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Tag: Butterflies

  • Trump administration delays decision on federal protections for monarch butterflies

    MADISON, Wis. — President Donald Trump’s administration has delayed a decision on whether to extend federal protections to monarch butterflies indefinitely despite years of warnings from conservationists that populations are shrinking.

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced during the waning days of then-President Joe Biden’s term in December 2024 that the agency planned to add the beloved backyard pollinator to the threatened species list by the end of 2025, calling the insect “iconic” and “cherished across North America.”

    But the Trump administration quietly listed the effort as a “long-term action” in a September report on the status of federal regulatory initiatives from the Office of Management and Budget. The designation does not mean the administration has blocked the fish and wildlife service from making the decision, only that it will not come within the year that began in September.

    “The administration remains committed to a regulatory approach that is transparent, predictable and grounded in sound science,” an agency spokesperson wrote in an email to The Associated Press on Friday. “Any listing must follow the (Endangered Species Act’s) statutory requirement that determinations be based on the best scientific and commercial data available. At the same time, the administration continues to emphasize voluntary, locally driven conservation as a proven tool for supporting species and reducing the need for additional federal regulation.”

    No one at the agency immediately returned follow-up emails inquiring about the specific rationale for the delay. The first Trump administration named the monarch a candidate for listing in December 2020. His second administration has made oil and gas production a centerpiece and has been working to strip away environmental regulations that impede development.

    His administration moved in November to roll back blanket protections for threatened animals and plants, requiring government agencies to instead craft species-specific rules, a potentially lengthy process. Other proposals call for bypassing species protections for logging in national forests and on public lands.

    The Center for Biological Diversity and other conservation groups started pushing for federal protections for the butterfly in 2014, petitioning the fish and wildlife service to list the insect. The center sued in 2022 to force the agency to make a listing decision.

    Tierra Curry, the center’s endangered species co-director, said Friday that she’s not surprised the Trump administration has delayed the decision. She said it can take more than a decade to get a species listed. For example, she said, the Miami Blue Butterfly was finally listed as endangered in 2012 after waiting on the candidate list since 1984. The Dakota Skipper butterfly became a candidate in 1984 but was not listed as threatened until 2014, she added.

    The long-term action designation doesn’t mean the end for monarch protections but it does place them in “bureaucratic limbo,” she said.

    “It’s absolutely disappointing because monarchs need all the help they can get,” Curry said.

    Monarchs are found across North America. Known for their distinctive orange-and-black wings, they’re a symbol of sunny summer days.

    But environmentalists have warned that monarch populations are shrinking due to climate change and rural development. Fish and wildlife service experts said when they announced in December 2024 that they planned to list the butterfly that monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains face a 57% to 74% probability of extinction by 2080. Monarchs west of the Rockies have a 95% chance of becoming extinct by then.

    The monarch listing proposal would generally prohibit people from killing or transporting the butterfly. People and farmers could continue to remove milkweed, a key food source for monarch caterpillars, from their gardens, backyards and fields but would be barred from making changes that would make the land permanently unusable for the species.

    People could continue to transport fewer than 250 monarchs and could continue to use them for educational purposes.

    The proposal also would designate as critical habitat 4,395 acres (1,779 hectares) in seven coastal California counties where monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains migrate for winter. The designation would prohibit federal agencies from destroying or modifying that habitat. The designation doesn’t prohibit all development, but landowners who need a federal license or permit for a project would have to work with the wildlife service to mitigate damage.

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  • Canada gives sneak peek of Cirque du Soleil show before its Fairfax Co. debut – WTOP News

    “Luzia,” Cirque du Soleil’s imaginative journey to Mexico debuts in Fairfax County, Virginia, this weekend. Here’s a sneak peak of the show from its Canada home base.

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    An enchanting sneak peek of Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Luzia’ in Montreal, Canada

    WTOP contributor Briana Thomas, of the “DC Getaway,” series, checked out a performance in Canada. The story below is based on a press trip sponsored by Cirque du Soleil and reflects Briana’s independent editorial research. The sponsor has no editorial involvement.

    Yellow marigolds, massive monarch butterfly wings and a vibrant sunrise mark the beginning of Cirque du Soleil’s imaginative journey to Mexico in the touring show “Luzia,” which debuts in the D.C. area this weekend.

    At the close of each summer, monarch butterflies travel nearly 3,000 miles from southern Canada to the mountain forests of central Mexico. On Saturday, this epic migration comes to life under the “Big Top” at Cirque du Soleil in Fairfax County, Virginia.

