[Pollinator] Early signs of hope as monarch butterflies return to California overwintering sites

Thu Oct 21 08:16:02 PDT 2021

Early signs of hope as monarch butterflies return to California
overwintering sites
*Expert Contacts*

*Emma Pelton*, Senior Conservation Biologist, Xerces Society for
Invertebrate Conservation

emma.pelton at xerces.org   |   (971) 533-7245

*Sarina Jepsen*, Director of Endangered Species and Aquatics Program,
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

sarina.jepsen at xerces.org   |   (971) 244-3727

*Western monarchs are showing up along the California coast in greater
numbers than last year’s historic low.*

PORTLAND, Ore.; Thursday, October 21, 2021---Migratory western monarchs are
being reported at their overwintering sites in coastal California in
greater numbers than last year, with hundreds at some sites and thousands
at others, giving hope for the struggling population. These reports are
particularly welcome after the population reached an all-time low of 1,914
butterflies last year.

This year’s official count has not yet begun. That will take place with the
help of over 100 community scientists during the 25th annual Western
Monarch Thanksgiving Count, beginning on November 13. Yet these early
reports signal the possibility of a rebound in numbers—at least compared to
last year’s historic low.

On October 16th, 2021, over 1,300 monarchs were counted at the Pacific
Grove overwintering site; this site did not have a single monarch butterfly
during last year’s count. Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove and an
adjacent site tallied roughly 8,000 monarchs on October 20th, 2021; last
year, these sites hosted less than 300 butterflies.

Additional smaller estimates and observations from volunteers and the
public have started to pour in from the Bay Area, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Big
Sur, Ventura, Los Angeles and elsewhere, with numbers ranging from a few to
dozens to hundreds, of monarchs. Altogether, there appear to be over 10,000
monarchs easily accounted for at the overwintering sites.

The low count of fewer than 2,000 monarchs in 2020 followed two years of
record lows of under 30,000 butterflies each year. The number counted last
year represents a 99.9% decline from the millions of western monarchs that
overwintered in California in the 1980s.

“We are overjoyed that migratory monarch butterflies have not disappeared
from the western U.S.,” said Emma Pelton, a senior conservation biologist
and western monarch lead for the Xerces Society for Invertebrate
Conservation. “These early counts give us hope that, if we all work
together, we can still bring western monarchs back.”

The annual Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count
<https://www.westernmonarchcount.org/> is a volunteer-driven community
science monitoring project that annually assesses the number of monarch
butterflies overwintering at groves of trees on the Pacific Coast of
California and Northern Baja. The count is coordinated by the Xerces
Society for Invertebrate Conservation and Mia Monroe, count founder and
longtime volunteer coordinator. This is the primary way that the status of
the western monarch migratory population is assessed.

Why are numbers looking a little better this year? It is likely a
combination of factors including favorable conditions on their breeding
grounds. Populations of monarch butterflies, like other insects, can
fluctuate from year to year, in response to the temperature, rainfall, the
availability of food, and other factors. Though we are likely to see
increases in the size of the western monarch population this year, it is
likely to still be dangerously close to extinction, and there remains an
urgent need to address the threats that this butterfly faces.

“The Xerces Society and partners are focused on conservation at
overwintering sites, in early season breeding areas and ensuring late
season floral resources exist for migrating monarchs,” said Sarina Jepsen,
Director of Endangered Species and Aquatics Program at the, Xerces Society
for Invertebrate Conservation. “These are the actions that we and other
scientists feel are the most important to successfully recover western
migratory monarchs.”

Western monarchs continue to lack the legal protection
<https://xerces.org/press/much-needed-federal-protection-for-americas-beloved-monarch-butterfly-warranted-but-precluded>
that
would usher in resources to help recover the population, but there are many
things that can be done to improve their chances. The Xerces Society along
with other researchers and partners developed the Western Monarch Call to
Action <https://xerces.org/western-monarch-call-to-action>. It provides
five key steps that if implemented quickly, can help recover the
population. This rapid approach aims to complement long-term plans such as
the Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies plan
<https://wafwa.org/wpdm-package/western-monarch-butterfly-conservation-plan-2019-2069/>
.

There are many habitat restoration projects in progress right now to
enhance and restore monarch breeding and overwintering habitat in
California, but more are needed. Legislation proposed in Congress including
the Monarch and Pollinator Highway Act <https://xerces.org/mph-act> (now
part of the infrastructure bill) and the Monarch Act
<https://xerces.org/monarch-act> (which focuses on western monarchs) could
provide critical funding for habitat restoration and research, if passed.

Funding for this year’s Thanksgiving and New Year’s counts are provided by
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and
Xerces Society members.

###

Learn more about the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count:
https://www.westernmonarchcount.org/

How can you help Western Monarchs? See the Western Monarch Call to Action:
https://xerces.org/western-monarch-call-to-action/

*ABOUT THE XERCES SOCIETY FOR INVERTEBRATE CONSERVATION*
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation protects the natural world
by conserving invertebrates and their habitat. Established in 1971, the
Society is a trusted source for science-based information and advice and
plays a leading role in protecting pollinators and many other
invertebrates. Our team draws together experts from the fields of habitat
restoration, entomology, plant ecology, education, community engagement,
pesticides, farming and conservation biology with a single passion:
Protecting the life that sustains us. To learn more, visit
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Director of Communications & Outreach
*he/him/his*

Protecting the Life That Sustains Us

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