Great news – wintering monarch numbers up from previous year!
According to a Monarch Watch blog post, World Wildlife Fund Mexico in collaboration with SEMARNAT and CONANP and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) announced the total forest area occupied by overwintering monarch colonies today in Mexico City. Nine colonies were located this winter season with a total area of 4.01 hectares.
While this is great news, biologists believe an annual average wintering population of 6 hectares is needed to sustain the monarch population.
