When I was a young girl I remember seeing the clumps of monarch butterflies clinging to each other on trees in the cool morning air. Even just a couple years ago I observed clumps, maybe only one or two, but there were still clumps at the Natural Bridges Monarch Sanctuary. In November-December 2020, I packed up my camera at sunrise and headed to Natural Bridges in hopes of finding at least one clump. To my sadness and disappointment, I found ZERO clumps of butterflies. I didn't even find one butterfly. My heart sank and I actually teared up. Where are our monarchs? What is happening to them? Are they finding a new place to stop for their overwintering? I had many questions, so I decided to contact Julia Madden-Fulk of the Pacific Grove Natural History Museum and Monarch Sanctuary to answer some of my questions. We decided to have a FaceBook Live event because I cannot be the only one with these questions!! Julia kindly put together a presentation and answered questions presented by our audience.
Spoiler Alert!... The monarch butterfly population has declined 99% since the 1980s!
Below is the video of our FaceBook Live event! Please check out Julia's presentation, it is very educational and valuable information on how we can help save the monarch by providing the right environment for them to visit us again!
Remember to....
Plant Native, Plant Nectar, Plant Now!!!
Great Resources:
Xerces Society: http://www.xerces.org/pollinator-conservation
Monarch Milkweed Tracker: https://www.monarchmilkweedmapper.org
Pacific Grove Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary: https://www.cityofpacificgrove.org/visiting/monarch-butterfly-sanctuary
Monarch Joint Venture: https://monarchjointventure.org/resources/monarch-webinar-series
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