MonarchButterflyFund

Need some good news? Wintering population up 99%!Any increase in monarch population is encouraging. They are resilient but remain vulnerable. monarchconservation.org/monarch-winter…

Congratulations to our partner Susan Meyers, Monarchs Across Georgia, receiving Odum Lifetime Achievement in Environmental Education Award. MBF has supported Beyond the Mexico Book Project for five years and contributing to Mexican student literacy and environmental education.

Today is the day! Release of overwintering monarch census report by WWF Mexico & partners. Press conference at 11:00 Mexico City time. Watch for announcements at: facebook.com/monarchbutterf… and monarchconservation.org

MBF votes to support Red Monarca! “Development of Communication Tools for Monarch Network, Third Stage”! Collaborating on sustainable development projects and initiatives in the Monarch region and migratory route. redmonarca.org/documentation-…

Stepping up! #MonarchButterflyFund a SPONSOR for 2025 North American Monarch Summit, allowing more Mexican scientists to attend this prestigious event. Will you be there? monarchjointventure.org/monarch-summit Early registration ends tomorrow.

Welcomed news! This latest drought map shows wintering monarchs have moisture critical to their survival. Northeastern Mexico and southern Texas appears abnormally dry with drought. We will be watching as the northward migration begins in late February and early March 2025.

Excellent update from Estela Romero and Journey North that the wintering monarchs remain in their clusters as February approaches. When will monarchs break diapause and begin mating? With English subtitles. youtube.com/watch?v=n7eCHh…

Worrisome news from the 28th annual Western Monarch Count which reported a peak population of just 9,119 butterflies this winter. This is the second lowest overwintering population ever recorded since tracking began in 1997. xerces.org/press/western-…

MBF Board member emeritus Chip Taylor writes: "Freezing conditions are expected to be the coldest and longest period of freezing in many years. It’s likely that very few monarchs will survive these conditions and milkweeds will have frozen in all but a few protected areas.

#MonarchButterflyFund Chair Don Davis with Entomologist Antonia Guidotti recently spoke with Matt Galloway on The Current (CBC Radio) about the 50thanniversary of the Urquhart discovery of monarch wintering sites in Mexico. tinyurl.com/d52yv4yc

Some good news from Chip Taylor, Founding Director, Monarch Watch. "This map suggests that flowering conditions and moisture availability will be favourable for those monarchs that survive the winter and begin moving north in 5-7 weeks (end of Feb and beginning of March)."

Photographer Highlights the Importance of Monarch Butterfly Conservation Through Stunning Images – Photos by award-winning photographer Jaime Rojo. His latest award-winning photos are on display in Toronto in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit. tinyurl.com/4t8e6j7n

Loaded with backpacks and sturdy walking sticks, Ken Brugger and Catalina Trail set off at 4 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 2, 1975. What they found on Cerro Pelon 50 years ago today has been described as “greatest entomological discovery of the 20th century”. tinyurl.com/yc7k6n75

Clusters of monarchs wintering on Oyamel fir trees Sierra Chincua on December 11, 2024 were spectacular! Footage by Estela Romero. Gracias Estela!

February 17, 2013: MBF Board member Lincoln Brower and late President Jimmy Carter rode horses up steep Mexican mountain trails to the Piedra Herrada monarch sanctuary near Valle de Bravo. We are saddened with the passing of this great humanitarian. tinyurl.com/45hxcu2h

Newly released monarch paper co-authored by MBF Lincoln P. Brower Award recipient Libesha Anparasan (2020), now teaching assistant at Western University, Ontario. MBF Board member Isabel Ramirez of Mexico also co-author. tinyurl.com/2f9yh35m

COMMUNITY CONSERVATION OF MONARCH FOREST REPORT – SUCCESS! MBF’s long-term partner Alternare and local communities reforested 104.9 hectares with 45,918 trees in 2024. High sapling survival due to organic fertilizer used during plantings. Scroll down: tinyurl.com/35vm463m .

MJV Monarch Conservation Webinar Series 2025 - Time to register for this most informative series of webinars touching on all aspects of monarch biology and conservation and related topics: tinyurl.com/5bycnya3 .

Today USFWS announced the proposed 4(d) rules related to ESA ranking of monarchs as “ENDANGERED”. These will impact citizens, property owners, and businesses in the entire country. tinyurl.com/3zxb83m4

Se anuncia la decisión de inclusión en la Ley de Especies en Peligro de Extinción (ESA - Estados Unidos de América). tinyurl.com/2ubm37tt