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The monarch butterfly is a symbol of change, both literally and metaphorically.
The monarch butterfly can be found throughout the North American continent.
This phenomenon is known asoverwintering.
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An organization calledXerces Society for Invertebrate Conservationhas recorded western monarch butterflies overwintering patterns throughout California and Arizona since 1997.
The milkweed plant hosts the caterpillar that will eventually become a monarch butterfly.
The remaining plants are severely affected by pesticides, which also directly impacts the butterfly population.
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Another reason for such a drastic drop in western monarch numbers may be due to extreme heat.
The orange-and-black insect had an astonishing bounce back from 2020 to 2022.
Of the 2024 numbers, Pelton says, This is bad news.
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But we have seen incredible recovery.
This doesnt mean were not going to have western monarchs.
Its hopefully a wake-up call that a bad year can set them back pretty significantly.
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This news comes at a pivotal time for the monarch butterflys conservational status within the U.S. A dearth of milkweed, the monarch’s host plant for metamorphosis, is also a contributing issue.
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