers in India. Ravi got her to sing bhajans for the movies "Gharana", "Grihasti", "Kaajal" and "Phool Aur Patthar", at a time when most of the composers remembered her only when they needed to record B-grade songs picturized on the vamps or the side-heroines. Ravi and Asha recorded a variety of songs, including the popular comic duet with Kishore Kumar – "C A T...Cat. Cat Maane Billi" ("Dilli Ka Thug"). The bhajan "Tora Man Darpan" ("Kaajal") attained great popularity.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: They also recorded songs for many popular movies like "Waqt", "Chaudhvin Ka Chand", "Gumrah", "Bahu Beti", "China Town", "Aadmi Aur Insaan", "Dhund" and "Hamraaz". For "Chaudhvin Ka Chand", Ravi wanted Geeta Dutt (the wife of actor and producer Guru Dutt) to sing the songs. But when she backed out, Guru Dutt insisted that Asha sing the songs.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: One of Hindi film industry's most famous composers, Sachin Dev Burman and his favorite singer, Lata Mangeshkar, were not on good terms from 1957 to 1962. During this period, S D Burman used Asha as his lead female voice. She and Burman gave many hit songs in movies such as "Kaala Pani", "Kaala Bazaar", "Insaan Jaag Utha", "Lajwanti", "Sujata" and "Teen Deviyaan" (1965). They recorded many songs together after 1962 as well. Most famous of these songs were Asha's duets with Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi.The song "Ab Ke Baras" in Bimal Roy's "Bandini" (1963) consolidated her position as a lead singer. The seductive song "Raat Akeli Hai" from "Jewel Thief" (1967), picturised on Tanuja, became very popular.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: Asha first met Rahul Dev Burman (also known as Pancham) when she was the mother of two and he was in 10th grade having dropped out to pursue music. Their partnership was first noticed in "Teesri Manzil" (1966). She went on to record a variety of songs with him – cabarets, rock, disco, ghazals and classical.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: In the 1970s, Asha and Burman's youthful Western songs took Hindi film music by storm – the raunchy cabaret "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" ("Caravan", picturized on Helen), the rebellious "Dum Maro Dum" ("Hare Rama Hare Krishna", 1971), the sexy "Duniya Mein" ("Apna Desh", 1972) and the romantic "Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne" ("Yaadon Ki Baaraat", 1973). Burman also recorded many hit duets with Asha and Kishore Kumar such as "Jaane Jaan" ("Jawani Diwani") and "Bhali Bhali Si Ek Soorat" ("Buddha Mil Gaya").


title: Asha Bhosle

text: In the 1980s, Burman and Asha recorded subtle numbers for films like "Ijaazat" (1987) - "Mera Kuch Saaman", "Khaali Haath Shaam Aayi Hai" and "Katra Katra". They also recorded the popular duet "O Maria!" ("Saagar").


title: Asha Bhosle

text: Asha used to call R. D. Burman "Bubs". She married him in 1980. Their partnership lasted until his death.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: R. D. Burman made her sing some of the most legendary songs in Bengali as well, namely "Mohuyae Jomechhe Aaj Mou Go", "Chokhe Chokhe Kotha Bolo", "Chokhhe Naame Brishti" (Bengali version of "Jaane Kya Baat Hai"), "Baanshi Sune Ki Ghore Thaka Jaye", "Sondhya Belae Tumi Aami" and "Aaj Gungun Gun Gunje Amar" (Bengali version of "Pyaar Deewana Hota Hai").


title: Asha Bhosle

text: Prolific Indian film composer Ilaiyaraaja began employing Asha's vocals in the early 1980s, their earliest collaboration being for the film "Moondram Pirai" (1982) (remade in Hindi as "Sadma" in 1983). Their association continued, mostly through the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s. Another notable song from this period is "Shenbagamae" for the movie Enga Ooru Pattukaran in 1987. In 2000, Asha sung the theme song for Kamal Haasan's political film "Hey Ram". The song, "Nee Partha Parvai" in Tamil and "Janmon Ki Jwala" in Hindi (or Aparna's Theme), was a duet with singer Hariharan.


title: Asha Bhosle

text: A. R. Rahman is credited with Asha's "comeback" with "Rangeela" (1994). Songs like "Tanha Tanha" and "Rangeela Re" were chartbusters. She and Rahman went on to record more hits like "Mujhe Rang De" ("Thakshak"), "Radha Kaise Na Jale" ("Lagaan", duet with Udit Narayan), "Kahin Aag Lage" ("Taal"), "O Bhanware" ("Daud", duet with K. J. Yesudas), "Venilla Venilla" ("Iruvar", 1999), "September Madham" ("Alaipayuthey", 2000) and "Dhuan Dhuan" ("Meenaxi", 2004).


title: Asha Bhosle

text: When S D Burman's assistant Jaidev started giving music independently, he got Asha to sing some of his songs as well. They worked in "Hum Dono" (1961), "Mujhe Jeene Do" (1963), "Do Boond Pani" (1971) and other movies. In 1971, the pair released an LP of eight non-film devotional songs and ghazals called "An Unforgettable Treat". Asha considered Jaidev a close friend who stood by her when she was struggling personally and professionally. Upon his death in 1987, she released a compilation album of lesser-known songs he had composed for her, called "Suranjali".


title: Asha Bhosle

text: Shankar–Jaikishan worked with Asha, although not as extensively as some other composers did. However, the trio produced quite a few hits including the seductive "Parde Mein Rehne Do" ("Shikar", 1968). Asha got her second Filmfare Award for the song. She also sang "Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana" ("Andaz", 1971) for Shankar–Jaikishan, in which she tried to yodel like Kishore Kumar, whose version of the song is more popular. Shankar–Jaikishan also used her voice in "Boot Polish" (1954), "Shree 420" (1955), "Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai" (1960), "Junglee" (1961), "An Evening in Paris" (1968), and "Kal Aaj Aur Kal" (1971), among others. "When" Raj Kapoor was not on speaking terms with Lata Mangeshkar, Asha sang the songs of "Mera Naam Joker" (1970).


title: Asha Bhosle

text: Composer Anu Malik and Asha have recorded many hit singles together, including songs for his first movie "Sohni Mahiwal" (1984). Their most popular songs include "Ye Lamhaa Filhaal" ("Filhaal") and "Kitabein Bahut Si" ("Baazigar") among others. The four lines sung by Asha in Malik's "Jab Dil Mile" ("Yaadein") stood out among voices of Sukhwinder Singh, Udit Narayan and Sunidhi Chauhan. Their latest collaboration has been for the song, "Prem Mein Tohre" ("Begum Jaan") which also received praise. Asha had also sung for Anu's father Sardar Malik in the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in "Saranga" (1960).


title: Asha Bhosle

text: Madan Mohan recorded a number of songs with Asha, including the popular folk number "Jhumka Gira Re" picturised on Sadhana from "Mera Saaya" (1966). In "Chhoti Si Baat" (1975), Asha sang the "Jaaneman Jaaneman" number with K. J. Yesudas for Salil Chowdhury. Salil's 1956 movie "Jagte Raho" also had a number recorded by Asha, "Thandi Thandi Saawan Ki Phuhaar". Another Asha patron is the young composer Sandeep Chowta, who got her to sing "Kambakht Ishq", a duet with Sonu Nigam for the movie "Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya" (2001). The song gained major popularity among the Indian youth.