After years of worrying decline, the population of monarch butterflies soared in their winter sanctuary in Mexico.
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Some scientists suggest the butterflies may release chemicals marking the migratory path and fear that if their numbers fall too low the chemical traces will not be strong enough for others to follow. Officials at the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced that a surge has been seen in the population of wintering monarchs in Mexico.
While speaking to the Associated Press, Dan Ashe, the director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service called it good news, seeing the kickstart of success. Last year exclusively, Mexico’s reserve area where the butterflies settle every year lost over 22 acres from its buffer zone. Since the insects gather on the pine and fir trees so densely, scientists calculate their population in area, instead of individuals, CBS News explained.
The rebound comes after the population hit an all-time low of 0.67 hectares in 2013-2014.
But the World Wildlife Fund warned of complacency. It’s a big challenge, but together we can save them, and save this unique migratory phenomenon.
“These monarch butterfly population numbers are encouraging”, said Steven P. Bradbury, a member of the Monarch Collaborative and a professor with Iowa State University’s Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management. They are reintroducing milkweed on about 1,160 square miles within five years.
The study looked at areas where the butterflies congregate when they spend the winter in Mexico’s Oyamel forest. By March, monarch butterflies start the return trip back north.
“Today’s news provides a hopeful indication that we are helping them head in the right direction and curbing the loss of this magnificent butterfly”. Shortridge is part of a growing number of gardeners in Southern California who have been delighted to find that planting just a few milkweeds can attract dozens of the majestic black-and-orange monarchs while cutting down on water use. The butterflies need the plants to eat and reproduce.
“The widespread use of increasingly deadly pesticides is a death knell for monarch survival”.
That would still be a far cry from about 500 million butterflies and 45 acres of the area recorded in 1996-97. It has urged people across North America to plant milkweed in order to help the butterfly thrive.
Herbicides are still a huge problem in the USA, so the threat hasn’t disappeared. Local communities also play a role in preventing illegal logging, drastically decreasing deforestation and forest degradation.
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Plus, as climate change is also an issue, researchers will be keeping an eye on changes happening to environments, which could be blamed on global warming.
