Monarch Butterfly numbers at historic low numbers

Most hawkwatch sites that see them count Monarch butterflies, and this year reporting those numbers may be more important than ever. Monarch Watch reports that flooding, resulting landslides and cold weather at the butterfly’s wintering grounds in Mexico have reduced the already small wintering population by as much as 50%. The 2009-2010 over-wintering season began with the lowest number of butterflies seen in the past 16 years, Dr. Lincoln Brower reported in the current issue of the  organization’s weekly spring newsletter, Monarch Butterfly Journey North.

The organization also reports that the 12 Texas observations of migrating monarchs for the current week are well below the nearly 70 sightings reported last year during the same week. The newsletter Journey North reports weekly on the progress of the monarch migration. Sightings of northward-bound monarchs may be reported directly to the organization on the site's Maps and Journal page.