    WTOP contributor Briana Thomas got an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look of the production at the circus’ home base in Montréal, Canada, before the show premieres in Tysons.

    Audiences can follow the “Luzia” traveler (a hilarious clown) guided by a larger-than-life monarch butterfly through scenes and sites of Mexico. The family-friendly show — co-written by Daniele Finzi Pasca and Julie Hamelin Finzi with a Latin American score by composer Simon Carpentier — is an ode to Mexico’s culture, traditions and natural beauty.

    Olivia Aepli, who plays the running woman, says the opening butterfly scene where she spreads a set of bright orange wings while gliding along a treadmill is her favorite.

    “ I get to do this big run, and every night it’s really magical,” Aepli said.

    Magical truly describes this lively theater escape to Latin America’s northernmost country. Aepli is one of more than 45 artists who perform live circus acts, such as hoop diving, hurling acrobats, trapeze stunts and more mesmerizing physical feats throughout the two hour production.

    Beyond the major display of talent and athleticism, a signature of Cirque du Soleil showcases, viewers can expect to be transported to a dreamlike depiction of Mexico, illuminating the country’s rich heritages and history.

    The program utilizes engaging storytelling to celebrate Mexico’s contributions to film, dance, music, fashion, wildlife and sports. The visuals are impeccable, and according to Charlie Wagner, senior publicist at Cirque du Soleil, the narrative is moving too.

    Wagner has been on the production team for five years. She said there are moments in the show that make the audience laugh, and that draw emotion from the crowd.

    “It’s such a beautiful love letter from Mexico,” Wagner said.

    Yellow marigolds, massive monarch butterfly wings and a vibrant sunrise mark the beginning of Cirque du Soleil’s imaginative journey to Mexico in the touring show “Luzia.”
    (Courtesy Anne Colliard)

    Courtesy Anne Colliard

    a cirque de soleil performs in water on stage
    The show is running in Tysons, Virginia, from Sept. 6 through Oct. 19.
    (Courtesy Anne Colliard)

    Courtesy Anne Colliard

    performers doing stunts on stage
    Artists will perform live circus acts such as hoop diving, hurling acrobats, trapeze stunts and more mesmerizing physical feats throughout the two hour production.
    (Courtesy Anne Colliard)

    Courtesy Anne Colliard

    The interpretations of the country’s traditions are reenvisioned through live vocals, color-changing costumes, towering agave plants, scenes of lucha libre wrestling, ball-bouncing football choreography, Aztec art, hand-clapping fiestas and more homages.

    But the show’s main attraction is water.

    “Luzia” is the only traveling production that incorporates water into the acrobatic acts. The pool and rain surprises that viewers experience on stage require an intricate recyclable water system that sits outside of the Big Top in a 40-foot container.

    The huge task of transporting, heating and testing the water infrastructure requires an on-site aquatics team.

    Assistant Head of Aquatics Ethan Westland said the contrast of the light and water theatrics — a play on the show’s title which means light and rain — is what’s made the show so successful.

    “ I think we have a unique relationship with water itself, and it’s just such a beautiful piece,” Westland said. “The first time you see the rain curtain or the pool, it’s such a wow moment. You could almost time it to the second in the show when everyone’s going to say, ‘Wow.’”

    The Big Top show, headquartered at Old Port in Montréal, and its cast — including accompanying family members — packs up and travels to five to six cities around the world 12 months out of the year. The next stop is Tysons, Virginia, from Sept. 6 through Oct. 19. Tickets start at $60 per person.

    Briana Thomas is a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and tour guide with a passion for travel. She is the owner of local history and culture tour company Black Broadway Travel, and the Arts and Culture writer for Washingtonian Magazine. To read more of Briana’s cultural explorations sign-up for her Guide Culture newsletter. 

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Briana Thomas

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  • Milkweed Pods: How to Gather, Prepare, and Eat This Summer Vegetable

    Milkweed Pods: How to Gather, Prepare, and Eat This Summer Vegetable

    Common milkweed pods are a native vegetable that could be as familiar at summer greenmarkets as okra. As a food, milkweed still resides on the foraging fringes, or on rare restaurant menus, despite having been valued by Native Americans in regions throughout its range. Like okra, milkweed pods herald sweltering weather and are ready to harvest when crickets warm up and cicadas begin to zing. While succulent okra originates in Africa, and is grown as an annual crop in the United States, common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is a cold-hardy perennial indigenous to eastern North America. It has edible shoots, buds, flowers, and immature pods. And it is one of the most valuable milkweed hosts for monarch butterfly larvae.

