monarch butterflies

(Newser) - The number of Monarch butterflies making it to their winter refuge in Mexico dropped 59% this year, falling to the lowest level since comparable record-keeping began 20 years ago. It was the third straight year of declines for the butterflies that migrate from the US and Canada to spend the...

(Newser) - Monarch butterflies are back in Mexico this year, after an alarming 75% drop in their numbers last year. A survey released today found that butterfly colonies encompassed 9.9 acres—a significant increase from the 4.7 acres that alarmed experts last year, reports the AP. The figures are "...

(Newser) - The 1-ounce monarch butterfly may have a thing or two to teach us: Each year, some 55 million monarchs make a 4,000-mile multigenerational journey from Canada to Mexico, returning to the same forest, often the same tree, without relying on GPS. How? The insects rely on a unique internal...

(Newser) - The famous migrating monarch butterflies have a new ally in Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who yesterday said he would devote $4.6 million more to the central Mexican reserve where the butterflies hibernate—and crack down on the illegal logging that threatens the insects' habitat. Calderon hopes the measure will...