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#monarchbutterflies

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Monarch butterflies undertake a huge migration each year. As cold weather approaches, millions leave their home range in Canada and the US and begin flying south to S California or Mexico, nearly 2,500 miles away.
theweeowlart.etsy.com/listing/

#FediGiftShop #ScottishArtist #MastoArt #CreativeToots
#MonarchButterflies #Butterflies #OriginalArt #Drawing #PenAndInk #ColourPencil #MixedMedia #Artwork #TraditionalArtist #GiftIdeas #ArtShop #MothersDay

Monarch butterflies undertake a huge migration each year. As cold weather approaches, millions leave their home range in Canada and the US and begin flying south to S California or Mexico, nearly 2,500 miles away.
https://theweeowlart.etsy.com/listing/1878762743

#MonarchButterflies #Butterflies #insect #insects #InsectArt #InsectDrawing #OriginalArt #Drawing #PenAndInk #ColourPencil #MixedMedia #Artwork #TraditionalArtist #ShopIndy #GiftIdeas #ArtShop #MothersDay #MothersDayGift

"My takeaway from this story is that all of us need to rethink using chemical pesticides at our homes and businesses. Even so-called organic pesticides like Bacillus thuringiensis, or BT, are highly toxic to monarchs and other butterflies.”—Pam Marino / @pammarino, #MontereyCountyNow montereycountynow.com/blogs/op

Speaking of #Rewilding, some new signs went up at nearby #CaliforniaFields in Southern #Maine! Looks like the #MaineDepartmentOfInlandFisheries finally acknowledged that there are some #EndangeredSpecies there, and put the pressure on #BlueTriton / #PolandSprings / #BigWater -- who had planted a bunch of pine trees in the field (to hide the drilled wells that they claim are "springs"). But now they have to take them down and restore the grasslands! (And it's full of #Milkweed which the #MonarchButterflies love!)
#GrasshopperSparrow #UplandSandpiper #NorthernHarrier, #HornedLark, #Kestrel, #Meadowlark, #Bobolink

Technical University of Darmstadt: Robotics taking wings thanks to butterflies . “Researchers at the Technical University of Darmstadt and the Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf have developed a revolutionary technology: flexible robot wings that are moved by magnetic fields. Inspired by the efficiency and adaptability of the wings of the monarch butterfly, they enable precise movements […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/01/25/technical-university-of-darmstadt-robotics-taking-wings-thanks-to-butterflies/

#LAfire #Topanga #MonarchButterflies #Monarchs #MonarchSanctuary

It's just been brought to my attention that there was a Monarch butterfly overwintering site, Lower Topanga, that was in fact ravaged by fire. Monarchs go into diapause for overwintering so it's not clear that they might have awakened and escaped in advance. Also check with the Xerces Society.

There is a map of all the overwintering sanctuaries at this link:
westernmonarchcount.org/map-of…

Western Monarch CountMap of Overwintering Sites - Western Monarch CountUse the interactive map below to explore western monarch overwintering sites. Overwintering sites are special groves of trees or shrubs where monarch butterflies routinely shelter for the winter, often clustering…
#LAfire #MonarchButterflies #pollinators
A group of monarch scientists were discussing how this fire might be impacting the already-endangered Western Monarch (that's to distinguish it from the Monarchs east of the Rockies) overwintering sanctuaries and the fire is located south of where they usually overwinter, although there are a couple of roosts in the affected area.
A previous severe storm has resulted in Monarchs abandoning those locations so this is quite a stroke of luck. The fire is municipal and the sanctuaries are further afield.

#NationalButterflyCenter Gets Reprieve—But #BorderWall Will Impact Much More

By Scott Hoffman Black on 15. February 2019

"There are many reasons to oppose the wall along the southern border—including the loss of habitat for some of our smallest and most important animals.

"The building of a wall along the United States–Mexico border has become a topic of debate, in both private and public spheres. The majority of Americans (58%) oppose the border wall for a variety of social, economic, and environmental reasons. Political disputes over border wall funding also led to the record-breaking 35-day government shutdown from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019—which negatively affected hundreds of thousands of people and the services of several federal agencies—and still rumble on within Washington, D.C., as this blog is published. All of these are significant concerns, but as a conservation organization, the Xerces Society’s focus is on the border wall’s environmental implications.

"Recently, debate about the potential environmental impacts of the border wall has been in the spotlight because construction would impact the National Butterfly Center, near Mission, Texas. The #XercesSociety opposed putting the wall across the Center, and joined in calling for the federal government to reconsider moving forward with construction. The good news is that the Center appears to have a reprieve: The government funding bill approved by congress includes a ban on building the wall through several sites in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, including the National Butterfly Center."

xerces.org/blog/border-wall-im

#MonarchButterflies Might Soon Be Listed as #Threatened Under the #EndangeredSpeciesAct

If a new proposal is adopted, the insects would become the most commonly seen species to be the subject of federal protection under this law

Gayoung Lee
December 11, 2024

"For generations, monarch butterflies have traveled thousands of miles across North America in remarkable, long-distance migrations. But like many other pollinators, human activity and climate change have cast a shadow over the future of these beloved insects.

"In response, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is taking a step toward protecting monarchs: The agency proposed listing monarch butterflies as threatened under the Endangered Species Act on Tuesday, which would extend federal protection to the species. The proposal will be subject to a 90-day public comment period before potentially taking effect."

Read more:
smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/

Smithsonian Magazine · Monarch Butterflies Might Soon Be Listed as Threatened Under the Endangered Species ActBy Gayoung Lee

As hinted in my previous post, I'm traveling in #Mexico right now. It's a grand two-and-a-half week trip with the family. We went to Leon for the wedding of our former au pair, to the monarch butterfly reserve in #Michoacan (we arrived before the monarchs unfortunately), and then to #Coyoacan, in #MexicoCity. On Wednesday, we head down to Puebla to visit another former au pair, and celebrate Dia de los Muertos with her family.

We're already 11 days into the trip, but I'll try to post some recaps and updates as we go along.

Modeling of monarch butterfly migration across North America to Mexico estimates that on average, a butterfly will cover almost 3,300 km and cross over 3,000 roads. Given traffic volumes for different road types, and assuming 17.5% of flying time is at traffic height, traffic could be killing more than 99% of the migrating butterflies.

biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20