    Here’s why to plant common milkweed as a vegetable, and how to prepare milkweed pods once you have gathered a clutch.

    Photography by Marie Viljoen.

    Above: Warts and all, these tender common milkweed pods are at the right stage for harvest.

    Dozens of milkweeds are native to North America. Monarchs, and hundreds of other insects, rely on them all for food. It bears repeating that the species we are discussing as human fare is Asclepias syriaca.

    All parts of cooked common milkweed taste like a mild green vegetable, along with a distinctive sweetness. It is never bitter. If you have collected, or grow, a milkweed whose distinctive white sap does taste bitter (raw or cooked), it’s a different species. (Others may be edible, but we are not addressing them here.)

    Above: Common milkweed flowers are heavily perfumed.

    Common milkweed blooms in early to midsummer. Its plump umbels of blossoms are richly scented and they are edible in their own right, as are the immature green clusters of buds that precede them.

    Above: Immature milkweed pods are tender and sweet.

    Milkweed pods form about three weeks after a flower has been pollinated. More than the spring shoots or flower buds, they taste uniquely like the scent of the flowers, their flavor coming from the soft white seeds and their pre-silk nestled inside rough, green capsules. While the pods are immature, before the silk has strengthened and the seeds hardened, the entire milkweed pod is edible. (Later, as the capsule toughens, the seed-and-silk cluster inside can be popped out and cooked alone, before the silk becomes tough.)

    Above: Tiny pods are good to eat, too. Large ones are fibrous.
    Above: Common milkweed pods in my previous vegetable garden.

    Despite the fact that this striking native plant is beautiful in bloom, supports hundreds of insect species, and is edible from nose to tail (as it were), it remains unusual in cultivation. I have yet to hear of a farmer growing it for the table, but perceptions shift: Ten years ago no one was bringing invasive and edible Japanese knotweed to market, either, and that has begun to change.

    Above: A monarch butterfly on milkweed in my previous garden. Their caterpillars feed on the leaves.

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  • The number of monarch butterflies at their Mexico wintering sites has plummeted this year

    The number of monarch butterflies at their Mexico wintering sites has plummeted this year


    MEXICO CITY — The number of monarch butterflies at their wintering areas in Mexico dropped by 59% this year to the second lowest level since record keeping began, experts said Wednesday, blaming heat, drought and loss of habitat.

    The butterflies’ migration from Canada and the United States to Mexico and back again is considered a marvel of nature. No single butterfly lives to complete the entire journey.

    The annual butterfly count doesn’t calculate the individual number of butterflies, but rather the number of acres they cover when they clump together on tree branches in the mountain pine and fir forests west of Mexico City. Monarchs from east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada overwinter there.

    Mexico’s Commission for National Protected Areas said the butterflies covered an area equivalent to 2.2 acres (0.9 hectares), down from 5.4 acres (2.21 hectares) last year.

    The lowest level was in 2013 at 1.65 acres (0.67 hectares).

    Experts said heat and drought appeared to be the main culprits in this year’s drought.

    “It has a lot to do with climate change,” said Gloria Tavera, the commission’s conservation director.

    Experts noted there were almost no butterflies at some traditional wintering grounds, because the monarchs appeared to have moved to higher, cooler mountain tops nearby. About two-thirds of the butterflies counted this year were found outside the traditional reserves.

    “The monarchs looked for other sites … they are looking for lower temperatures,” Tavera said. Because some of the newer wintering sites aren’t included in the population count, there may have been more monarchs this year than the numbers suggest.

    But the number of a smaller population, the western monarch butterflies that overwinter in California, has dropped, too.

    Ryan Drum, a biologist with the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, said “these low numbers we see here are a challenge for all of us.” He said the new data would be taken into account when U.S. experts make their recommendation on whether to list the migratory monarchs as endangered or threatened species. A decision on that recommendation is due in October.

    The butterflies themselves aren’t at risk of disappearing, but the monarchs’ migration is. It’s the longest migration of any insect species known to science.

    After wintering in Mexico, the butterflies fly north, breeding multiple generations along the way for thousands of miles. The offspring that reach southern Canada begin the trip back to Mexico at the end of summer.

