Daneus plexippus, the Monarch butterfly, is perhaps the most recognizable resident in our Tropical Butterfly House. The species is famous for its seasonal migration and spectacular overwintering at specific sites in California and Mexico. In recent years Monarch migratory populations have been in decline – until now.
A fascinating article from the San Francisco Chronicle website reports on the increasing number of Western monarchs returning to their winter homes: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/22/DDCR1M167F.DTL
Thanksgiving weekend is when the annual Western monarch butterfly count takes place and so far, the preliminary numbers are very encouraging. To learn more about what you can do to attract Monarchs to your backyard visit The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation website.
This is great news, but we should be clear that the Western population of monarchs is NOT the one that travels to Mexico. This report says nothing about the numbers of the Eastern monarch population (the ones that travel from Canada to Mexico, east of the rockies, which have also been declining.
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