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is 24 mm long, brown with metallic golden spots, eclosing 10 0LJUDWLRQ
after 10-14 days, but possibly more in winter and less in
mid-summer. DB never observed diapause in any of its Several major discoveries, activities and exceptional weather systems
metamorphosis stages. in Arabia - East Mediterranean and North Africa highlighted the late
2010’s – early 2020’s placing cardui as world’s record migrant:
3UHGDWRUV DQG 3DUDVLWRLGV The black-red-white warning - The overwintering sites of European cardui in the Sub-Saharan Sahel
#
coloration of cardui adults possibly help them to reduce belt that was discovered by Talavera & Vila (2016) is equal to Urquart’s )LJ - Map of breeding records
pressure of avians and mammalians predators but not historical discovery of the Monarch (Danaus plexippus) overwintering in
against spiders (illustr. 3) and preying mantids. However Mexico. However, political reasons and civil war prevented Talavera &
© Dubi Benyamini © Dubi Benyamini © Dubi Benyamini Cotesia vanessae (Braconidae) is the most common Vila to discover Levant's overwintering sites in S&E Egypt, N&E Sudan, E
larval parasitoid and together with Pteromalus puparum Ethiopia, Somaliland & Arabia. In the short range of up to 300 km S of Eilat
21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 10 - A | 21-12-22 | 12:22:48 | SR:-- | Magenta
(Chalcididae) pupal parasitoid (illustr. 4) that are still “waking DB knows that cardui exist in small numbers in every Oasis in the Sinai
21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 10 - A | 21-12-22 | 12:22:48 | SR:-- | Yellow
#21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 10 - A | 21-12-22 | 12:22:48 | SR:-- | Black
21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 10 - A | 21-12-22 | 12:22:48 | SR:-- | Cyan
up” in the first brood infect less than 5% of the swarm build- Peninsula being their overwintering cite. In longer ranges southwards
up. This number is growing up quickly in later generations we do not have sufficient data (in late 2021) of cardui overwintering in
where the toll of all parasitoids may reach 30% of the Arabia, S Egypt and Sudan except sporadic records of Williams (1930)
population (Benyamini, 2017d). Other infacting parasitoids further southward in East Africa and the detailed historical description )LJ - Mountly adults' distribution models
that appeared in low frequencies in Israel are: Cotesia of Skertchly (and J. K. Lord) that on March 1869, near Suakin, S Port source: in Menchetti et al; 2019 (with permission).
vestalis, Diadegma oranginator & Hyposoter didimator (both Sudan, Red Sea W coast, witnessed mass emergence of a cardui swarm
Ichneumonidae) det. Mark Shaw. Brachymeria femorata (Skertchly, 1879). DB hopes that the cardui citizen science program 6
© Dubi Benyamini © Ofir Tomer
(Kugler, 1966) and the Tachinid Sturmia bella (Eisenstein, and better political environment will help in solving this question.