    Drought, severe weather and loss of habitat north of the border — especially of the milkweed where the monarchs lay their eggs — as well as pesticide and herbicide use all pose threats to the species’ migration. Illegal logging and loss of tree cover because of disease, drought and storms plague the reserves in Mexico.

    Gregory Mitchell, a researcher for Environment and Climate Change Canada, called the decline “very sobering,” but noted that ”we have the drive, we have the tools, we have the people” to address humans’ impact on the monarch migration.

    Mitchell said that this year there were “very few monarchs up in Canada,” adding that “it really does seem driven by climate this year.”

    Humberto Peña, the head of Mexico’s protected areas, proposed creating a “safe corridor” for migrating butterflies with reduced herbicide and pesticide use and stricter measures against deforestation.

    There was some good news.

    Deforestation in the Mexican forests where the butterflies spend the winter fell this year to about 10 acres (four hectares). Almost all was lost to illegal logging.

    That was a large reduction from last year, when 145 acres (about 60 hectares) of forest cover was lost.

    Illegal logging has been a major threat, because the butterflies gather in clumps on the trees to keep warm.



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  • Rare birdwing butterflies star in federal case against NY man accused of trafficking insects

    Rare birdwing butterflies star in federal case against NY man accused of trafficking insects

    NEW YORK — Birdwing butterflies are among the rarest and largest to grace the planet, their 10-inch (25.4-centimeter) wingspans flapping through the rainforests of Southeast Asia and Australia. Their sheer size can make them hard to miss.

    But the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn says Charles Limmer made tens of thousands of dollars over the past year by illegally trafficking flying insects, including endangered birdwings — whose numbers have fallen because of diminishing habitat and illegal poaching.

    Trafficking of wildlife collectibles has become a serious and lucrative enterprise, despite a worldwide crackdown.

    On Wednesday, the same federal authorities in Brooklyn announced six-count indictments against two people, one from Alabama and the other from Georgia, for importing, transporting and possessing $1.2 million in taxidermized birds and eggs. Federal prosecutors say the collection includes nearly 800 birds and about 2,600 eggs.

    The two are accused of using sites such as eBay and Etsy to buy the mounted birds from around the world, including from Germany to South Africa and Uruguay. The collection of birds included protected species of canaries, falcons and woodpeckers.

    U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement that it was “in our national and global interest to enforce federal laws and treaties” to protect endangered wildlife “from the harm of alleged profiteers.”

    The six-count indictment against Limmer, a 75-year-old butterfly aficionado from Commack, New York, accuses him of working with overseas collaborators to smuggle some 1,000 lepidoptera, including some of the rarest and most endangered moths and butterflies in the world.

    Federal authorities in New York say the Long Island man smuggled dried specimens of the species, circumventing U.S. laws by labeling shipments as “decorative wall coverings,” “origami paper craft” and “wall decorations.”

    Attempts to reach Limmer by phone and email were unsuccessful.

    Federal law prohibits the commercial export or import of wildlife without permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Additional authorization would need to be secured for endangered species, as part of an international partnership to protect wildlife from trafficking.

    Limmer previously had a federal license to import and export wildlife, but it was suspended in October 2022.

    Since then, the indictment alleges, Limmer illegally imported and exported more than $200,000 worth of shipments.

    An eBay page of a seller going by “limmerleps” shows the account had made more than 4,600 sales on the shopping platform, many of the most recent sales were moths and butterflies. There were two birdwing specimens currently on sale and two were sold over the past year, according to the website.

    An Etsy page connected to a seller going by the name “Limmer” had four ads for birdwings still advertised on Wednesday, including featuring a collection of five specimens with an asking price of $133. The seller’s listed address coincides with Limmer’s.

    The indictment also seeks to force Limmer to give up his collection of some 1,000 butterflies, moths and other insects prosecutors say he illegally procured from overseas.

    If convicted, the three men face up to 20 years in prison.

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  • US land managers call off pesticide spraying near the Rio Chama to kill invasive grasshoppers

    US land managers call off pesticide spraying near the Rio Chama to kill invasive grasshoppers

    SANTA FE, N.M. — Federal land managers have called off plans to spray pesticides near the Rio Chama in northern New Mexico as part of an effort to eradicate invasive grasshoppers.

    The decision announced Thursday by the Bureau of Land Management followed an outcry by environmentalists and others who worried that dispersing 670 gallons (2,536 liters) of carbaryl — a potent neurotoxin — would also kill bees, monarch butterflies and other insects vital to the area’s ecosystem.

