This year is starting off with great news for Western monarch butterflies. In December, the Xerces Society reported preliminary overwintering Western monarch population numbers at more than 300,000!
While final numbers are still being tallied for the Thanksgiving Count monitoring period, it's an encouraging sign. In fact, this year's number is 50,000 more than last year's Thanksgiving Count and the highest it's been since 2000! With recent heavy storms in California, however, we have our fingers crossed that these numbers will remain strong through the spring.
The Western Monarch Count is an annual effort by volunteer community scientists. They collect data from more than 200 monarch overwintering sites in southern California and northern Baja, Mexico.
Stay tuned as the overwintering monarch story continues to unfold! Learn how you can help monarchs and other pollinators, including signing up to receive free native milkweed seeds from us. We can all be part of the Butterfly Brigade!