[Pollinator] Western Monarchs Head into Spring with a Small Migratory Population

[Isis Howard]

Hello conservation partners,

We've just released the *late-season findings* from the Xerces Society's
annual *Western Monarch Count*. <https://westernmonarchcount.org/> You can
find our announcement at the following link, and please feel free to share:
https://xerces.org/news/organizational-news/western-monarchs-head-into-spring-with-small-migratory-population
.

We have also posted the update to our Xerces' social media channels.

Quick Summary:

   - Volunteers and partners recorded 6,464 monarch butterflies across 193
   overwintering sites.
   - This tally is 47% lower than the mid-season count of 12,260
   butterflies, compared with 35%-58% seen in the past ten years. (A drop
   between the mid-season to late-season counts is typical due to seasonal
   mortality and possibly early dispersal from overwintering sites.)
   - Sites with the highest late season counts:
      - Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz with 1,540 monarchs
      - Private site in Big Sur with 1,140 monarchs
      - Lighthouse Field State Beach in Santa Cruz with 804 monarchs
      - Skywest Golf Course in Hayward with 547 monarchs across two sites
      - Moran Lake in Santa Cruz with 520 monarchs.


Thank you all for making the annual overwintering count possible--we
appreciate you!

Warmly,
Isis 🦋🐛

Isis Howard (she/her)

Conservation Biologist

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

503.212.0546 | isis.howard at xerces.org

xerces.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sonic.net/pipermail/pollinator/attachments/20260227/e93dc4d0/attachment.htm>