    Although the U.S. Agriculture Department conducted an environmental assessment earlier this year, the Bureau of Land Management said additional analysis and outreach was needed.

    “Due to the time needed to carry out additional analysis, the project cannot be achieved this season and will no longer take place. We will continue to work on this important issue in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service,” said Pamela Mathis, the BLM’s Taos field manager.

    The plan called for spraying the pesticide across 39 square miles (101 square kilometers) in Rio Arriba County. The U.S. Agriculture Department had concluded that grasshoppers had proliferated to the level deemed a severe outbreak and would not only consume grasses essential to grazing cattle but also would pose a threat to the ecosystem.

    Recent surveys in the area tallied 35 grasshoppers per square yard, or more than quadruple the eight per yard considered an outbreak and a threat to rangeland ecosystems, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.

    The Xerces Society and other environmental groups argued that the pesticide could inflict widespread collateral damage for the ecosystem. Some critics also noted that the chemical has been found to be carcinogenic to humans.

    Aimee Code, Xerces’ pesticide program director, acknowledged that the agencies’ initial action was centered on helping ranchers.

    “Now we’ve taken a step back and said ‘let’s figure out what’s the right solution for the ranchers, for the recreationalists, for the tribes and the pueblos, for the many people that use this area and the wildlife that are there.’” Code said.

    Federal officials had planned to set up no-spray buffers 500 feet (152 meters) from water bodies and a quarter-mile from riparian areas such as the Chama, Nutrias and Cebolla rivers. But critics were concerned that the pesticide would drift into other locations.

    Terry Sloan, director of Albuquerque-based Southwest Native Cultures, said he feared that any contamination of the Rio Chama could flow downstream to the Rio Grande and ultimately farms and tribal lands along the two waterways.

    “Mother Earth and her inhabitants win,” Sloan said in a statement. “… More work ahead, with public and tribal consultation, as we figure out a natural and or Indigenous way to address the grasshopper problem.”

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  • New York Fashion Week: Prabal Gurung explores impermanence

    New York Fashion Week: Prabal Gurung explores impermanence

    NEW YORK — Does a butterfly know it was once a caterpillar? How do we fill those fleeting moments between beginning and end, joy and despair?

    With moody luxury clothes, of course.

    Prabal Gurung was thinking deep this season. He installed a mirrored square runway reflecting an opulent blue light display at the main branch of the New York Public Library for a fashion week show Friday exploring the Buddhist concept of “anichya,” or impermanence.

    In butterfly motifs, wool jackets and hues of vermilion, saffron, burgundy and dusty pinks, Gurung was thinking of his homeland, Nepal, where he hasn’t been since before the pandemic. He was motivated by a 10-day meditative retreat he recently experienced to “silence everything.”

    “In Nepal, we talk about it all the time, what is present and how soon it can go,” he told The Associated Press in a backstage interview. “And there’s actually an optimism to that, especially during these challenging times.”

    The idea, in part, was finding hope “in the dark places,” he said. “There’s light after darkness.”

    His silhouettes were sharper and longer this time around. His asymmetry challenged the idea of harmony. He draped softly and provided sharp angles at the same time. There were fluid, gliding skirts, wool jackets and glitzy golds and crystals.

    In short, Gurung explained, New York Fashion Week for him was a “magical, mystery journey. An inward spiritual journey” taken at night back home in Nepal.

    Moody, yes, but hopeful in turquoise and emerald silk organza, a black leather cropped jacket with a pink shearling collar and his butterfly print in a high-low, high-neck dress of black and white, and another in sheer red and black with sexy cutouts at the hip.

    There was an oversized sweater in an ivory and yellow butterfly knit and a pink and scarlet embroidered cocoon coat.

    “But there’s a lot of strength to it,” Gurung said.

    All grew from the silence on his 10-day vipassana retreat, where reading, phones and exercise were banned. On the third day, a painted lady butterfly landed on his window, “and it gave me something to ponder.”

    Having grown up with “impermanence,” Gurung said, he wanted to embrace the notion that nothing is fixed but constant shifts need not be feared. They must me embraced, he said, and he’s got just the right clothes for the job.

    Kelsea Ballerini, who stunned in a yellow gown by Gurung at the Grammys, was among his front row guests. She was accompanied by Becky G and Alyah Chanelle Scott.

    ___

    Find Leanne Italie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/litalie

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  • New York Fashion Week: Prabal Gurung explores impermanence

    New York Fashion Week: Prabal Gurung explores impermanence

    NEW YORK — Does a butterfly know it was once a caterpillar? How do we fill those fleeting moments between beginning and end, joy and despair?

