Monarch Migration
Each fall the monarch butterfly travels thousands of miles to spend the winter in the forests on 12 mountaintops in central Mexico. The monarch migration is the most spectacular two-way migration carried out by an insect.
The forests provide unique microclimatic conditions that allow monarchs to survive the winter. Forest degradation is putting this amazing migration in peril.
The abundance of monarchs shows a discouraging downward trend over the past 20+ years. Click on the graph to enlarge and on this link to read how the numbers were obtained.
In the Spotlight
On November 18 El Rosario opened the monarch sanctuaries for tourists to visit during the 2022-2023 overwintering season. Carmelo Martínez Colín from Ejido Cerro Prieto took the photos below of the colonies already forming in Sierra Chincua. The forests that shelter our beloved monarchs during the winter are being conserved thanks to the efforts of Carmelo and the people and communities that like him, are committed to the protection of our natural resources.
