Despite the global impact of climate change, monarch butterflies have managed to adapt to climate variations and, at least for now, they seem to have resisted environmental challenges.
The latest report by the National Commission of Protected Areas (Conanp) in Mexico revealed that the areas occupied by these butterflies during the winter increased to 1.79 hectares, twice as registered the previous year, when they only covered 0.9 hectares.
This annual monitoring does not count the number of specimens, but the extension of the forests where they remain between October and March in the states of Mexico and Michoacán. The butterflies that arrive in Mexico come from eastern United States and Canada, while those that inhabit in the west of the rocky mountains usually migrate to the Coast of California to spend the winter.
The General Director of Conservation for the Development of CONANP, Gloria Tavera Alonso, explained that the growth of the monarch population is due to favorable climatic conditions, such as moisture, as well as the conservation efforts promoted by governments, civil and scientific organizations in the United States, who have worked on the expansion of areas with plants rich in nectar to guarantee adequate food and habitats.
However, while in Mexico the results have been positive, in the United States the situation is worrying.
The Xerces Society for invertebrate conservation reported that in 2024 only 9,119 monarch butterflies were counted, which represents a 96% drop compared to the previous year, when the figure reached 233,394 individuals. This number is the second lowest since monitoring began in 1997, surpassed only by 2020, when 1,901 specimens were barely recorded.
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Experts warn that the species faces threats throughout North America, mainly due to the reduction of algodoncillo, the plant where caterpillars grow and feed. Factors such as droughts, forest fires, pesticides and urbanization have drastically decreased the presence of this plant species. In addition, high temperatures recorded in western United States last year could have affected the reproduction process.
Given this panorama, the Federal Service of Fishing and Wildlife of the United States announced in December that it is evaluating the monarch butterfly in the list of threatened species, which would imply measures to prohibit its hunting, transport and any alteration of its habitat, including the elimination of the algodoncillo.
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Within these actions, the protection of 1,779 hectares in seven coastal counties in California is also contemplated, where Western monarch populations pass winter.
The decision on the inclusion of butterfly in the list of threatened species will be taken before December.
With agency information
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