Community Chat

[butterfly123]

Experts: Mexico storms led to deaths of millions of monarchs https://www.yahoo.com/news/storms-damage-trees-mexican-monarch-152228958.html

[qualitygal]

Awwww that is sad. So tiny and fragile.

[Puzzle Piece]

Ohhh Nooo.  I planted butterfly bushes this season just to attract the butterflies.  I know those in my area will be welcome and hopefully the species will recover. 

[ValuSkr]

That's a shame.  Would be nice if the locals could be convinced to stop illegal logging but it's an impoverished area so they do what they need to survive.  Meanwhile we should plant milkweed in our gardens or in the wilder areas of our landscapes.  I saw a monarch in my garden a week or two ago.  It was the first I'd seen in many, many years.  It delicately flitted from flower to flower, staying mainly with the echinacea.

[Allegheny]

Saddens me deeply.  Besides weather, they and so many other species have so many other obstacles to battle just to survive.

[maestra]

very sad since we also plant parsley and milkweed, pentos to attract butterflies and hummingbirds; those love the bee balm.

Survival of the fittest...

[raven-blackbird]

I know the coast along Pismo Beach has the monarchs hatch there, it is amazing to see............and a guy I dated in high school grandmother's house had a huge tree where every year the monarchs hatch out of their cocoons, pull a vine that grows up the tree and the sky goes orange, it's awesome to see...................................................raven

[Toppers]

Hi @butterfly123,

Thanks for sharing the article, to let us know what is happening more with the Monarch population. 

This is really sad to hear. 

They like to hang around in the forests and the wooded areas here in the area/region. Milkweed grows naturally in some of our fields here in the area. 

Edited to add that I'm in Wisconsin. I was thinking out loud when I was posting about the wooded areas and fields that we have here. They like to hang about in the trees in the late Summer, before they get ready to migrate. 

I hope that their population numbers can pick back up again. 

[Tinkrbl44]

@butterfly123

This is heartbreaking ....  so I have to ask ..... Is there anything we can do?  

I doubt there's a "Monarch Butterfly Charity", so ..... is there any way to help these precious creatures?

[Tinkrbl44]

I had to add a few photos ....  I used to love to chase them across the yard when I was a kid.   Of course, they always flew away!    LOL