Monarch Butterfly Migration

[Catherine]

Monarch Butterflies are amazing. They have an incredible life cycle/  migration pattern.  They fly back and forth between Mexico and Canada. The  butterflies that actually reach Canada are the third generation from the ones that wintered in Mexico.

https://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/News.html
In recent years the numbers have been declining. Loss of wintering habitat, especially illegal logging have decimated the winter numbers.  Loss of the milk weed, the food the caterpillars feed on, has decimated the summer numbers.
Things looked bad for the Monarch.

Efforts have been made to plant milk weed for the Monarchs to lay their eggs on and people have been planting butterfly friendly gardens.
They have also banned or reduced  some pesticides in some areas.


The good news, there are more Monarchs in Mexico this year.
http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2015/...-still-low

http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/mexico-sa...-1.2655707
If Mexico can protect the Monarchs through the winter and we can keep planting what they need for the summer, them maybe we can bring back this beautiful butterfly to its original numbers.

As a child I saw hundreds each summer. This year I saw two. I am a believer. I planted milkweed.  We can bring them back.