Monarchs March Forward

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.  ~Rabindranath Tagore

 

Monarch numbers in Mexico just about doubled this Winter! Although, if every cloud has a silver lining, I suppose the reciprocal is also true. This years’ numbers still mark the fourth lowest count since census workers started keeping track in 1993.

Millions of butterflies migrate 2,000 miles each winter, traveling from Canada through the U.S. to central Mexico. Agriculture and land management practices in all three of these places effects the longevity of the Monarch butterfly. Modern farming practices in the U.S. are crowding out milkweed, the caterpillar’s food supply; and illegal logging in Mexico is destroying their winter homes.  The longer term threat for these gorgeous butterflies is climate change and the severe winter weather that comes along with their cross continental flight.

Photo credit: Time Hamilton

Information sources: Reuters, enn.com