Pteromalus puparum parasitoids
1982). - The creation of huge cardui swarms in the Levant and Arabia following
4 4 exceptional weather systems: 1) Red Sea Trough (RST) tropical storms
5HFRUGHG KRVWSODQWV Wild and cultivated plants from 2) Indian Ocean intensifying cyclons that hit southern Arabia and its vast
many families: Asteraceae - Arctotis spp. [C], Atractylis Rub al Khali Desert 3) Cross-African Jet stream that lower to surface in
comosa, Carduus argentatus, C. getulus [L], Carthamus subsidence process and convey the migrants to the Rift Valley. Each of
tenuis, Centaurea cineraria (= C. candidissima) [C], C. these synoptic weather systems causes local heavy rains and floods to
crocodylium, Cirsium spp. [?], Cousinia hermonis, Cynara the southern and eastern vast Deserts where “trillions” of fast-growing
syriaca, Echinops adenocaulos, E. philistaeus, E. polyceras, LHPs served as proven & documented bases of cardui build-up swarms 6
E. spinosissimus, Filago contracta [?], Gundelia tournefortii, migrating to the Levant and beyond to Europe and West Asia (Benyamini,
Notobasis syriaca, Onopordum cynarocephalum, O. 2017d; Shalmon & Benyamini, 2019). A few figures will explain the
© Dubi Benyamini © Dubi Benyamini © Dubi Benyamini
cyprium, Ptilostemon chamaepeuce, Scolymus hispanicus, enormous size of this phenomenon: Two consecutive cyclones that
1 1 1 1 1 1 Silybum marianum; Malvaceae - Alcea rosea [C], A. setosa hit S Arabia in the end of 2018 brought over 600 mm of rain in just
[L], Gossypium hirsutum [C], Lavatera cretica, Malva 24 hours resulting in countless supply of hostplants to gravid cardui
aegyptia, M. neglecta, M. nicaeensis, M. parviflora, M. females. Their fast multiplication rate of three weeks (or less) for every
sylvestris; Boraginaceae - Arnebia linearifolia, Echium brood + up to 500 eggs laid by every female + many available species
angustifolium; Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) - Diplotaxis harra of hostplants + high rate success of protected larvae to survive within
[S]; Cucurbitaceae - Cucumis sativus var. [C], Lauraceae their concealed leaf-pods created the cardui “clouds” we witnessed in 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
- Persea americana var. [C]; Solanaceae - Solanum the whole East Mediterranean in late March – early April 2019. Butterfly
melongena var. [C]; Urticaceae - Forsskaolea tenacissima, counts by members of BMS Israel and DB resulted in huge numbers of
Parietaria judaica [L], Urtica pilulifera, U. urens; Vitaceae - hundred thousands for one km and up to several billions per day for © Amir Givati
Vitis vinifera [C]; Lamiaceae (Labiatae) - Ocimum basilicum whole Israel. Let us calculate together three examples: 1) In Kibbutz
[C, L]; Plantaginaceae - Plantago albicans; Verbenaceae - Lotan, S Arava, Israel, Shahar Cohen counted on 8 February 2019 7 7
Verbena peruviana var. [C, L]. between 11:30 and 12:00 AM 45 carduis every minute crossing a front
of 20 m. For 6 hours we get 45x(1000:20)X60X6= 810.000 butterflies
for every km front. 2) In Um-Zuka N Samarian Desert on 3 April 2019 © Uzi Avner
'LVWULEXWLRQ noon time Galit Moshe counted 79 carduis crossing a front of 5 meters
TL: Sweden. A cosmopolitan species, found throughout every minute. With similar calculation we get 5.688.000 millions for 6 8
the Levant, its distribution ranging over all of Europe, Asia, hours per front of one km. 3) in Mt Gilboa NE Israel on 21 March 2019
Australia, Africa and from N America to Mexico. Absent from Israel Pe’er and Noam Kirshenbaum counted in mid-day 150 butterflies
the Tropics and the rainforests. It has not become resident every 10 seconds crossing 10 m front. This is 32.4 millions for 6 hours
in S America, although it penetrates there during migrations. in every km and for whole Israel 6.4 billions. Indeed on the 21st of
© Ori Mintzker
March 2019 dense “clouds” of Painted Ladies crossed the sky of Tel
11
11 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Aviv north-westwards and DB estimated their number to be about a © Dubi Benyamini
11
11
111
1
billion for the whole day (illustr. 5, possibly taken further north).
- The process of swarm build-up in S Israel was documented step by
step by DB, possibly for the first time in Winter 2015 – Spring 2016 and
presented in the 20th SEL congress in Podgora, Croatia (24-30.IV.2017)
as one solution for the missing link and Benyamini, 2017d:
1. First brood (F1) - establishing the base and initial step in Southern
Arava Rift Valley N Eilat/Aqaba (e.g. 75 km NNE of the Red Sea, Ka
a Saidin flat depression ~ 100 hectars on both sides of the Israeli –
Jordanian border) to Uvda Valley ~ 50 km N Red Sea with about 500
hectars, from the end of Oct. to the end of Dec. 2015;
1.1 – Meteorological combination of high jet stream at the troposphere
with active low Red Sea Trough over SE Mediterranean in autumn 2015
© Dubi Benyamini © Dubi Benyamini © Galit Moshe

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