Recent data from the annual survey conducted by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and its partners on the overwintering numbers of the eastern monarch butterfly population in central Mexico’s forests paint a concerning picture. The latest figures reveal a significant population decline, with only .9 hectares (equivalent to 2.2 acres) occupied during the 2023-2024 winter […]
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a membership union of government and civil society organizations headquartered in Switzerland, has amended its classification of the monarch butterfly on its “Red List” of threatened species. The organization initially categorized the monarch as “endangered” in 2022 but last month decided to downgrade its threatened […]
Today is the first day of Pollinator Week, an annual celebration in support of pollinator health that was initiated and is managed by Pollinator Partnership. The theme of this year’s Pollinator Week is emphasizing the connections between climate and pollinators. Few individuals are as closely tied to the weather patterns as farmers. Farmers track temperature, […]
Eastern monarch populations saw a 22 percent decrease compared to last year, according to the annual survey released this week from World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Mexico. Monarch butterflies occupied 2.21 hectares, a drop from the 2.84 hectares they occupied last year. Because it is impossible to count each butterfly, the survey measures the area of […]
The western monarch population continued its growth in 2022, according to overwintering count totals recently released by the Xerces Society. The 2022 Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count tallied 335,479 monarchs, an increase from the remarkable rebound from the previous year, which came in at nearly 250,000. The annual Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count surveyed 272 overwintering sites. According to the Xerces […]
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a membership union of government and civil society organizations headquartered in Switzerland, added the monarch butterfly to its “red list” of threatened species and categorized it as “endangered” — two steps from extinct, according to an article published today by the Associated Press. IUCN’s members work […]
In a report released this week from the World Wildlife Fund Mexico (WWF), scientists determined monarchs occupied 2.84 hectares in December 2021, a modest increase from the 2.10 hectares occupied in December 2020. The report notes the 35% increase in monarch butterfly overwintering population numbers between 2020 and 2021 gives some reason for hope given […]
The western monarch population saw an extraordinary rebound in 2021, according to overwintering count totals recently released by the Xerces Society. The 2021 Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count tallied 247,237 monarchs, a significant increase from the previous year’s count, which came in at just under 2,000. The 2021 count is the highest tally since 2016 and […]
The official 2021 western monarch tally will not be known until early 2022 but early observations indicate a promising rebound for these monarch populations. “Nature has given us a second chance,” Emma Pelton, a biologist with the Xerces Society, told NPR last month. Farmers for Monarchs detailed earlier this year the alarmingly low 2020 western […]
The migratory generation of monarchs that departs for their overwintering grounds each fall relies on late season wildflowers to fuel their flight. While sitting at a fast food drive thru in Prince William County, Virginia, earlier this month, one of our Farmers for Monarchs members spotted dozens of migrating monarchs refueling on the nectar of […]