Scientists finally have something hopeful to tell us about monarch butterflies |
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Scientists finally have something hopeful to tell us about monarch butterflies
A first look at new research from the forests of central Mexico.
For the past quarter century, the future of monarch butterflies has looked dire, with these iconic American insects flitting toward extinction. Now, however, there is at least a small reason for hope: New data from WWF Mexico, a large conservation group, offers further evidence that the decline of eastern monarchs — the world’s largest population — has stopped, even as the insects face worsening threats across their range.
Each fall, tens of millions of monarchs that live east of the Rocky Mountains migrate, rather miraculously, to the same forested region of central Mexico. The featherweight insects can be so plentiful there during winter that the tree branches droop under their collective weight.
In December and January, researchers hike into the forest and measure the area of monarch-covered trees to estimate how abundant they are. And this winter, the numbers were up — monarchs aggregated in trees covering about 7.2 acres of forest in Mexico, up substantially from 4.4 acres the year before and from 2.2 acres the........