Monarch Butterflies in Central Mexico

I love good news and I love butterflies. So when I heard that the Monarch Butterfly is making a comeback, well, that made my day! This photo shows branches just dripping with the insects over a whopping 10 acres of woodland fields in the central Mexico mountains.

Every year the Monarchs travel over 3,000 miles to winter in Mexico and then travel back to summer in the United States. Their numbers had been declining drastically until about two years ago when they started to make a small comeback, covering a little over an acre and a half. This year, their comeback got a lot bigger, but there's a long way to go to get to 1996 levels when the pollinators covered 44 acres of land. (It's impossible to count all of them, so scientists measure their numbers in acres covered.)

North America, including the U.S., Canada and Mexico, is committed to helping the Monarch recover by reintroducing milkweed plants and banning pesticide use along their migration route and getting tough on illegal logging.  Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is encouraged by the "beginning of success", and plans to keep building on it year by year by year.

I haven't noticed an increase in my garden yet, but I'll be on the lookout. And if you want to help, you can plant some milkweed in your backyard and cut down on pesticides during migration season. It's a small price to pay to see these beautiful, royally-named insects gather in your garden.

Your "Butterfly Garden" Gift Guru,
Linda