Thousands more monarch butterflies expected on Central Coast this season
Over the years, the monarch butterfly population has dwindled. Now Pacific Grove’s Museum of Natural History reports that monarchs are making a comeback. Monarch season is underway and if you visit the butterfly garden in Pacific Grove you’d probably spot their orange and black wings. Museum officials said they’ve been tagging and tracking the two winged insect for the past year.
“They document the sitings, the numbers, what they’ve seen and share that so we can all get an idea of how their populations looking, what their health is like things like that,” Communications and Marketing Coordinator for the Museum of Natural history, Patrick Whitehurst said.
The new study shows that there were 24,000 monarchs in Monterey County. That’s 10,000 more than the season before. Scientists said butterfly numbers are still lower than they were in the 90’s. Part of the reason for that is due to a parasite called, OE. Monarchs that contract the parasite become deformed, can’t fly or feed themselves. But why are the populations flourishing now?
“It could be that a lot of people are planting milkweed and pollinators in the areas that monarchs travel and that could be helping their numbers,” said Whitehurst.
Although monarchs generally live about three months they can travel from Canada all the way down to the Central Coast. Jodi Denithorn did some traveling of her own and made a stop at the museum to learn more about the monarchs.
“It’s really exciting to see that the population of monarch butterflies are rebounding and coming back. I think that they are a beautiful species and I think that it’s a neat thing for this area to bring a lot of people,” said Denithorn.
If you do plan on coming, November is the best time to see even more clusters of the butterfly. Researchers said it isn’t a guarantee that the population will continue growing in the future but there are ways to help.
“I hope to see more people learning about the monarchs and doing what they can to help, such as planting pollinators, and help the monarchs on their migratory path,” said Whitehurst.
