Monarch butterfly population drops in California
A new study by the Xerces Society finds a dramatic drop in the number of monarch butterflies that migrate to California for the winter. The numbers are down by nearly 75 percent. Over the past two decades, the population dropped from over 1 million to nearly 200,000 butterflies.
Here on the Central Coast, Pacific Grove is known as America’s last hometown, but to many it’s also known as Butterfly Town U.S.A.
“The monarch sanctuary in Pacific Grove offers a natural wind break. It’s got all the elements they look for when they over winter,” said Patrick Whitehurst with the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History.
According to Whitehurst, this past winter about 11,000 monarchs made their way to Pacific Grove. That’s down from about 24,000 the year before — all because their habitats are being harmed.
“Two of the big ones would be the use of pesticides from agriculture, and the other reason would be development,” said Whitehurst. “There’s a lot of development in California and that’s not showing any real signs of slowing down.”
That’s something Jackie Thompson-Oster, a resident of Pacific Grove, knows all too well.
“I’m trying to create more habitat for the caterpillars and for them to grow, it doesn’t surprise me,” said Thompson-Oster. ” I hope we can turn the numbers around in the next few years.”
Helping out is as simple as planting the right flowers, like milkweed plants.
“People used to pull out milkweed because they don’t they’re quite as pretty,” said Thompson-Oster, “but they look awesome in the midst of a bunch of Shasta daisies or some other wildflowers.”
Back at the museum, they’re constantly trying to make everyone aware of the entire environment around the Monterey Bay.
“There’s definitely an awareness of the ocean and ocean advocacy in this area, but people might still look at the ocean and not realize that the area also attracts other visitors, including butterflies and land animals,” said Whitehurst.
The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History is also giving out little packets of seeds, hoping that people will plant some flowers to help the butterflies.
