Millions of Endangered Monarch Butterflies Blanket Landscape in Mexico City

Millions of critically endangered monarch butterflies cover the landscape in a protected area in Mexico City, raising hopes for the survival of the species.

Millions of endangered monarch butterflies cover trees in a rainbow of brown, orange, and black, giving them the appearance of autumn foliage from a distance.

They fluttered above amazed tourists who have come to witness an annual tradition that endures even with the human and environmental pressures threatening it as the cool mountain air warms.

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve

To spend the season of winter among the forests of western and central Mexico, migratory monarchs travel up to about 2,000 miles or 3,000 km each year from Canada and the eastern United States.

About a three-hour drive from Mexico City, in the western state of Michoacan, is the idyllic monarch sanctuary known as Sierra Chincua.

In 1986, Sierra Chincua was introduced into the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, a protected area encompassing 138,000 acres and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

One of the thirty park rangers who guard the forest and serve as guides, Juan Vidal, claimed that tourism aids in forest preservation and supports families.

The population of Monarch Butterflies

According to Vidal, 54, there are now fewer monarchs than there were when he first arrived as a child.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature declared the migratory monarch species endangered in July, citing a decline in the population of between 22% and 72% over the previous ten years.

Scientists attribute the population decline to pesticides, climate change, and illegal logging.

Midway through the 1990s, the monarchs' presence in Michoacan and the neighboring Mexico state, where they spend the winter, covered 45 acres, or roughly 18 hectares.

But by last winter, there were only seven acres left.

But there was some hope for the monarch butterfly's future in last year's migration.

Compared to 2020, their presence in Mexico increased by more than a third.

One of the Sierra Chincua rangers, Luis Martinez, anticipates this year bringing about even more progress.

This year, more butterflies, according to him, have arrived because the colony is larger.

Some locals believe the monarch butterflies to be the reincarnated souls of ancestors, as they begin to appear around Mexico's Day of the Dead festival in early November.

Lizbeth Cerrato, a visitor, claimed that the unusual experience was similar to seeing souls flying above. She continued by stating that numerous emotions are intertwined, Reuters reported.

Monarch Butterflies

According to the National Geographic, one of the most well-known and extensively researched butterflies on the planet is the monarch.

Its black lines and white dot borders encircle its orange wings.

Millions of monarch butterflies make their famous seasonal migration from the United States and Canada to southern California as well as Mexico for the winter.

The female monarch butterfly attaches each of her eggs to a milkweed plant's leaf with a small amount of glue that she secretes.

Typically, a female will lay approximately 300 to 500 eggs over the course of two to five weeks.

The eggs develop into larvae, also known as caterpillars in the world of moths and butterflies, after a few days. The caterpillars' primary objective is to consume milkweed to grow. This is the primary reason the female originally laid her eggs on milkweed leaves.