Monarch numbers remain strong at Sanctuary
Monarch butterfly numbers at the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary fluctuated in recent weeks due to a series of early winter storms – from more than 24,000 in early November to 18,000 in early December, to just over 22,000 in mid-December.
According to estimates, 22,305 monarchs were observed at the Sanctuary on Tuesday, Dec. 16.
The 18,000 monarchs documented in early December at the PG Sanctuary were part of the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count coordinated across California by the Xerces Society. The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History and volunteers submit data from 15 different Monterey County overwintering sites during the Thanksgiving count’s two week assessment.
The Thanksgiving Monarch Counts in Monterey County totaled 53,065 in all. Overwintering sites in Monterey County include the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary, Andrew Molera State Park, the recreation trail near the Naval Post Graduate School, Prewitt Creek, Plaskett Creek, and Sycamore Canyon (Pfeiffer Beach) , as well as a number of private property sites.
Pacific Grove Sanctuary: 18,128
Andrew Molera State Park: 2,835
Recreation trail across from Naval Postgraduate School: 572
Prewitt Creek: 3
Plaskett Creek: 2
Pfifer Beach: 373
Private Properties (4 sites): 33,966
Besides the counts, monarchs were also tagged at sites in Monterey County, including the Sanctuary and Andrew Molera State Park. Blue tags indicate the Sanctuary, while dark green tags indicate the monarchs hailed from Andrew Molera State Park. Big Sur monarchs will receive light green tags. Three of the blue-tagged monarchs from the Sanctuary were found at Lighthouse Field in Santa Cruz and during the Sanctuary count on December 16th a green-tagged monarch from Andrew Molera State Park was sited.
Weather permitting, Museum docents are present at the Sanctuary from noon to 3 p.m. daily, November to February, to coincide with the Monarch overwintering season. The sanctuary, at 250 Ridge Road, is a Pacific Grove municipal park and open from sunrise to sunset. There is no admission fee.
For more information on monarchs, call the Museum at 831.648.5716 or visit the Museum website at pgmuseum.org.
