Brides of the sun, the traveler butterfly, souls of the dead the one and only monarch butterfly, known for its distinctive orange and black wings, this beauty of nature is one of the most recognizable and well-studied butterflies in the world the monarch butterfly famous for its incredible migration journey they tend to travel thousands of miles from North America to central Mexico.
Each year during fall season millions of monarch travel thousands of miles from their breeding grounds in North America to their wintering sites in central Mexico. During their migration period they pass through various states in the U.S which consist of Texas, California, Kansas, and a few other states. Once the monarch reaches Mexico, they cluster together in Oyamel fir forests, where they rest and conserve energy for their trip back in spring. This long and incredible journey they do show the endurance and navigational skills of these butterflies but also a critical part of their life cycle
Despite its population of over 100 million the monarch butterfly is facing serious threats their survival depends on a limited number of overwintering sites which many of them are endangered by illegal logging and deforestation, these forest are a few and small making their habitat vulnerable not only are they losing their resting place but monarchs are losing their primary food source, ,milkweed which is in their northern breeding grounds both the loss of their forest and food source pose a significant risk to the monarch butterfly population
What can we do to help protect the monarch butterfly?
To help protect monarch butterflies several actions can be taken as an individual or as a community
- Plant native milkweed and nectar plants in gardens, parks, and along roadsides, not only is milkweed beautiful but it will provide food and breeding grounds for them
- An important way we can help is to support organizations that work to protect monarch habitats.
- To advocate against deforestation
A recent Netflix documentary called “The guardian of the monarchs” which talks about the environmental activist Homero Gomez Gonzales, Homero gave his whole life to the monarchs just for them to join the endangered list shortly after his death. The Netflix documentary is over an hour long but worth watching.
Homero Gomez Gonzales was a passionate environmental activist he dedicated his whole life to protecting the monarch butterflies and their habitat in central highlands of Mexico. Homero managed El Rosario monarch butterfly preserve in Michoacan one of the most important sanctuaries for these butterflies all his efforts were instrumental in raising awareness about the threats these butterflies were facing, specifically illegal logging. Unfortunately, Homero Gomez Gonzales passed away in 2020 after he went missing, his death drew attention from every corner of the world and showed the danger faced by environmental activist in Mexico. But his legacy continues to inspire communities to protect monarch butterflies and their habitats.
The monarch butterfly is incredible, but we have to make an effort to save them and to remember that it’s not just them that face challenges due to their habitat’s loss.
Here are some organizations that help the monarch butterfly
Quinn Stout • Nov 11, 2024 at 7:56 pm
This was super cool to learn about these butterfly’s and what we can do to protect them. Great article.