    With moody luxury clothes, of course.

    Prabal Gurung was thinking deep this season. He installed a mirrored square runway reflecting an opulent blue light display at the main branch of the New York Public Library for a fashion week show Friday exploring the Buddhist concept of “anichya,” or impermanence.

    In butterfly motifs, wool jackets and hues of vermilion, saffron, burgundy and dusty pinks, Gurung was thinking of his homeland, Nepal, where he hasn’t been since before the pandemic. He was motivated by a 10-day meditative retreat he recently experienced to “silence everything.”

    “In Nepal, we talk about it all the time, what is present and how soon it can go,” he told The Associated Press in a backstage interview. “And there’s actually an optimism to that, especially during these challenging times.”

    The idea, in part, was finding hope “in the dark places,” he said. “There’s light after darkness.”

    His silhouettes were sharper and longer this time around. His asymmetry challenged the idea of harmony. He draped softly and provided sharp angles at the same time. There were fluid, gliding skirts, wool jackets and glitzy golds and crystals.

    In short, Gurung explained, New York Fashion Week for him was a “magical, mystery journey. An inward spiritual journey” taken at night back home in Nepal.

    Moody, yes, but hopeful in turquoise and emerald silk organza, a black leather cropped jacket with a pink shearling collar and his butterfly print in a high-low, high-neck dress of black and white, and another in sheer red and black with sexy cutouts at the hip.

    There was an oversized sweater in an ivory and yellow butterfly knit and a pink and scarlet embroidered cocoon coat.

    “But there’s a lot of strength to it,” Gurung said.

    All grew from the silence on his 10-day vipassana retreat, where reading, phones and exercise were banned. On the third day, a painted lady butterfly landed on his window, “and it gave me something to ponder.”

    Having grown up with “impermanence,” Gurung said, he wanted to embrace the notion that nothing is fixed but constant shifts need not be feared. They must me embraced, he said, and he’s got just the right clothes for the job.

    Kelsea Ballerini, who stunned in a yellow gown by Gurung at the Grammys, was among his front row guests. She was accompanied by Becky G and Alyah Chanelle Scott.

    ___

    Find Leanne Italie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/litalie

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  • Monarch butterflies return to Mexico on annual migration

    Monarch butterflies return to Mexico on annual migration

    MEXICO CITY — The first monarch butterflies have appeared in the mountaintop forests of central Mexico where they spend the winter, Mexico’s Environment Department said Saturday.

    The first butterflies have been seen exploring the mountaintop reserves in th states of Mexico and Michoacan, apparently trying to decide where to settle this year.

    The monarchs have shown up a few days late this year. Normally they arrive for the Day of the Dead observances on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. Mountainside communities long associated the orange-and-black butterflies with the returning souls of the dead.

    The department said the butterflies were seen around their three largest traditional wintering grounds — Sierra Chincua, El Rosario and Cerro Pelón in Michoacan state.

    The main group of butterflies is expected to arrive in the coming weeks, depending on weather conditions, the department said in a statement.

    It is too early to say how big this year’s annual migration from the United States and Canada will be. Those counts are usually made in January, when the butterflies have settled into clumps on the boughs of fir and pine trees.

    The annual butterfly count doesn’t calculate the individual number of butterflies, but rather the number of acres they cover when they clump together.

    Last year, 35% more monarch butterflies arrived compared to the previous season. The rise may reflect the butterflies’ ability to adapt to more extreme bouts of heat or drought by varying the date when they leave Mexico.

    Each year, generally in March, the monarchs migrate back to the United States and Canada.

    Drought, severe weather and loss of habitat north of the border — especially of the milkweed where the monarchs lay their eggs — as well as pesticide and herbicide use and climate change all pose threats to the species’ migration. Illegal logging and loss of tree cover due to disease, drought and storms plague the reserves in Mexico.

    This year, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the migrating monarch butterfly to its “red list” of threatened species and categorized it as “endangered” — two steps from extinct.

    The group estimates the population of monarch butterflies in North America has declined between 22% and 72% over 10 years, depending on the measurement method.

    The monarchs’ migration is the longest of any insect species known to science.

    After wintering in Mexico, the butterflies fly north, breeding multiple generations along the way for thousands of miles. The offspring that reach southern Canada begin the trip back to Mexico at the end of summer.

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