MongaBay.com: Wintering monarch butterflies declining


Overwintering monarch butterflies cluster on an oyamel fir trunk in Mexico.
Photo Credit: Ernest H. Williams  

Every fall, millions of monarch butterflies travel south to Mexico and take refuge in twelve mountain sanctuaries of oyamel fir forests. Now, declining numbers of the overwintering butterflies expose the migration’s vulnerability and raise questions about threats throughout the monarch’s lifecycle.

A study published online last spring in Insect Conservation and Diversity shows a decrease in Mexico’s overwintering monarch butterflies between 1994 and 2011. The butterflies face loss of wintering habitat in Mexico and breeding habitat in the United States. Extreme weather, like winter storms in Mexico and the ongoing drought in Texas, adds yet another challenge.

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Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 12/4/2011 7:00 AM
Categories: Invertebrates
Tags: butterflies Monarch butterflies Mexico overwintering Breeding
 

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