Posts Tagged: overwintering sites

Western Monarchs: 'A Great Breeding Season in 2022'

Ready for some good news about our iconic monarch butterflies? The Western monarch population at overwintering sites in California indicates a...

Overwintering monarchs in Cambria, San Luis Obispo County. This site does not appear on the official list of California's overwintering sites, says WSU entomologist David James. It was home in November to 15,000 butterflies. (Photo by David James, Washington State University entomologist)

Overwintering monarchs in Cambria, San Luis Obispo County. This site does not appear on the official list of California's overwintering sites, says WSU entomologist David James. It was home in November to 15,000 butterflies. (Photo by David James, Washington State University entomologist)

A cluster of monarchs at an overwintering site in Bolinas, Calif. (Photo by David James, Washington State University entomologist)

A cluster of monarchs at an overwintering site in Bolinas, Calif. (Photo by David James, Washington State University entomologist)

Monarchs clustering at an overwintering site in Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo County. (Photo by David James, Washington State University entomologist)

Monarchs clustering at an overwintering site in Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo County. (Photo by David James, Washington State University entomologist)

Western Monarch Population Increase: What Does This Mean?

What does the increase in the overwintering Western monarch population along coastal California mean? The number...

Overwintering monarchs at Pacific Grove, California, in 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Overwintering monarchs at Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, in 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This migratory male monarch, released Aug. 28, 2016 by Steve Johnson of Ashland as part of the David James' citizen scientist project, fluttered into Vacaville, Calif. on Sept. 5, 2016, on its way to an overwintering site along coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This migratory male monarch, released Aug. 28, 2016 by Steve Johnson of Ashland as part of the David James' citizen scientist project, fluttered into Vacaville, Calif. on Sept. 5, 2016, on its way to an overwintering site along coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Memorable Year for the Western Monarchs

It's definitely going to be quite a memorable year for the Western monarch butterflies--memorable as in "record low populations at the...

Monarchs overwintering in the Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, in 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarchs overwintering in the Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, in 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male monarch nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male monarch nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

How Many Overwintering Monarchs in California?

There's good news and not-so-good news about the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count in California. Last December the Xerces Society for Invertebrate...

Monarch butterfly feeding on milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarch butterfly feeding on milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarch and a honey bee sharing a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarch and a honey bee sharing a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male monarch on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male monarch on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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