Photo:Wikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 4.0
Monarch butterflies are famous for their striking orange and black wings.
These beautiful, elegant insects are also renowned for their impressive migratory regimen.
Wintering in Mexico, they travel as far north as Southern Canada in the spring.
Photo:Wikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 4.0
Each October and November, thousands ofmonarch butterfliesflock to the sheltered, forested mountains west of Mexico City.
Typically, they return to northern, cooler climes in March.
Yet in the spring of 2022, the butterflies lingered until April.
Photo: NATICASTILLOG/Depositphotos
It is unclear exactly why, but it suggests the species is adapting to a rapidly changing world.
The butterflies rely on trees when in their Mexican home.
Logging, fires, drought, and plant disease are exacerbating deforestation.
Declining milkweed in the United States, which monarch caterpillars eat, has also affected their numbers.
Pesticides and clearing wooded areas endanger this vital plant.
Activists encourage Americans to plant milkweed to combat habitat loss, but those who live in Mexico should not.
The plant might erroneously encourage the insects to linger, interfering with their natural rhythm.
The butterflies may be adaptingbut we humans have to adapt too.
Fighting climate change will only make survival easier and surer for this incredible species.
