Natural History Wanderings

The New York Times  reports

Scientists said the decline appeared to be driven by hot, dry conditions in the United States and Canada that reduced food supply.

The number of monarch butterflies at their overwintering areas in Mexico dropped precipitously this year to the second-lowest level on record, according to an annual survey.

The census, considered a benchmark of the species’s health, found that the butterflies occupied only about 2.2 acres of forest in central Mexico, down 59 percent from the prior year. Only the winter of 2013-14 had fewer butterflies.

Read article at Monarch Butterfly Numbers Are Down Sharply at Wintering Areas in Mexico